Paris: Week Five, Day Three
Tuesday, July 25
After class, I visited the Gentilly Cemetery. I had some uncomfortable non-interactions with people in and around the cemetery. It’s possible that I was being to alert and cautious, but better safe than sorry! In the end, the visit was really nice. I loved the paved roads in this cemetery. There was a lot of disrepair though. This cemetery probably had more major issues than any of the 5 or 6 cemeteries I visited previously. As a huge plus, the stonework on the monuments was just amazing!
Then, I took a journey to the Cimetière parisien d’Ivry. I do not know how to translate that one, so I kept it in French. I’m guessing it’s something like the Parisian cemetery of Ivry. The journey to this cemetery was challenging. I definitely traveled to a place I’ve never been in Paris. This cemetery had several military sections inside of it. Additionally, there was an area for children’s burials. I found it quite sad. This cemetery seemed to have a more visible diversity of burials. Monuments from various cultures covered the cemetery. Unfortunately, this cemetery was by far the most difficult to traverse. Sections of it were quite overgrown on a level equal to that of the neglected minority cemeteries in the United States. I both loved and hated visiting this space. The strong messages about war were overwhelming and my mood was negatively influenced by some of the monuments on site.
It rained off and on the entire time I was visiting these beautiful cemeteries. That didn’t deter me though!
After spending several hours exploring cemeteries, it was time to head back to the Seine to catch up with the AGEFO group. We were supposed to meet for a boat tour. I arrived there and waited at the Eternal Flame.
This flame holds the memorial spot where Princess Diana died. I had no idea it was in Paris! After waiting about 15 minutes, I emailed my AGEFO contact. She didn’t respond, so I just wandered around looking for the group. I figured that maybe they left a couple minutes before the time we were supposed to meet since I did arrive exactly on time. There were lots of foreigners, but none of them appeared to be “my” foreigners. I snapped a couple photos while waiting. Surprisingly, the day grew cold and I decided to return home.
