As I mentioned already in the previous post, Mama Shelter Paris is not exactly near the city center, but it’s good to know that it’s located in a diverse, surprising and interesting area (20th) and even better, Mama’s Shelter is exact 5 minutes walk from the world famous cemetery Père Lachaise . As we love to discover new area’s, we took the opportunity to have a walk in the early morning, before the shops open. It was a good plan.
We visited the tomb of Jim Morisson, Edith Piaf and Oscar Wilde, American writer and notoir ladies man. The cemetery survives beautifully the test of time even if a lot of graves are pushed up, covered by moss and overgrown by trees. It only adds to the mysterious atmosphere and the frozen silence.
Jim’s grave is a real sanctuary where lifelong young and older fans honor their idol. The grave itself is hidden by others, surrounded by fences with attached handwritten locks. But the nearby tree is covered by chewing gum leftovers, train tickets and personal belongings. This is the real tomb and it’s poetic, as Jim would have liked it.
Oscar Wilde’s grave is protected by an enormous glass wall that is covered with hundreds of lipstick kisses. Weird and very cute. Wilde’s always been a ladies man.
Piaf has a more regular idol grave, full of flowers but somehow a bit forgotten.
If you’re visiting, pick just some of the known artists you like, and pay them a visit. For instance Victor Hugo, Maria Callas, Molière, Modigliani, Yves Montand and Chopin, to name a few.
Enjoy,
Kate