Tuesday, 2 May 2006

We would advise anybody wishing to tour a major cemetery - anywhere in the world - to first call at the cemetery office and get a plan of who lies where. It is surprising how modest and how difficult to find some of the well-known tombs are. There are no signs which say, "this way to ... " and in a large cemetery like Pere Lachaise you can spend a lot of time wondering just where the hell you are. If you enjoy just wandering, that's great, but if you are looking for particular sites, then get a map.

One of the things that most surprised us at Pere Lachaise was the number of monuments to those who died in the Nazi concentration camps. Beautiful and moving monuments located where they couldn't possibly be missed. They seemed in most cases to refer to a particular death camp whether Auschwitz or Treblinka or one of the others.

Having mastered the Metro on past trips, this years challenge was the buses. There is an excellent system and we find we can often get where we want above ground. This has the advantage of taking us through areas we might not otherwise get to see and the disadvantage of being somewhat slower than the metro. Still, it is an interesting and different experience. Today, for example, we took the 60 to Pere Lachaise and went through much of the north-eastern area of Paris. The districts ranged from nice bourgeois settlements to some slums that would make most people blanch. Our local contacts tell us that there are particular areas that definitely are no-go! We went through these on the bus and could see why you would not want to get off.

Manners on the bus are amazingly good. There are signs reminding people they need to offer seats to the elderly, mothers with children and people with a disability. This seems to be heeded in a very good natured way. People are helpful and courteous in the main. More so, we think, than on the metro. There are so many different types of tickets and passes, that the bus drivers seem to pay no attention at all to whether or not you have paid or are entitled to a free ride. However, one runs the risk of coming across an inspector at some point and there is a fine for riding without a legitimate ticket.