Paris: Week Four, Day Six
Friday, July 21
After class today, I took a visit to yet another cemetery. This one was the Vaugirard Cemetery. Vaugirard is also the name of the major road near my residence. The Vaugirard Cemetery dates back to 1798. It’s probably the oldest cemetery I’ve visited so far on this journey. This cemetery has a military section that was similar to, and yet, nothing like the military cemeteries I’ve visited in the US.
Check out my post on the history and walkthrough of the Vaugirard Cemetery here.
Then, I took a trip to a second cemetery: Grenelle Cemetery. My GPS took me through a public park that had some cool art in a back alley.
I also took note of an interesting wall they created out of cement cradle-like objects. It made an interesting design that was reminiscent of headstones and cradle markers!
Grenelle is probably the smallest cemetery I’ve been to, boasting about 1000 tombs. Check out my video on Grenelle Cemetery here.
Even though it was small, the monuments were striking. I took several beautiful photos there. Once I left that cemetery, I attempted to get home, but my gps took me on quite the detour!
I ended up in a shady (a.k.a. questionable) area. Not quite sure about where I was. All I know is that at one point the road came to a semi-dead end. A car pulled up there, turned around facing me, and just waited. I was so uncomfortable and I quickly walked out of that place. It’s interesting to note that every time I get detoured to these out-of-the-way areas, I am surrounded by minorities. I’m not sure what that means in regard to economic situations and such in Paris. My mind is making connections but I’m not brave enough to give them voice yet. More research is needed.
