Paris - Père Lachaise - 19e

Plate CIXX – Pere Lachaise – Edith Piaf …

It is said that over forty thousand people accompanied Edith Gassion on her final journey to Père Lachaise. It is not hard to understand why. Better known as Edith Piaf, La Môme, or (France’s) Little Sparrow, the four feet ten inches tall singer in her customary costume of a simple black dress will, to me and many others, forever remain the defining voice of Paris.

I had to find her. To the south-east of the graveyard in a simple polished black granite grave, surmounted by a crucifix such as had become her trademark, and engraved with the name Famille Gassion-Piaf, Edith now rests alongside family members unable to give her the strength and support she craved in her life.

From the accordionists busking in the underground metro stations, or the Wurlitzer sounds of the carousels of the city, to the cd vendors with their portable players on the pavements outside Galeries Lafayette it is unlikely during a city visit that you will not somewhere hear the music of Piaf. Through a life that was always tinged with tragedy, starting in the back streets and brothels of Montmatre, Edith Piaf became the best known French entertainer in the world. Her love affair with America (excepting for its food) ensured her international renown. With a voice that used none of today’s musical contrivances Piaf could express the gaiety and laughter of a city at play one minute to the sadness of a bereft lover the next. She is unique.

I would be leaving Paris shortly. I knew I would come back again. In my head Piaf was singing… 

Je pense à toi sans cesse.

Paris, je m'ennuie de toi, mon vieux.

On se retrouvera tous les deux,

Mon grand Paris………

Paris - Sacré Coeur - 18e

Plate XCIV – Basilica Sacre Couer de Montmartre II …

As with the other two major Parisian landmarks mentioned yesterday (the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe of course) the views of Paris from the top of the central dome of the Basilica are magnificent. Access (tickets needed) is only via the long interior staircase, so if you find yourself easily exhausted perhaps you should save some energy by arriving at the footsteps of the church at the crest of the butte, by using the funicular carriages that ascend alongside the terraced stairs provided for the more energetic or younger traveller.

Formally dedicated to the lives lost during the Franco-Prussian War, the connection to the communards whose insurrectional movement started in Montmartre has not been forgotten by many. Sacré Coeur is a Roman Catholic church devoted to the Sacred Heart of Christ. Displayed in a monstrance above the high altar is an artefact known as the Blessed Sacrament, ensuring that Sacre Coeur has remained an important centre of Catholicism since 1885. The Christ in Majesty mosaic inside the apse must also not be missed.

The south facing portico is flanked by bronze equestrian statues of St Louis (King Louis IX) (pictured) and Joan of Arc. Chief architect Abadie had died in 1884 and ongoing design work was continued by five later successors. Funded entirely by private donations the basilica is estimated to have cost some several million French francs. I found it hard to leave this site and, while living in the same century the basilica’s construction, could not help wondering if we’ll ever see such magnificence created by man in devotion to his God again. It just does not seem likely.

Paris - Moulin de la Galette - 18e

Plate XC – Moulin de la Galette …

You may have gathered from earlier posts that I have a reasonable familiarity with French art, and especially the Impressionists. I had therefore at least heard of the Moulin de la Galette through Renoir’s popular painting of a crowd of diners and revellers at the site (Bal au Moulin de la Galette). Other familiar works set here are by Toulouse-Lautrec and van Gogh. What I did not know however was that the moulin is still here, and although no longer operating, its sails attract the passer by to come and take a closer look. The Moulin as pictured is actually two mills in one, with the lower storey known as ‘Blute-Fin’ originally built in 1622, and the upper wind sail mill belonging to the later 1717 addition named ‘Radet’. A classified Paris monument since 1939, the building has an interesting history.

Regularly maintained since the seventeenth century the mill was acquired by the Debray brothers in 1809 and used for flour grinding, some of that flour being used to produce the traditional rye bread biscuits known as galettes. Attacked by Russian Cossacks during the invasion of 1814, one of the brothers was captured, killed and then nailed to the wings of the mill’s sails. The dancing room and ‘ginguette’ were late nineteenth century additions. Now a private property the mill came close to demolition in 1915, but was saved by a group of preservationists known as the Friends of Old Montmartre. Moved to its present site in 1924 the most recent restoration was in 1978. Compared to the better known Moulin Rouge, I found this mill far less a commercial attraction and more…. well, more of a mill.