Things of Old
We began my last day in the city with an adventure slightly outside the main city limits to the flea market. We discovered a wide range of vendors from antique tchotchkes to (questionably) knock-off goods to expensive old furniture. There was a light drizzle and a cold haze that blanketed the city, but we took the brisk walk nonetheless. We walked quickly under the dripping storefront canopies, ducking from store to store to stay dry, along the way passing some wild vintage clothing, old kids games, and dramatic vintage jewelry among other things. Although only a few shops were open, not nearly the whole market, it was still a feast for the eyes. After our visit, we walked back to our neighborhood of Montmartre to go into and take the climb up the Sacre Coeur. I didn’t know much about the church before entering but I was blown away by the mosaics I found inside. I know churches to have impressive paintings or stain glass windows, but I have never seen one primarily decorated by mosaics. Throughout the designs, there were many that included glimmering gilded tile pieces that really brought the works to life for me.
We had lunch in a cute (admittedly LA-reminiscent) café and then decided to check out the sprawling cemetery just down the street from our hostel. We saw the graves of some famous individuals such as Edgar Degas and Emile Zola. The cemetery was beautiful with some impressive mausoleums, some which looked like entire small houses, others that look like they haven’t been touched in decades. We also saw graves honoring family members who died in the Holocaust, which was particularly moving. Throughout the cemetery we spotted many cats, which seemed particularly quintessential to me. Some graves were essentially large flowerbeds, which I really liked; I love the poetic idea of death being the birth of something new and death feeding life. My friend and I talked about everything from death to TV shows as we strolled among the beautiful graves on the crisp overcast afternoon until it was time for me to return to the hostel to retrieve my things and officially depart. What a truly splendid trip; I departed with a full heart.
