Friday, May 6, 2022

Back to Pere Lachaise

 In one of my previous posts you may have noticed a picture of two of our daughters peering into a family mausoleum in Pere LaChaise Cemetery in Paris. It was not on our list of things to do, but we decided to walk through since our cooking class was in the neighborhood….and I am so glad we did! It was a beautiful day and so many interesting graves.



One of the tombstones that I thought interesting was this one. I didn’t understand why there were lipstick kisses all over it. Was it designed this way, or did people actually  kiss it?

So, I have researched it.Yes those are actually kisses people have left there . Alain Baschung was the most influential and admired French singer and composers in the last forty years (or so the article said). 

In years past visitors have left kisses on the tombstone of Oscar Wilde who is also buried in the cemetery until a glass shield covering was added to the grave to prevent this…so now they are kissing Baschung!Who knew?




4 comments:

  1. Dearest Janey,
    That is another definition of the 'French Kiss'!
    Good for you for having walked there and discovered something quite unusual. You certainly seem to have a nose for that. And as they say: 'We learn till we die!'
    Thanks for sharing.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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  2. I've seen photos of the Oscar Wilde grave with kisses all over it. I hadn't heard that glass was around it now. It seems a strange thing to do to me, kiss a headstone.

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  3. I once spent a whole day in Pere Lachaise there are so many wonderful tombs to admire and see, especially those of notable people. I particularly loved Lalique's tomb and Hector Guimard's - the notable architect who designed the wonderful Art Nouveau entrances to the Paris Metro.

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  4. Yek,,, I would never kiss a stone at a cemetery...

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