Paris with a Bang! (and a bit of Texas twang): Pere Lachaise Cemetary and New Years Eve

Here we are on Dec. 31st....New Year's Eve....the last day in 2009. Where else would one rather go than to walk around a giant cemetary?! Seemed pretty logical to Lauren and I anyway. We hopped on the Line 2 and it took us straight to the Pere Lachaise Cemetary, where many a famous man is buried. As we walked through the entrance there was a small map and we briefly looked it over, saying to each other "we don't need to buy a map, we've got this covered!" We had already discussed how we would be in and out of there in no time, we wanted to hit the big 3 and be done. HA, in our dreams! I'm pretty sure we walked every last inch of that cemetary and it was a dreary and cold day at that. Alas, we happened upon our first gravestone that we wanted to see, Mr. Oscar Wilde, the famous playwright, poet, and author. Age 46 at time of death.

Apparently he is quite the ladie's man! If you look closely on the 2nd picture you can see his name engraved on the headstone. I would be interested in how much that tombstone cost. I guess when Oscar was asked "What do you want on YOUR tombstone?" he went with extra kisses rather than extra cheese. So onwards we go to find our next dead guy (wow, I feel bad about saying that). Here are a couple of random snapshots.

The next place we stopped off at was the beloved tomb of famous musical composer and pianist, Chopin. He was only 39 when he died.

Last but certainly not least we go out in search for the man that put this cemetary on the map. My friends, may I introduce to you the gravesite of Mr. Jim Morrison of The Doors. 27 yrs old at time of death. I also think they purposely made is gravestone impossible to find!

To be honest, I was a little dissapointed and un-impressed as compared to the previous two. But the man was a legend so I'll give him props for that. I also read and article on wikipedia (so take it how you want it) that people used to have sex on his gravestone and a guard had to placed at this site to keep people from vandalizing his headstone and such. The day Lauren and I were there, there was no such guard, but some metal railing to keep people from getting to close.

After the cemetary experience, we made our way into the city center and walked along the Siene River. Very romantic for both Lauren and I, haha. We did come across Pont Neuf which is the oldest bridge to cross the Seine here in Paris. As expected, heres a pic.

Onwards to New Year's Eve festivities. Lauren and I asked my roommate some suggestions on where to ring in the New Year and she mentioned that a lot of people gather at the Sacre Coeur and since it's a high spot in the city, we figured we would be able to see any fireworks go off. We bought a bottle of cheapo Champagne (didn't even bother with cups) and headed that way. We got to the area a bit early so we sat down outside at a little cafe and had some wine and did a bit of people watching. It was there that we spotted animal print lady. Check out the coat on this one...

Is that zebra or leopard or a combo fo the two, I can't decipher! After a couple glasses of wine we head back to the steps of the SC to pop some bottles. We crammed our way into the crowd and were able to get a few snapshots. It was a bit of a foggy night so not too many fireworks were seen other than the ones close range. Lauren was able to snap a cool pic.

Above is a view of the NYE crowd gathered on the steps of the SC. Below are Lauren and I toasting to 2010.

As per usual we made our way over to Corcoran's for a little clebration, only to find a couple more crazies to chat with. Usually Corcoran's has no cover charge but this evening it was 10 Euros but at you got a "free" drink. Lauren and I post up at the bar as usual and in no time we're chatting with these 2 fellows, haha!

I think Lauren and I are starting to see a trend here. We do indeed end up entertaining ourselves at some point. Please notice Lauren's paper scarf around her neck.