What a wonderful day! The last few days have been a little miserable. Nothing horrific! Just horrible weather which is a frustrating my plans to walk most of Paris. I'm always a fan of the maxim "there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad choice of clothes" or something like that... However my trusty wellies are back in London and therefore, despite my generally good decisions in packing (balancing the various requirements - departing in early October, returning late November, covering Italy, Switzerland, Germany and France and yet wanting to be a little minimalist!) I've been struggling the past few days.
I had wanted to go on a long trek on Sunday and had hoped to walk down to the Sorbonne and maybe even make the Catacombes. But the constant downpour put pay to that. Instead I wondered down to the Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise which seemed particularly apt on a grotty day. A fascinating place - some really tremendous statues. Though I was rather surprised that I couldn't find a decent list of who's "there". The "celebrity" lists are easy to find but is there a fuller "directory"? I had some vague memory of passing through there once before and seeing a "Raoux" which, of course, I couldn't find again. I did make a pilgrimage to see where Rossini was briefly (before being returned to Italy) and found the plastic flowers and dead candles particularly apt - I think he would have had a giggle at them. I also thought I had found Gabriel Fauré (FAURE inscription plus a lyre on the "door") but I think he's at Passy.
Then today I had an extremely productive afternoon at the Bibliotheque. I got a couple of hints from helpful colleagues (where to head and how it all works) which was useful. These type of places always seem to have their own ways of doing things. Everyone at the Bibliotheque was terribly helpful and I managed to get my mits on some of the things I was looking for and there were a couple of things that were pleasant surprises! I was dancing with glee when I discovered one thing that really makes me sure of the choices I've made for the crooks for the Caprices. However I'm convinced I'm not going to use up my 15 days I've purchased but it opens up the possibility of just popping in - especially in April when I'm over at the Opera Comique. A few hunches I'd like to follow up....
