Jim Morrison Grave in the Pere Lachaise Cemetery - Day 40 of 60

KATA TON DAIMONA EAYTOY - Greek
“True to his own spirit"

Red Dot - We live here
Orange Dot - Napoleon's Tomb
Blue Dot - Catacombs of Paris
Purple Dot - Marie Curie Tomb
Green Dot - Jim Morrison Apartment
Yellow Dot - Jim Morrison Grave

Morrison's grave and the
Pere Lachaise Ceremony is messy

It was a themed day. First we planned to visit The Catacombs - and then - the Grave of Jim Morrison. Unfortunately - we did not pre-book tickets for The Catacombs - so it was sold out - and we were left out. So we took the subway and bus to the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. It is a mecca for those that idolize the lead singer of The Doors. 

In 1971 - Jim Morrison was living in Paris with his girlfriend Pam Courson. The Doors had a string of 6 top selling record albums. Morrison was battling alcoholism and a bout with the law. He was recently arrested in Miami for indecent exposure on the stage. He died suddenly from a heart attack caused by drug overdose. All of his wealth was willed to Courson above. They lived in an apartment not far from this cemetery. He was buried without an autopsy. The mystery has caused a lot of conspiracy theories. Morrison was 27. In that short time period Morrison - Jimi Hendrix - Janis Joplin - and Brian Jones of Rolling Stones all died from drugs. They were all 27 years old. A couple years later - Courson - also died of a drug overdose at age 27. The wealth was eventually split up between her family and Morrison's. 

It has been 50 years in July since Morrison died. Lulu and I were honeymooning in Miami Beach when it happened. 

Morrison's father was in the military - so they moved a lot. He lived in Melbourne FL and eventually went to Florida State University for a year. He appeared in a recruiting film there. He finished his degree at UCLA. The Doors had a string of rock and roll hits - including Light My Fire. The Doors closed two years after he died. 

Pere Lachaise is an incredibly spooky cemetery. It goes on for blocks and blocks. Most of the graves have mausoleums - many of them have open doors. Graves are stacked up sometimes over 6 deep. The most unusual thing to me were the names on the graves. Out of the thousands of surnames - I could only identify a couple of them. It is like running into a different universe.The only other name I recognized was Oscar Wilde - I know he is a writer from Ireland. 

The cemetery helps prepare me for a trip into the Paris Catacombs. In those tunnels under the city - the bones of 6 million French are stacked like cord wood. We hope we get in there before we come home. 

This grave had bronze arms

This grave was cast iron

Some are sky high

Morrison's grave is in
a tiny space

Strange names - almost Tamaqua

Row and rows - drawers and drawers

Trying to escape 

A giant pyramid went 10 feet down

This one had a metal jack on it

The tree had to be 100 years old

Bronze rusts to green

Streets paved in stones

Grass was unkempt

Packed like sardines

This wasn't Mark Twain

So skinny - it looked
like an outhouse

At least it had 
running water

Bronze top hat and tails

This guy has been lying here
since before I was born

Some pretty stained glass

The door was wide open

Unusual names

Oscar Wilde's grave
surrounded by glass
because people would kiss it