life is short
[Music]
so we travel how often do we hear others say oh I'll travel when I retire but you know what
happens age and stress life happens and by the time you retire and your house is paid off well
then you have bad knees and you simply can't visit all those places you dreamed about in your youth
we didn't want to end up like that holding on to youthful travel dreams that would never
become reality that's why we retired early and downsized to slow travel the world with the time
we have left we got especially reminded about our mortality during our visit to the Paris catacombs
and now it happens again with this next Paris Adventure heaped in history Pere Lachaise cemetery
is the perfect place to walk among the dead and feel oddly connected to them we're in Paris at
the cemetery Pere Lachaise which is incredibly old and there are many many famous people that are
buried here so we're going to go explore it now the cemetery is off the beaten path away from
the big museums on the outskirts of Paris in the 20th arrondissement so we designate it a "Hidden Gem"
it has a beautiful collection of funeral art it's like a remarkable outdoor sculpture gallery
its appeal lies not in death but in the fact that it's an aggregation of French culture
hundreds of celebrities writers artists and musicians are buried here at the front of
the cemetery you'll see they've got a guide that tells you where folks are buried including Oscar
Wilde, Jim Morrison, Strauss, Camille Pissarro a lot of very famous people from politics art
music culture are buried here this is where you come to honor some of the world's most
Brilliant Minds we came to pay our respects to a few individuals who are special to us
the cemetery's most visited grave belongs to American rock legend Jim Morrison
he was an amazing performer and quickly became an icon he was only 27 years old when he died of
heart failure in Paris on any given day tourists visit his tombstone which once featured a bust of
Morrison before vandals claimed it as their own now Cemetery staff have erected metal barricades
to protect the site one of the unusual things we noticed was the four word phrase in ancient
Greek onto headstone we looked it up and while there is controversy around it it most likely
means "true to his own Spirit" [Music] France's beloved Edith pilaf is buried in a family grave
at the North End of the cemetery she is globally recognized as one of the greatest artists to ever
emerge from Paris her ballots made their way around the world usually always reflecting the
themes of love lost and sorrow she sang only in French but was renowned for being able to
emote all of her musical messages to listeners like us whether we can speak the language or not
the ballot that Edith Pilaf is most recognized for worldwide is "La Vie En Rose" in 2007 a film with the
same name was released making it one of the most successful French films of all time [Music] Oscar
Wilde is chiefly remembered for his elegant and witty stage plays such as "The Importance
of Being Earnest" the persecution he suffered for his homosexuality is perhaps the element of his
biography most remembered he was originally buried in a different cemetery but his remains were moved
here in 1909 however the famous tomb sculptured by Jacob Epstein was not added until 1914. it is now
visited by hundreds of thousands of visitors each year many whom are gay men like us who come to
pay our respects visitors leave notes love letters and flowers for Wilde on and around the monument to
express their admiration for his work and his life the tomb used to be covered in lipstick kisses
until the barrier was erected the ashes of Robert Ross his former lover are also buried in the Tomb
we're curious which great mind would you pay respect to let us know for now
know this life is short so get out there and travel [Applause] watch this video to
see what's next on our adventures and check out our customizable merchandise store see you soon