After reading JoyRose’s latest post about books from her childhood that she still holds close to her heart, I came to think about The Little Prince. As I told JoyRose, it was the book that left the biggest impression on me as a young girl, and I am happy that it is a book I still can enjoy as an adult…

But what it suddenly reminded me of, had more to do with the book’s author, Antoine de St-Exupéry.

Last October, as me and my bestfriend wandered around Paris, one of the must-sees for us, was the Père Lachaise cemetary.

Père Lachaise Cemetary is the largest in France, and the last resting place of many, many, many well known names. But if you haven’t visited a cemeteray before, let’s just say that unless you’re looking for the really popular graves, grave-hunting is quite a sport. The map we bought at the cemetary’s entry was a bit vague (to be polite) and only indicated the aproximate location of the most visited graves.

Of course I had to see Edith Piaf’s. But the two that impressed me the most (and it was pretty cool, because they are literally side-by-side) are Molière’s, and Jean de la Fontaine’s. I must admit that standing in front of the graves of these two giants of French culture, made me quite emotional…

And before we knew it, we had spent quite some time walking around, and checking random tombstones trying to imagine what things were like when these people were still living and my bestfriend said “Ok, one last, and then we have to move on!”

I agreed, and unfolded the map, to choose wisely! That’s when I spotted de St-Exupéry’s name. That had to be our last stop. I had to see The Little Prince author’s grave.

So we found the lot it was supposed to be in, and we searched. And searched… Switched aisles, checked every tombstone.

In vain.

We split up, and searched a little more. And then it hit me.

It’s no use, J… Forget it. 

My bestfriend told me we’d find it, it was obviously important to me. She was willing to keep looking.

Nah… We can leave, now.

The St-Exupéry grave in Père Lachaise cemetary is not Antoine’s. It is that of his wife, Consuelo. Antoine de St-Exupéry has no grave, for the simple reason that he disappeared while flying over the Mediterranean Sea in 1944. His body was never recovered.

You know… Little details.

Silly me.