Written by Jadon
Well if you read last week’s blog, or have been in contact
with us in some other way, you probably know that we just got back from a 4 ½
day vacation. To Paris!!!
All this week we have been blessed with a vacation from
teaching, because it is Fall Break at our school. So last Friday, after school,
we dashed home, packed our bags, and headed to the airport to catch an evening
flight to our holiday destination. We didn’t arrive to our hotel until at least
midnight, but our taxi ride from the airport gave us glimpses of beautiful
Paris lit as it is at night. Just enough to get us even more excited for the
next day.
Saturday morning, we walked about 15 minutes to Notre Dame,
and though we were really excited to see it, we decided to grab some breakfast
first—from a French café with the cathedral just outside our window, of course!
During breakfast it started to rain, and then stopped, and then started to rain
again, and then stopped. And of course we were enjoying delicious croissants
and freshly squeezed orange juice, so we didn’t mind much, especially since it
had stopped raining “for good” by the time we were finished. But the loitering/indecisive/camera-clicking
tourist of course all started heading into Notre Dame, so we decided that it
would be better to come back later.
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| View of Notre Dame from breakfast |
That evening we headed back to Notre Dame, and this time
went inside. We tried to take some pictures, but they don’t do any justice to
the beauty that you can see in person, and hear—the pipe organ and the cantor…beautiful.
More of that later. Anyway, we had also booked a night tour from the same
sightseeing bus, so after dark we climbed back onto the bus and braved the cold
to see Paris lit up at night (and also to see the Moulin Rouge, which wasn’t
part of the daytime tour).
Day Two!! Sunday we woke up early and headed to Notre Dame
again (it was a favorite) this time for the Sunday morning service (mass). We
arrived early so we walked around the grounds a bit, and discovered, that Notre
Dame not only still functions as a church with regular services and a priest
available for confession, but it also has a small tent at the back of the
grounds, removed from most of the tourists, where it serves at least a
breakfast to the poor.
After the mass at Notre Dame (one of the major highlights of
the trip), we headed to the Eiffel Tower. If we had planned a little better, we
would have known to show up first thing in the morning, but as it was, we stood
in line for at least two hours just to get to the second floor! Then probably
another 45 minutes or so in line to get to the top. It was fun to be in the
Tower, but the long line really put a damper on it. So if you go, show up
early! Then Sunday evening we took a small boat cruise which this time was
expertly timed (on accident) to be during the sunset. Afterwards, we explored
the Latin Quarter until bed.
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| View from the top of the Eiffel Tower |
Day Three!! Learning from our mistake with the Eiffel Tower,
we arrived at the Louvre fairly early, and basically walked right in with no
wait whatsoever. Deciding to press our luck, we headed straight for Mona Lisa,
and though it was still crowded, we actually got quite close without too much
trouble. We also got to see Venus de Milo, some Monet, some Michelangelo, and
so many other wonderful and beautiful pieces of art. But the Louvre has over
16km worth of galleries, so it was a big day of walking.
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| With the Mona Lisa |
That evening, we explored the booksellers who line the outer
banks of the Seine—the river that flows through the center of Paris—bought some
Parisian chocolate, and generally just enjoyed ourselves.
Day Four!! Tuesday we woke up really early to meet our tour
bus, which would take us to the Loire Valley, a region in France known for its
castles and (like the rest of France) its wine. It was a long day, and half of
our time was spent in the bus just getting to our destinations, but it was well
worth it. We got to see three very different castles: Chateau de Chambord, the man’s (or hunter’s)
castle; Chateau de Nitray, where a family still lives. And they served us lunch! And finally Chateau de Chenonceau, the lady’s castle.
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| Map of our trip from Paris to the three castles |
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| Chateau de Nitray, the family castle |
Day Five!! We didn’t really do much on our last day (half
day). We slept in, went back to our favorite café, enjoyed to beauty of Notre
Dame once more, and finally headed to the airport to catch our plane home.
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| Until next time, Paris! |
We of course took lots of other pictures, which you can find here:
Praises:
-Neither of
us has been sick for some time now! (An extra blessing since we were so excited
for Paris)
-Despite a
setback or two, and with some answered prayers, we had a wonderful time in
Paris.
-We still
have a few days of vacation left, and we are enjoying them.
Prayer
Requests:
-In just a
few short days, we (and a teammate) will be heading to Berlin to try and get
our Visas sorted out. So please pray that we are able to gather all the needed
documents, and accomplish our goal in one trip to the embassy.
-After a
week long holiday, and great trip to Paris, it will be really hard to get back
into the teaching and planning routine.
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