We arrived in Paris the evening of Sunday the 22nd. The streets of Paris were "closed down" so we couldn't get through the police barrier to get to our hotel. After driving an extra 15 minutes we found a policeman who let us through the barrier. That was a tender mercy because no one was getting through. We told him that we were trying to get to our hotel (I think he understood the word hotel) and he let us through. We still struggled a little to find our way. Our GPS got us close but not quite but a few kind teenage boys who spoke English helped us find our way:)
Luckily, after arriving to our hotel (the Courtyard Gare de Lyon) and getting checked in Rick was able to return our rental car. We used public transport for the rest of our time in Paris.
That night we got a (very expensive) bite to eat in the hotel. Rick's macaroni and cheese was sooo delicious! Then we enjoyed going to sleep after a long day of travel:)
The next morning was full of excitement! Paris!! It was a place we had never been and we were ready to explore. There was a subway station just steps from our hotel which was very nice for us. After a little time trying to figure out how and which tickets to buy (again help from a nice English speaking Parisian) we were on our way.
The inner city train map.
Our first stop was the Arc De Triomphe. A huge arch that is in the middle of twelve converging blocks that feed into a huge roundabout.
We climbed the steps all the way to the top! (TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FOUR)
What a spectacular view we had! To see all of the beautiful tree lined streets converging into one.
We also got our first view of the Eiffel Tower from here.
I just loved the experience of being there! It was so beautiful to me!
A panorama.......
After stopping for a bite of lunch on the Champs Elysees (another Italian place and yes, more pizza for me) we grabbed the subway again and headed over to the Sacre de Cour (the Sacred Heart Church) It is a beautiful cathedral situated on a hill in the city. It is lit up at night and is very easy to see because of its elevation on the hill. It was quite a few stairs to get up to the cathedral but what another beautiful view from the top! The grounds were lined with people lounging on the grass enjoying the sunshine. We made our way up and into the cathedral when Rick heard that there was a bell tower to climb. Over Three Hundred Steps! I politely declined climbing any more stairs while Rick took it as a challenge. I waited about thirty minutes on the steps of the cathedral while he made the climb to the top and back down. He said it was a really nice view:)
The next day was Tuesday. While Darla and Larry navigated the streets of Paris to come and pick us up we enjoyed a spectacular breakfast buffet at our hotel. The crescents in Europe are MAGNIFIQUE and I had at least one a day of our trip. By the time Darla got to us she was pretty exhausted because it was quite the experience driving in that big city! And we still had to get out to Versailles. The drive took about forty five minutes and with only a few turn arounds we were able to find the temple. The temple was beautiful from the outside. It certainly was not as spectacular as some of the others we have been to. There isn't even a steeple but the inside was absolutely stunning! The Paris temple has become one of my favorites for the beauty of the inside. The stained glass in blue and green tones was just breathtaking! There is a free standing spiral staircase and if you stand at the center of the staircase and jus took up the view is a little bit of heaven! The celestial and sealing rooms were exquisite with the same beautiful glass. There was even stained glass over the baptismal font. Just amazing!
It was a soggy day but we were able to get some pictures in the small garden in the back.
Another Christus. So cool!
The visitor's center had this beautiful stained glass picture of the Savior just inside the front door. Another thing that was neat was the diorama of the temple that the displayed there. It showed every room in the temple on a small scale. Pretty neat!
After the temple, Darla and Larry dropped Rick and I off at the Palace of Versailles. They went off for lunch and to see some other sights.
Our first picture was of this statue of Louis the IV.
The grand palace!
The hall of mirrors that look out onto the gardens.
Marie Antoinette's bedroom.
A beautiful tapestry. One of many.
And what we really came to see.....THE GARDENS!
We didn't have a whole lot of time in the gardens but what we did see was just breathtaking!
After having a quaint lunch at a bistro we rode the train back to Paris. We were to meet up with Larry and Darla and Steven (who joined them that day) but the drive was so rough getting back to their hotel they did not want to get out again. We were to meet them in the Latin Quarter which is known for its many restaurants and ethnic foods. Even though they decided not to come we still rode out and were surprised to see the Notre dame Cathedral right there off of our stop. We were able to get pictures and unfortunately couldn't go inside because of the fire that happened a few months ago.
The latin quarter is an exciting place to be at night!
This picture is randomly thrown in here. I can't remember when we saw this but I think it was on the way to the airport as we were leaving Paris. It's the Bastille Monument. A lot happened in this spot in the late 18th century!
Continuing on....the next day was our Eiffel Tower day. Our tour wasn't planned until later in the afternoon so we decided to stop by the Luxembourg Palace and see it's beautiful gardens. I love the peacefulness of wandering through the wonderful huge gardens of different cities. While there were lots of people (and school groups) wandering/running around to me there is so much peace in these places. I suppose thats why they were made. We enjoyed strolling and people watching.
Just... nice:)
From the Palace we notice a big building down the street. We learned that it was Paris' Pantheon.
While we didn't walk over we got a nice picture:)
Next it was time to make our way over to "The Tower". We were to meet the Allens for lunch and we were quite early so we wandered around the base of the tower for a bit. We found a carousel and Rick insisted that we take a ride:)
We met Larry, Darla, and Steven for lunch just down the street from the tower. we enjoyed a nice lunch visiting and talking with Steven about his past, present and future adventures!
Oh yeah, We had to get a picture of Rick's eclair! Another fine French dessert!
Our tour began at five o'clock. We had two stops the lower deck and the higher deck. We enjoyed learning about the tower and seeing the sights from above.
After our tour we raced down to the boat for our Rhine River Cruise. It was chilly out but this was on my bucket list and I was so excited for it! The sight of that beautiful tower from the river was amazing! I loved it!
The cruise was about an hour long and it was FILLED with people but I didn't care.
It was a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget!
The next morning was our day to leave Paris. We had arranged for an Uber to get us over to Gare De Nord where we were taking our Chunnel train into England. This was another event on my bucket list. It was pretty uneventful but knowing we were traveling underneath the English channel was cool! Literally. The train had been stifling hot to me but as soon as we hit the coast and under the water it cooled right down!
Our Chunnel Train (Eurostar) was fast. They say that this train hits speeds of up to 200 MPH. Not sure if that was right or not but it did feel as if we were traveling pretty fast!
We got into Ashford International after a two hour train ride and then rented a car from there. Rick had to get the "other" side of his brain working to be driving in England. He had a lot of practice driving on the left side of the road on our mission in Uganda and it didn't take him long to get into that mode again:) I will say that Rick did AMAZING in all of our driving throughout Europe. He drove from Germany into The Netherlands and Belgium and finally into France. It was A LOT of driving getting us from place to place and he did wonderful!!
It was about an hour drive to our hotel in Lingfield, (Kent) England. We stayed at the Lingfield Marriott and it was very nicely situated. I was so happy to be out of the big city and back into the country. Kent is a beautiful area of England and we loved driving around on the little, narrow, tree lined roads. After Rick got a little nap we had just enough time to go explore a castle. This one was right close to our hotel. Hever Castle is Ann Bolyn's childhood home and was just really fun. There was a lot of memorabilia and even the bedroom where King Henry VIII stayed in. (That wretched man!!)
One thing that stood out to me was a letter that was written to Henry from Ann while she was in prison waiting her death. It was heart wrenching. Such a sad ending for her, but Ann's daughter, Victoria became one of England's most beloved monarchs.
The castle had beautiful gardens, the castle had a moat, and there was even a suit of armor in the hallway. I love these old medieval castles!
Fall colors in England!
That night we tried out a Turkish Restaurant. I don't like trying new foods but Rick LOVES it.
Our experience was great! The people were so friendly and the food was delish!!
The next morning we got up early to get to the London Temple.
Temple Number FIVE on our trip.
Oh my, the celestial room was incredible. Our first view of it was from a balcony looking down into the room. So much gold! It reminded me of a room in a palace! Marvelous!
And the grounds...... well, you can see in the pictures....just magnificent!
We had fun walking through "the park", as the members call it, and taking LOTS of pictures!
After our time in the temple we drove to Preston. NINE LONG HOURS to get there! The traffic was terrible and after stopping only once for lunch we finally made it at about 9:00 that night. I will say that it took some effort to get to the Preston Temple but it was worth it:) This temple was the last of our trip and we are so glad we made it.
We left the temple and headed towards Birmingham. We thought it sounded nice just to get to our hotel and relax BUT..... somehow I learned that Mr. Darcy's home Pemberly was within a half hour drive of where we were SO we made a detour and went straightway to Lyme Park. This is the house showcased in BBC's Pride and Prejudice.
Oh my, we walked up to the front gate and recognized that beautiful home from the many times we have watched that movie. We toured the home (which was NOT used in the movie) and the toured the grounds (WHICH WAS). The grounds were incredible and as we saw the house from the exact place in which Elizabeth Bennet saw it, we kind of fell in love, too!
Does this look familiar to anybody?
What a beautiful last way to end our trip! The Preston Temple AND Pemberly in one day! That night we stayed in the Birmingham Marriott. The next day was Sunday and we were going to go to church and then drive to London and stay near the airport but decided we just wanted to stay put for another day. We were able to attend church in Birmingham and have a low key day.
The next morning we were all packed and ready to leave early. We wanted to have a quick stop in Stratford upon Avon. I really wanted to take a canal cruise through the area but the water was running to high and we counldnt. We did take a stroll through a beautiful park along the Avon River and walk through the church, Holy Trinity, where William Shakespeare is entombed.
This is the cemetery outside the church.
This was a cool, gnarly tree and I had to get a picture of Rick sitting on it.
England is so wonderful and we would love to go back just to spend time in the British Isles.
Maybe someday.....
Until next time Europe...Arrivederci, Auf Wiedersehen, Tot Ziens, Au Revoir, and GOODBYE!
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