"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a
young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with
you, for Paris is a moveable feast." -Ernest Hemingway
Whew! Devin here. Well, it only took a week but I think my body clock has finally readjusted. Time to begin blogging our wonderful, whirlwind trip through Italy and France. After all, if it's not blogged, it never happened, right? Since Paris was my former stomping grounds, I wanted to write about it. So without further ado, let's start at the end.
We took an overnight train from Nice to Paris and arrived Sunday morning. Guess who actually didn't mind sleeping in pretty confined quarters with 4 complete strangers? This guy.
We were able to go to church in my favorite area as a missionary, Evry. Not only was the church still standing but the building was remodeled 3 years ago and a new wing was added. The work marches on...
After church, we got some true missionary grub. You know them as kebabs, the French know them as sandwich grecs, I know them as delicious...
That evening, we visited one of my favorite families from my mission. They were so nice to have us over and they fed us a very traditional French four-course meal complete with...
...a cheese plate for dessert. I dream of cheese plates for dessert. Really, I do. Strange, I know, but I LOVE French cheeses, even that gray one that looks more like cow's brain. Think I had a healthy serving of all 3 o' these? You betcha.
I know what you are thinking: wow, that guy's got some messed up thumbs. Oh yeah, and that's amazing that his cheesy (mmmm, cheese...) smile hasn't changed after 12 years...
Sacré-Coeur was just as beautiful as I remember it.
One thing I never did while on my mission was visit la Sainte Chapelle. Often overlooked due to its proximity to the much more famed Notre Dame cathedral, what the Sainte Chapelle lacks in curb appeal it more than makes up for on the interior. With stained glass windows from floor to ceiling, the result is truly awe inspiring.
Contrast this to the cold, dark, empty feeling that you get in most Gothic cathedrals and you begin to understand the power of light, its symbolism, and the many scriptural references to it. Fortunately, we got there mid-morning while the light was still in its peak hours pouring through the windows.
Speaking of that over-hyped neighbor...btw, these "locks of love" seem to be littering many of Europe's bridges these days...just an observation...
It was an unseasonably cold & windy day in Paris but a cold & windy day in Paris beats any day just about anywhere else in the world so we made the most of it.
A delicious crepe (pronounced "crep" like step) hot off the griddle. Want a bite? Too late...
Ah, la tour Eiffel! Elle est belle n'est pas?
Hey Pippa, how do you like these guns? Sorry, lame joke but her gun fiasco did take place while we were in Paris and that's gotta count for something, right?!?
Virginia is for lovers? Ha! The French scoff at the notion. In fact one told me "zat iz eazily zee most ridiculous sing I 'ave evour heurd." I can't say that I disagree with him. Gotta admit, Paris is pretty romantic...
10 comments:
potentially one of the best posts I've ever read anywhere!!! LOVED IT!
the pics were AMAZING!!! Were those instagram or just great editing?
LOVE This! Devin is awesome. Looks like such a fun time, can't wait for more pictures:)
And that last picture of the 2 of you really should be framed. It's perfect!
Great post Devin! I loved seeing the pics. You forgot to mention that you ate a grec and you didn't tell me about Bernard's cheese plate. Look at that cheesy smile on your face while you are sitting on the couch with Bernard and Sylvie. That's one happy former missionary!
Thanks Kira! Devin is going to feel so validated. I used a couple Picassa photo effects as well as 2 Pioneer Woman PS actions (B&W and 70's? maybe fresh color)
I love the pictures! Great train shot. I'm glad you guys had so much fun and got to do everything you wanted. How was the doner?
Your pictures turned out totally amazing!! You really make me want to go to Europe. That picture of Devin on his mission-- the "then" and "now" was really cool. How fun you were able to hook up with them. Sarah looks beautiful in all of her pics, FYI. No fair. Also, you could have mentioned the Viennese call them "kebabs." Dad calls them "Gut Bombs." Mmmmm.
Love the pictures, all that practice before paid off :) They all look so great. I love the last one of you guys kissing by the Eiffel Tower too :) Pretty awesome that Devin was able to go see his mission area again. Looks like an amazing trip :)
How awesome that you guys got to go back! Such a wonderful post and very well written. The last pic is awesome! And I love the pic of you on your mission w/ the boy that grew up. We actually just headed down to Chile to Blake's mission as well. However, I don't think Santiago is quite as pretty as Paris. Fun times!
Hey, for some lame reason my really creative and thoughtful post of last week is gone. Oh well, loved the pics and travel tour-director dialogue. Ahhh, I can almost still taste that grec (gut bomb) I had in Paris. Loved your description of light coming through the stained glass windows. I'm going to lobby to see if we can get some in our church. Sara looks down-right beautifully cosmopolitan and European. You look like an American geek. Great post, thanks for sharing.
Awesome trip guys, super jealous! Devin it must be nice having those sentimental mission memories of a place that is ridiculously beautiful, as opposed to my mission memories where even the most beautiful cities I romanticize in my mind are not very nice.
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