France Day 3

We got off to an early start Sunday. There was an unusual situation of Sabbath conflict. Friday is our Sabbath in Oman, we flew in that day and we had to purchase food etc and weren't able to get to church so I wanted to be able to have a Sabbath in France. No regrets there. We spent Saturday at the temple mostly, then Sunday morning we got an Uber to the Versailles chapel. It was a lovely meeting. I was especially impressed with that sweet Bishop. The congregation extended through the chapel to the end of the cultural hall(or basketball court in the US, just an extra meeting auxiliary the size of a basketball court or half-court).  That's a lot of people and the sweet deacons were doing their best to serve Sacrament to everyone but were getting a little confused. Next thing you know, there's the Bishop subtly passing the water with the deacons and helping them confidently succeed in serving the congregation. You could see in his countenance that he is an amazing leader. 

After the meeting we walked all the way back to our hotel via the Chateau Gardens and woods. We rented bikes and rode around the grand canal which was like being in a movie. Sound of Music was the one that came to mind mostly. Elise might've enjoyed herself the most. There was a rowing competition which gave an extra edge of magic to the ambiance. 

We rushed to check out in time and hopped on a train to Paris. 

Kids immediately felt we weren't in Versailles anymore. Paris has a lot more people. I'm glad we started our trip in Versailles and with the Temple. Nothing could top those experiences. Notre Dame is in the background sans the iconic spire.

We checked into the Novotelle-Les Halles and everyone was feeling rather done being on their feet in spite of the lovely Crepe Nutella we bought on the way from the metro. They definitely put in the miles. The walk in Versailles was almost 8.4 Km, a bike ride and a walk to the train in Versailles and then a long walk to our hotel. 

We spotted lots of these tile mosaics on many buildings both in Paris and Versailles. 

Construction on Notre Dame will be ongoing for years to come. Not sure when the end date is actually but there were several graphic comics written to explain what happened and what the process was. They were, unfortunately for us, in French.

My favorite illustration. After we stopped by here and walked by the garden markets on the Isle de Cite we metro'd over to the Tour Eiffel for a picnic.

Kids were done walking at this point so we parked them at the Champs de Mars and they played games in the grass surrounded by thousands of other people and Matt and I found a supermarket and boulangerie. He converted instantly to buying daily bread.

Our Eiffel Tour tickets were for 7:30 because Alena really wanted to see it when it lit up.  We headed up around sunset to find a hug crowd watching the sun go down on the top floor. Probably not worth the crowd honestly. 

A little reminder of home. "Somewhere Out There".

I was really the only Stecher who wanted to see it. People were drinking champagne to celebrate.

She was IN LOVE with these little Eiffle Tower keychains from the minute she saw them in Versailles and we finally bought her some to bring home to her friends. I feel sad that I didn't buy more so each member of her class could have one. I HATE leaving people out.

Crazy to be cold and need coats! We had a lot of fun going down the stairs believe it or not. Suddenly everyone could walk again. 

You see a happy little girl having so much fun. I see a very tired nutty girl who is desperately in need of a bed that was still pretty far away.

Alena insisted on this whole experience mirroring hers from 5 yrs before. Carousel, Eiffel Tower lit up and the best Crepes-strawberry, nutella, whipped cream that you buy next to the carousel.

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 And on to the train, off at Les Halles, and to bed.