Day 5: Church and various Parisian sites

Happy Easter! Our last full day in Paris was Easter Sunday. It has now been one month from the day we arrived in Paris. I know it's a little lame that I'm just now completing the posts about our trip, but that's just how it is.

We woke up Sunday morning, got dressed and ready for Church, had breakfast at the hotel (another yummy croissant), and walked to the LDS Church. It was a beautiful morning, the nicest day of our trip, actually.

This is taken from the bridge across the Seine that we crossed everyday.  It's right by Notre Dame, and with the sunshine, Sunday morning gave us the loveliest picture from it.

We arrived at the Church building.  The picture on the left is the entrance from the street to the courtyard of the Church.  You can see the courtyard below.  They had headsets for English translation of the meeting, but there was only one left when we arrived.  We shared.  One of the coolest experiences of the day was singing the closing hymn.  It was "I Know That My Redeemer Lives".  Obviously the hymnals were in French, but because this is a pretty familiar song, I didn't need the words to be able to sing along.  I sang in English.  There was a woman behind me singing in Spanish, and there were many singing in French.  Music and the Gospel of Jesus Christ speak to all people, across all language barriers.  It was a very cool experience.

We had considered leaving after Sacrament meeting, since we did not think we'd understand any of the rest of the meetings, but we were informed that there was an English Sunday School class, translators available in Relief Society, and that Priesthood was half English, half French, so we decided to stay.  With the help of one of the missionaries, Dallin headed off to find the Young Men.  The photo on the right is the stairway he went up looking for the classroom.  I'm not sure how old the building is, but it's a recent acquisition, and it is still being renovated.  I thought it was a pretty neat place to meet for Church.  In the end, Dallin was the only Young Man there that day, so he stayed with us in the adult Sunday School class. 

This is a view of the courtyard.  Primary was across the courtyard from the Sacrament meeting room.  After the meetings, there were children running around the courtyard, like you would see kids running in the Cultural Hall at an LDS building in the US at the end of the meetings.  I told Dallin, "See the Church is the same everywhere- kids running around after the meetings, waiting for their parents."  I'm so glad we had the chance to attend Church in Paris.  It was a great experience.

On many of the bridges, we saw these locks, with couples' names written or engraved on them, and sometimes a date as well.  I wish that Rick and I had known about the tradition so that we could have taken a lock and put it on.  I guess we'll have to go back : ).

After Church we walked back to the hotel, changed our clothes, and headed out to explore some random sites of Paris that were still on our must see list.

This is the seating for a Roman Amphitheater built in the first century BC.  There was a Roman city at the site of present day Paris, called Lutetia.  In the 1860s, during excavation for some development, this arena was discovered.  It was amazing to me to sit on these stone steps and think about the fact that this had been built 2000 years ago.

Looking out on the arena.  There were many Parisians playing soccer, bocce ball, etc. 

We walked through the Jardin des Plantes, which was beautiful, with it's Springtime blooms.

The monument at the site of the Bastille.

Sitting, eating a baguette in Paris.  We're so French : ).

Victor Hugo's home in the Place des Vosges.  I read The Hunchback of Notre Dame as a Sophomore in High School, and really enjoyed it.  When we were planning this trip, I decided I wanted to read Les Miserables.  I'm still working on reading it, but I am really enjoying it.  It's really long. It was fun to be reading it while I was in Paris. 

Place des Vosges is the oldest planned square in Paris, built in the early 1600s by Henry IV.  These buildings wrap around all four sides of the square.  It was a lovely place to sit and enjoy a Sunday afternoon. 

As we walked back toward our hotel, we stopped again at Notre Dame.  While we were there, the bells rang, and I think that is a moment I will always remember, sitting in front of Notre Dame on Easter Sunday as the bells tolled.  I thought of all the people through hundreds of years who have worshipped Jesus Christ at that very spot, and thought about His sacrifice.  Despite the differences in worship, and the feelings of disdain I generally have for the medieval Church, I can still appreciate the desire that people have had to revere and worship Jesus Christ, since He came and lived on this Earth.