Here come the grandparents!

We drove to the airport on the coldest and rainiest day we'd seen all month.  And while we got stuck in traffic on the way, pick-up at Terminal 1 is quick and easy.  Driving from the airport to our first home in Paris the grandparents' first views look like any other city, but that gradually changes.  We open presents from friends, and our hearts are so filled with love and gratefulness.  I dash through the neighborhood looking for a store still open to buy a late lunch.  I also need to buy some bread for the Lord's Supper for the church service, but almost every store is closed on Sunday afternoons, and I wonder briefly if using a croissant would be acceptable.  

Before we celebrated the most French-ified Lord's Supper ever, I remember a store open near EIC Ternes.  We gather after the service to talk and share and then got our travelers home to sleep.  Monday is a rest and recovery day, but Tuesday we take them for a walk around Paris, starting with Place de la Concorde, former home of the guillotine.  I am always in awe at Napoleon's decision to bring back that obelisk from Egypt.

We walk through Jardin des Tuileries, and the October sunshine is so glorious!

We buy lunch from a stand and meet a friend to eat beneath the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel.  Never in the place you want them, K.J. walks a long way to find someone selling 1 euro bottles of water.  It feels wrong to pay three.

We don't want to use all of our energy walking through The Louvre, so we just say hello from the outside.  The architecture is looking especially lovely on this autumn day.

No trip to Paris is complete without strolling by the River Seine.  It gives you that quintessential Paris feeling, and you never know what you'll see.

We pass a climbing wall with the cushy playground material below it.  It's pretty challenging when you're wearing a backpack, which is the only reason I pass it by, of course. Of course.

We also pass by a couple of swings.  It seems a very idyllic thing to do, swinging under a yellow tree beside the River Seine.  Our hearts are always so full and grateful when our families join us in our adopted towns, and we slow down to enjoy and take it all in.

And then we walk by Notre Dame, who I am delighted to find has readied herself for fall with a scarecrow!  I wasn't expecting that.

We duck into Shakespeare & Co. where Ella finds the second-hand Tolkien she's been searching for, and then we head for our Paris home and our favorite hostesses, Maria and Lixie.

 

Maria gathers cutlery and dishes when she travels and uses them to make an ordinary Tuesday extraordinarily special.

"Give thanks in everything,

for this is God's will for you

in Christ Jesus."

- 1 Thessalonians 5:18 -

Friday Favorites, vol. xiv

Do you know what the French call a mother-in-law and father-in-law?  Belle-mѐre and beau-pѐre.  It's like saying beautiful mother and good father.  I love this.  

We did so many wonderful things this past week with my belle-mѐre and beau-pѐre.  I'm not sure if that makes it easier or harder to identify my favorites.  

1.  our church retreat

What an encouraging and fun weekend with God's people gathered from all over the world, here in Paris at this particular time.  It was so good to have concentrated time to talk to people and K.J.'s parents did a great job teaching.  Below is a panel of pastors answering questions after the morning teaching time.

2.  Monet's Garden in the Fall

The colors!  Oh, my, they were gorgeous.  It was also a delight to have our dear friend, Ari, be able to come with us.  Gifts all around.

3.  visiting the exhibits at the American Military Cemetery in Normandy

For various reasons we'd never walked through the visitor's center before, and it was so meaningful and tear-inducing for sure.  These are a selection of things carried by soldiers that day, symbols of faith and good luck, patriotism, and love.

4.  seashells, seashells everywhere

We got the inside scoop on where to go for a beach covered in scallop shells.  Even though we were told the beach was covered in shells, it couldn't prepare us for seeing it in person!

5.  watching the sunrise with K.J.

I didn't want to walk out on my own, so I'm thankful for a husband willing to get straight out of bed and hurry to the beach so we wouldn't miss it.  This is Sword Beach, taken by the British on D-Day.

This was a week spent looking at "small" things created by God--shells, flowers, birds--and after an Instagram post I saw from Sally Lloyd Jones reminding me that the birds are "careless in the care of God,"  I paid closer attention.  The exquisite beauty of a flower doesn't last long, birds aren't worried, and all the minute detail of a shell at the bottom of the ocean might never be seen were it not for the fisherman dumping the empty shells on this beach.  All of these things are created with care by God, and we are worth so much more than they.  So don't worry.

Back to the Island

We loaded the car on a sunny September morning, working up a sweat with all the trips up and down stairs making sure we didn't forget anything.  I breathed out a deep sigh when we finally made it out of civilization and green spaces surrounded us again.  I successfully ordered lunch in French on the quickest stop we've ever made.  Day one of vacation is off to a good start.

I love having access to big-city amenities.  I feel happiest with wide open spaces around me.

We drive past places I read about in Rilla of Ingleside.  I was going to write history class, but let's be honest.  Most of the history I remember first came in the form of story.

It's a good thing we gave ourselves plenty of time because we're detained at the UK border.  After waiting a while and K.J. being questioned we are finally allowed to board the boat.  After we pass inspection the officer tells K.J. we raised a red flag because we left the country before our visa expired.  Perhaps they thought we left because we'd done something illegal and were running from the law?  I wasn't really surprised to be stopped.  I've heard of lots of people being stopped at UK Border Patrol, and I don't blame them.  But I'm glad we were allowed through because missing our vacation would have been sad!

I am really surprised you can see the White Cliffs of Dover from Calais, though now that I think about it, I think I might remember something about that from The Three Musketeers.  Even my geography I learned in books.  We laugh because behind us France is bathed in sunshine, while before us, England is clothed in cloud cover.  The wind is fierce, and the kids jump in the air with glee to feel it push them back.  I hover anxiously to keep them safe and from running into people.

It's so thrilling to see the white cliffs up close for the first time.

We feel so giddy to be back on the island, reminding ourselves to drive on the left and feeling surprised that we can read all the signs and make small talk with strangers again.  We order fish and chips and find a place to sit and eat.  I take the picture below and wonder why this place is so unbearably beautiful.

After we eat we drive down to the beach.  Pro tip for ordering take-away fish and chips in England:  Bring your own bottle of ketchup.  You'll want a lot, and it usually costs extra to buy the little packages.

I've never seen a beach covered in black rocks before this.

While reading the sign in the village green I notice something that makes me laugh out loud.

If this sign is real and anywhere near by, I have to see it.  Thanks to Google and my accommodating husband we drive through fields into the middle of nowhere and laugh and wonder about the origins of this sign.

 

I still can't stop laughing.

We drive through the Kentish countryside and a spectacular sunset, pulling over briefly to listen to the call of the sea, and if you're James, throw a few rocks.