Day 1

Sunday, December 22nd 2013

This mornings breakfast: a ridiculous amount of croissants and butter. When in Paris.... right? While the rest of our family got ready for the day, Danielle and I walked to The Notre Dame Cathedral for Sunday Mass. We were going to go to a local LDS ward this morning, but none of us woke up in time. Whoops. 

La Seine 

There was an Asian gentleman wearing basically the same outfit as Danielle. So good. 

 

Yes, I sang God help the outcasts in my head as I walked through the beams of light, casting through the stain glass windows. Yes, I pretended I was Esmeralda. Yes, it was amazing. 

I have never attended a Catholic Mass before. It was a beautiful service complete with French hymns and swinging the thurible. I felt the spirit there and was very grateful to be welcomed into their meeting.  What a beautiful place setting to worship the Lord and learn more about the history of the Notre Dame.

Joan of Arc

After visiting the Notre Dame, Danilee and I walked back to our flat to pick up our Mom and little sisters and we went off to find the nearest Market, the Monoprix. All those years taking French lessons did nothing apparently because I could barley read or understand any of the words on the packaging. We just hoped for the best and bought things that hopefully don't have snail guts in them We picked up some Coca-Cola light, which is supposed to be the French version of Diet coke, but it taste like Coke zero. Gross. Get your act together France. 

For my best.

Shout out to Donnell for these cute boots. Merci!

We dropped off our groceries and then we all headed out in the rain to go see The Eiffel Tower. We took the Metro to get there, which was quite the experience. First of all, its smells like piss. piss and ink. Second, there are a lot of beggars and pick-pocketers. Third,  its HUGE and CONFUSING. Luckily, Danilee is good at stuff like this and got us everywhere with only minor mistakes. Shout out to Danilee. Woot woot. 

DJ Dan and Lizza 

S P A R K L E

The Eiffel Tower shimmers for 5 minutes every hour on the hour. It's so magical. 

Underneath

We are saving going to the top of the tower for another day, so we got back on the Metro and headed towards the Champs Elysees. When my parents came to Paris, 15 years ago, they went to a Chilis on the Champs and my mom loved that they were the only place in Paris that gave free re-fills of Diet coke. So, obviously she wanted to go their again, being the addicted consumer that she is. Unfortunately, we discovered after walking up and down the street, that the Chilis no longer resides in Paris. We found a cute pizzeria called Pizza Pina and had a great dinner there instead. To spread some love and Christmas cheer, my Dad paid for a French ladies dinner that was sat next to us. Dining alone, reading a book. She was so shocked at the gesture, as well as the waiters who all gathered around and gave us cookies after for doing a nice deed. The lady spoke very little English, so I tried speaking French to her (I was pretty awful) but I found out she came into the city to see Frozen and eat dinner. So, basically she is the older French version of me. I love that my dad is always looking out for others and always spreading love around, wherever he goes. 

Doesn't Lizza look so cute!?

This Gentleman cut in front of me right before this picture was taken and I started laughing. He was embarrassed and stop to look at me. So, I said come be in the picture with me. He was so cute. He took his glasses off and was blushing and smiled all the way to the Metro. 

Yet again, we got back on the Metro heading back to our flat, and ended up on a stop 4 stories under the city. We climbed a million steep steps up to the street and I was like good thing we don't have to climb the Eiffel Tower, because I would die before I got to the top. Yikes. 

I'm understanding the quote "Paris is always a good idea." is a really true saying. 

Bon Nuit. 

xx Jac