Paris Normandy Day 8

Today we took a bus tour of Paris.  It was raining pretty hard all morning so some of my pictures did not turn out that well.  We saw some amazing buildings and learned some great history.

Obelisk from Luxor Egypt.  Our guide says that it
was a gift but if you do your research, some pressure
was applied to the Ottoman Turks and the French
traded the Ottoman Empire for a large mechanical
clock that never worked.

Arch de Triomphe as seen from Champs-Elysees

After the fall of France in 1940, the Germans
showed their power by marching down this
main street of Paris.

After Paris was liberated in 1944, Allied soldiers made a
show of returning Paris to freedom by marching down the same street.

Eiffell tower in the rain.

beautiful fountains in Paris.
If you live in Kansas City, the Plaza area
and the fountains much resemble Paris.

Column dedicated to Napoleon's victories.
It is patterned after Trajan's column in Rome.
The column was built with bronze from cannons
recovered from Napoleons enemies.

Napoleons column is built of bronze.
Trajan's column is built of marble.
Napoleon's column dates 1806 and is 144 feet high.
Trajan's column dates to 113 ad and is 98 feet high.
Trajan is depicted in sculpture at the top.
Napoleon tops his as well.

The Ritz Hotel where Princess Diana spent her last night.

parking in Paris.  The blue car really wanted in.

Opera House.  One of many amazing buildings.

The Louvre.  Unfortunately to visit the inside will
have to wait for another trip.

1500's residence of  the King. 
Bridge over the river Seine.

Beautiful old church.  The bells were
ringing as we were there.  Be sure to listen
to the short video.

I loved the dragons and the gargoyles.

Notre Dame Cathedral

Notre Dame Cathedral - this is where the fire happened.
See the next picture for before and after comparisons.
The world raised 5 Billion Dollars in two days to repair the Cathedral.

comparing to the picture above, you can see that the entire roof is
gone and the tall spire as well.

We stopped in a coffee shop for coffee and a biscuit.

Tomb of Napoleon.
Old man in front.

I visited the museum of Rodin the sculptor.
He was evidently a very sensual guy.
Lots of statues with high action.  Now maybe
we know what the thinker was thinking about.

Donna Jones at the flower shop.

Cafe where we ate dinner.
My daughter Alli's silver car.

It was a lovely day.  Tomorrow, God willing, we are going to the War Museum.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - -

I am leading a trip to Ireland next year. If you are interested in reading about it, or joining in, the link is below.....

Treasures of Ireland

July 13-22, 2020

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/ir20071320a17768#eotours

Paris Normandy Day 7

Today we arrived in Paris and began the city tour.

The regular stock buildings of Paris are amazing.

Giant clock at the Museum D'orsay.  It was an
old train station that was turned into a place
to hold modern sculpture and paintings.

I loved these little guys.  There was so much to see!

Hundreds of sculptures.

Paintings small and large at the D'orsay Museum

It would take months to see all of the Paris museums.
 Look at the people in the bottom of this picture. 
You can see how enormous the sculpture is.

Monet paintings

The building itself was a masterpiece.

I ordered a ham and cheese sandwich from a take out
stand.  Very tasty.

Outdoor bronze sculpture.  Lots of nudity in Paris. 
Note the bird resting above.

Many lovely fountains in Paris.

We are only here for three days.  It would take months to see it all.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - -

I am leading a trip to Ireland next year. If you are interested in reading about it, or joining in, the link is below.....

Treasures of Ireland

July 13-22, 2020

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/ir20071320a17768#eotours

Paris Normandy Day 6

Today was our last day in the small towns of France.
We were in the town of Conflance.  It is the place of the confluence of two rivers.
There are many barges there and many people have made house boats out of old barges.

We had a delightful bike ride along the Seine river.
Then we headed up the river to Paris.

A Church built inside of a barge.
Amazingly beautiful!

An old style barge going up the river.

Ahh, the new style barge going up the river.

Beautiful French town.  Note the flower boxes in the windows.

My wife wants to buy this home.

We docked in Paris.  Here we see the tower in all
of it's glory and the smaller
version of the statue of liberty.

Beautiful swans have followed us this entire trip!

Tomorrow we will be visiting some of the Paris museums.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - -

I am leading a trip to Ireland next year. If you are interested in reading about it, or joining in, the link is below.....

Treasures of Ireland

July 13-22, 2020

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/ir20071320a17768#eotours

Paris Normandy Day 5

Today in the morning we were travelling up the river, so I have some lovely river pictures.  In the afternoon we biked to the village of Giverny and visited the home and gardens of the famous painter Claude Monet.

there are many locks along the river. 
The cruise ship barely fits into them.
  I could have reached out and touched
 the wall of the lock.

random French town along the Seine River

We passed another river boat, very similar to ours.

Hotel along the river.

fishing dock and little boat.

The fall colors are beautiful.

we passed many beautiful towns.

Near Claude Monet's home.

Monet drew inspiration for his
 paintings from his gardens.

all of the rest of these pictures were from his gardens.

It was a lovely day for sure.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - -

I am leading a trip to Ireland next year. If you are interested in reading about it, or joining in, the link is below.....

Treasures of Ireland

July 13-22, 2020

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/ir20071320a17768#eotours

sorrow

I am going to take a break in posting pictures from the trip.  Paris Normandy trip pictures will be back tomorrow.

But for now I must write on a different topic.  Something very sad has happened.  A young man from Woods Chapel has taken his own life at the age of 22.  I was his family's pastor for a number of years.

The family, Pastor Robyn and all of my other WCC friends are devastated.

Every time this happens, people ask:
Why?
What could I have done?
Was I not paying attention?

These questions are very painful to think about, and their helpfulness is debatable.
Such circumstances make us feel completely powerless.
I don't know what to take from such situations.  We are at a loss.  There is deep sorrow in our hearts.

Here is what I do know that we can and should do...
Sit your children down.  Tell them that they matter.  Tell them that you don't ever want to lose them.
Sit down your friends.  Make sure that they know how much they matter to you.

Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
We have no idea the grief that it dispenses to those around us.

In your hurt, in our hurt, love one another, hug one another.   Look each other in the eye and tell each other how much you love them.