Day 2 in and around Paris

My second day in Paris started off slowly. Everybody was busy away at work or doing other things, so I had a nice quiet morning and was able to take the time to read, pray, relax and enjoy the cherry tree in the garden. I was told the pink flowers only stay for about 8 days so I came just in time. Then I had lunch with Mrs. Pinson. That was very nice as we talked about a lot of things that I thought were important, and I was able to share about my work and things I have been experiencing lately. When Raphael got back we decided to go for a drive and then walk in a forest where there are really big rocks where people learn to climb. So off we went...

One thing I noticed was that in every little town we approached we seemed to always be greeted by a church or a castle. That's just the impression I got. Here are some pictures:

This was in "Chevreuse"; on top you can see the chateau de la Madeleine. I guess the white lady here is Madeleine. This castle can pretty much be seen from different parts in town.

Like here....

...and here. Their website has nicer pictures that weren't taken from a car.

Then we drove by "St Forget les Sablons"... I didn't see the Sablons, so as I can't remember them I won't be able to forget them either... haha... ok, sorry, never mind. We stopped to look at a house and a church. There was a graveyard next to the church that gave me a bit of an unpleasant kind of feeling when I walked in, but I loved the pebbles! And the gates.

Nice....

Then we drove to Dampierre-en-Yvelines. They also have a lovely chateau that is inhabited by I don't know who. I wonder what their kitchen looks like.

Le chateau de Dampierre

Dampierre-en-Yvelines

It was here in Dampierre-en-Yvelines were we went for a walk in the forest.

This is really a nice place to paint if you are into painting. A lot of different kinds of greens here.

This was the first big tree I saw. It stands almost in the middle of the path, with arms open wide as if ready to give you a warm welcoming hug... really.

There were a lot of little flowers along the path. Raphael picked some flowers to give to his grandmother. He had called her to ask if we could have dinner with her.

The only picture I was able to get of the deer.

By the time we got to the really big rocks I was a bit tired and forgot to take pictures of them. But this is sort of what they looked like except they were much bigger. Here is a nice gallery where you can see the really big rocks if you want to.

Then we headed off to the centre of Paris where the grandmother lives. We kind of got lost but Raphael knew we had to go North, so we used a compass to get there... I kid you not.


A little one as well, but it was useful. The funny thing was that we could see the highway going to Paris but we kept zig-zagging over the highway and didn't manage to get on it. We made it about an hour late, but she was happy to see us. She also told me about her childhood and what things were like before the war, during the war and after the war. Really fascinating and when we left I kept thinking to myself how I don't understand how some people can deny that the holocaust ever happened. I also thought about how I never got to meet any of my grandmothers, and about how precious and wise they can be. I sometimes wonder what they looked like and if I resemble any of them. Anyway, as you can see and read, my second day was great. It was relaxing, I got to see great things, and hear interesting stories about the past. I was beginning to feel like the Lord was not only walking with me though it all, but had already been there and would also meet me the next day.