Day Two: Cergy

We woke up on day two of our European adventure with knocking at our hotel room door. Daniel jumped out of bed as I tiredly realized we had slept through our alarm. We had overslept about an hour, so we frantically got ready for our first Sunday in France.  This was the day of our vacation that Daniel and I had really been looking forward to, because we were going to go to church in a town right outside of Paris called Cergy. Cergy is an area that Daniel served while on his mission, and I was finally going to meet all of the people I had heard so much about since Daniel came home. I was also able to meet a couple from England that John, Daniel's dad, had baptized while he was on his mission. This couple joined us for two days of the trip. Daniel was pleased as pie when we arrived at the church (on time despite our morning mishap) to find the woman and daughter, Diane and Seraphine, he had baptized were in attendance.

Daniel was even more excited that Diane was one of the speakers in Sacrament meeting. I had such a special feeling in church that day. The entire meeting was in French, but I could still feel such a strong spirit. I was also so impressed by the members. They seem to be so strong and faithful even though their are so few of them. It made me so grateful for Daniel and his service to the people of France and the Lord. I know that my testimony grew by getting a glimpse of Latter Day Saint lives in France.

The excitement continued after church when we were so generously invited by Diane and Seraphine to their house for lunch. My excitement was overwhelming when Diane told us she would be serving pizza, my favorite! It was a little different than the pizza I'm used to though. It had potatoes on it! I was happy, because nothing feels more like home than pizza and potatoes, right?! Diane and Seraphine spoke fairly good English, to which I was grateful. It was so wonderful to finally meet them and get to know them a little better. After spending the afternoon with Diane and Seraphine we loaded up the rental car and travelled to our next location, Normandy.

Early evening is when we arrived in Normady. We had an adorable little hotel in the small town of Bayeux. We decided with the little bit of daylight we had left we would go explore the quaint little streets. The small streets and historical buildings are breathtaking throughout France and Belgium. The streets and buildings reminded me of a Disney movie, the whole trip I was waiting for people to fling open the shutters and start singing an uplifting song! Once we wandered to the center of town, I got my first taste of real French fries. Delicious. I will forever have a hard time enjoying another French fry here in America, because the fries in France are simply marvelous. I walked hand in hand with my handsome hubby until the sun finally set. It was only the end of day two and already a trip of a lifetime.