(Pete writing)  We slept great. We are at an eclectic artsy Airbnb flat. At first it seemed extra cramped, but after a short adjustment period it felt great. It seems like the owner just goes and stays with friends when she is able to rent it out - so it feels really lived in.

We attended church in the center of Paris in a beautiful historic building. There were many visitors because a BYU study abroad group attended today. I was so impressed by the diversity of the local membership. It was great to be in the minority in almost every possible way, yet feel so united.

[caption width=”900” align=”alignnone”]The church is in the building on the left[/caption]

Once church was over we started walking. Then we walked, and walked, and walked some more. We walked like pioneer children. We walked around Paris for more than 4 hours. We saw Notre Dame, le Palais de la Justice, le Jardin (and le Palais) de Luxembourg, le Pont Neuf, le Louvre, le Jardin de Tuileries, la Place de la Concorde, l’Arc de Triomphe, some kind of giant parade, and probably other places we can’t think of right now. It was easily 10 miles. We are now sitting on the metro heading back to our flat where we will have dinner: vegetable soup, fruit, and salad.

I can’t wait to get on the bike tomorrow and get some rest. My body can’t keep up with the rigors of hard-core tourism.

(Natalie’s PS: This was a “just-right” Paris day with Pete. Paris really is amazing – the architecture, the museums, the gardens. It can seem almost unbelievable. I loved strolling around together. … Also interesting: Along the Champs Élysées this afternoon there was a big parade for Carnaval Tropical, and as we were going into the area we had to have a quick bag check and pat-down by police. There were so many people, it was a bit overwhelming. But it was a pretty fancy parade, very colorful, musical, and lots  of dance.)

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