We woke up today to lots of surprises and goodies from the Easter bunny...or chicken, because that is what comes in France, yup a chicken. Just roll with it.
The Easter bunny/chicken brought the boys baskets filled with lots of yummy European candies and fun games and toys. The boys were very excited...
These Kinder eggs are SO cool. I remember seeing them a lot on my mission and thought that it was a cute idea. Basically it's a big hollow chocolate egg that has some sort of real toy inside. These Kinder eggs had avenger figures in them, which the boys loved. This Easter bunny/chicken really knows his stuff!
Tate got some fun little toys too, this ball in the picture below and also a toy car that talks but the Easter bunny/chicken didn't realize only spoke in French. Ooops. Oh well, a little French talking car never hurt anyone!
The boys completely spoiled their breakfast by eating all their Easter candy, but what else is Easter morning for if not for getting sick off of too much chocolate and sugar?
Even Taters wanted to just chill out in a little bit in a sugar coma after eating some Easter candy...
After looking at and eating all the stuff the Easter bunny/chicken brought, we got ready and headed out of the hotel to go to church. I am so mad that I didn't get any pictures of the church, but wrestling three kids at church doesn't usual make time for lots of photos. Since there were so many tourists visiting over that weekend, they actually had sacrament meeting translated into English in a separate room. Problem was, there weren't any more seats available for our family, so we attended sacrament meeting in French!
It was actually a great experience as some sweet missionaries gave talks and bore their testimonies in French, and it was amazing how even though we didn't understand a word, the spirit that we felt there was identical to the spirit we always felt at home in our ward. There were also some beautiful musical numbers for Easter, which were so touching, and all in all we really enjoyed it. There were also a English Sunday School class and Primary, so it worked out really well to be able to stay for the rest of church. We really loved visiting this ward in Paris, and it was great for the boys to see that no matter where you go in the world the church and Sunday services are exactly the same.
I was so grateful today to really be able to ponder on the resurrection of the Savior and to spend this Easter Sunday here in Paris. It was so special, a memory we will always remember.
After church we went back to the hotel and changed our clothes and headed out to visit Versailles. We grabbed some lunch on the way and I had French Onion Soup for the first time in France! It was delicious. All the food here has been absolutly incredible.
We took a 30 minute train ride to Versailles and walked up to the palace. When we were getting closer I was like, "whoa, there are a lot of people just hanging out by the palace!" Uh no. Once we got closer we saw that all those people were not just 'hanging out' they were waiting in line. Ay! We realized that the line would probably be about an hour and so we decided to just tough it out since we made the trip and we were at Versailles! The boys were not happy with the choice. They were ticked. I mean they will wait in line for over an hour to ride a ride at Disney world but they can't for a fancy palace gilded in gold? Alright so it might be a little boring for them, so we tried to come up with games and stuff to entertain them, but they were still mad. Hopefully one day when they are studying Versailles in school they will appreciate that we took them there!
The most insane amount of opulence I have ever seen in my life...
it was fascinating to see it up close and personal.
It was super crowded. Looks like we know now where people like to be on Easter...Versailles.
Here we all our in front of King Louis and Marie Antoinette's humble abode...
you can tell Tagg wasn't having it still, he was so mad.
Fanciest ever...
Here he is, the man of the house, Louis XVI...
Marie Antoinette's bed chamber...which is interesting that every single time she gave birth, it was here, and that it was a public event for the whole court to prove that she indeed gave birth herself to the heir. Yikes. Who would want to attend that birth, is the real question!
The paintings, chandeliers, gold, everything gilded and fancy and prancy. It really was absolutely fascinating.
Thatcher, Tagg, and me in the Hall of Mirrors. Insanely decked out and beautiful and it was Thatcher's turn to be grumpy...
Looking out over the gardens from the palace...
All the details were crazy. I mean, c'mon now. It was so over the top. No wonder there was a revolution.
I loved the architecture and the more simple french decor...so beautiful.
The fanciest!
We had heard it does this every hour in the evening and until we saw it ourselves we didn't realize how magical it was. Very cool. We all sat and watched this for a while. It was tonight standing in front of the Eiffel tower that I again realized how so totally awesome it was to really be here surrounded by my sweet family and seeing all these sights for the first time together.
It has been such a great day, one we will remember forever. We are all tired and exhausted from the travel, but happy. Tomorrow we will be touring a bit before we head back to London.
