Special memories dedicated to my people at home (Elisse)

For T:  One of the days we hiked to the top of a big mountain, and found a big castle on the top.  At the top of the castle, were the horse stables that were specially reserved for the knights. These knights used to have big swords and javelins. And they used to fight "hiyaa" just like you like to do.


For R:  Yesterday, in Avignon (where the famous bridge that people dance on is), we saw the "Pope's Palace."  In front of the Pope's Palace is a gigantic courtyard.  That's kind of like a park, but no grass--it's all bricks under your feet.  And in front of the courtyard were several tall old buildings.  Probably about 1600 years old.  The building right in the middle of the whole row of buildings that face the courtyard is a music conservatory.  A music conservatory is a school and also a store for music and musicians.  I kept thinking of you while we waited in that plaza (courtyard) because you will start playing the piano in the fall.  Maybe one day you will study in a music conservatory.

For S:  Yesterday after we left the Pope's Palace and after we danced under the bridge of Avignon.  (Originally, the song was about dancing under the bridge, not on it.)  (By the way, look at the pictures and see if you can pick out the Bridge of Avignon. It is the one that only goes half-way across the river.)  Anyway, after we danced under the bridge, we drove to a wonderful old ruin called the "Pont du Gard." This is an aqueduct (ask Ar what that is) that was built by the Romans.  It was built during the time of Caesar Augustus when Jesus was about 19 years old.  This aqueduct is the tallest surviving Roman structure in the world!  It is amazing.  When I saw the aqueduct, and how amazing it is, I thought of you because you can figure things out (like the Romans).  You would have thought it was pretty neat.  Also, you would have gone swimming in the super cold river below the bridge.  There is a picture of Aunt Ashley and Uncle Matt swimming in that river.  Only certain very cool people are able to swim in very cold water.  (Anna is also one of those kinds of people.)


For An:  Today (May 23), I had dinner with about 7 friends of Papa Duck.  These are people that he met 40 years ago when he was a missionary here in France. He has kept writing to them, and has stayed friends with them all these years.  When we walked in the door, they gave us kisses and hugs, and then fed us 6 courses (3 hours) of yummy food.  You would have loved meeting them. They told jokes and stories and laughed and talked!  And the food was so delicious!  You would have loved it!


For Ar:  While the bikers were out riding up a hard mountain, Daddy and I went shopping at the market with Gma Suzi.  At first, we didn't expect a very good market because our guide-book says there is a better one.  But when we got there it was so quaint and fun!  The first thing we saw was a vendor of olive oil.  Then a bread vendor.  Then a cheese vendor.  Then a meat (sausage) vendor.Then someone selling table linens, then clothes, then jewelry, etc.  At one of the shops, I bought some olive oil that tasted so fresh I was sure it had just been pressed that day.  At another, I bought some fig jam and some "real" nutella.  This stuff is the real deal!  It has pop rocks in it!  Of course, I didn't buy it just for you--we all have to share, but I know you will love it!! I wish we could have a constant supply of pop rock nutella!!!


For Aunt Dusty and fam:  After we left the market, we drove by an old abbey.  It was around the corner and down in a valley.  At first we didn't recognize what they were growing all around the valley.  But up close, we saw that it was fields and fields of lavender.  I can imagine how beautiful it smells in June and July when the flowers are in bloom.  I'll bet people get better just from breathing the air there at that time of year.  Anyway, this is what's called a Cistercian Abbey. (You probably know more about Cistercian than I do.)  Driving down from the hill, it was a very impressive sight with it's large grounds and nestled in the hills like it was.

Grenoble France (Elisse)

Garry & I took a nice walk in the morning.  Followed by breakfast chez Dubrez.  Fresh-tasting yogurt and Tresse bread with homemade jam were the fare.  Then, since we were all dressed up and ready to go out, we drove to the hotel in Geneva for stake conference.  Three women sang a version of "O Divine Redeemer" that brought us to tears.  Such a beautiful and worshipful song really added to our Sunday meeting!

With our hearts still tender from the service, we went to visit the "Wall of the Reformers."  It is a magnificent memorial to the great protestant reformers (Calvin, Knox, Roger Williams, Cromwell and others).  Their larger than life statues in relief on the wall are a bold reminder of their bravery and accomplishments.

After a quick picture in the rain at the double home in Chambesy where the Geneva mission is headquartered and where it was headquartered in 1967-1970 when Dad served as assistant to the president, we returned to the Dubrez home for lunch and farewells.

In the evening, we arrived in France.  Checked in to the hotel, we scouted out the town center, looked at our first French Cathedral, then took a satisfying dinner at a local pub.  Several of us ordered savory crepes.  Mine was filled with a mushroom cream sauce and topped with Swiss (Emantaler) cheese.  Garry had a bacon and potato and cheese crepe.

The brief downpour before dinner didn't bother us in the least.  And it was a cool clear saunter of about a mile and a half back to the hotel after dinner.

The first few days (from the eyes of Matt)

Greetings from France!!  We are a few days into out trip, but this has been the first place that we have had internet access.  We have already seen and done some fun things.

Day 1:

Our flight leaving Salt Lake was delayed by just over an hour because of potential tornados in Dallas, but we had a fun time waiting by chatting with Aaron, Nan, Papa Duck, and Grandma Suzi.  When we got to Dallas, our flight to London was also delayed because of heavy rain and thunderstorms in Dallas.  We finally got on our way however and had a great flight to London.

Day 2:

Arriving in London we only had about an hour to make our transfer and it is a big airport.  We did make it, however, and also met up with Garry and Elisse.  We had a nice flight to Geneva with some cool views of the Engish Channel, Paris, and the mountains leading into Geneva. 

Our party was split into two on the flight to Geneva, so we waited about and hour and a half until Papa Duck and Grandma Suzi arrived.  By then Phillip and Giselle, Papa Duck's friends in Geneva had arrived (Papa Duck baptized Giselle when he was on his mission years ago).  We got our two rental cars and made our way to Nyon where Giselle lives.

At this point we were excited to be in Switzerland, but also really tired because we hadn't slept much on the flights.  We forced ourselves to stay awake, however, by going for a walk down to Lake Lucern.  The lake was beautiful and the weather was perfect.  Across the lake were the French Alps and they looked really cool.  Mommy, Aaron, and Nan actually took advantage of the time to go running along the lake.

That night Giselle's daughter came by to visit, she had spent a summer living with mommy's family when mommy was a teenager and everyone had a great time catching up with her.  When it was time to sleep, Garry, Elisse, mommy and I went to Giselle's nephew's vacant flat to spend the night.  It was quite comfortable and we were quickly asleep.

Day 3:

My third day started really early since I woke up at 3:30 and couldn't get back to sleep; changing time zones by eight hours can be really hard to adjust to.  I sat on the couch in the other room so that mommy could still sleep, and worked on my computer until 5:30 when I decided to try to sleep again.  Finally at 6:15 I fell back to sleep and slept until 7:45 when I had to get up.  It turns out that Papa Duck and Aaron had the same problem back at Giselle's house.

It was stake conference her in Giselle's stake so after breakfast back at Giselle's house we went to a hotel in Geneva for stake conference.  Marlese Gurney's brother is the stake president here so Ashley and I met him and got our picture taken with him.  We also got to wear headsets and listen to an English translation during the stake conference.  We were all so tire, however, and it was so hot in the room that we all had a really tough time staying awake.

After church we drove into downtown Geneva and saw the Wall of the Reformers.  It is a wall dedicated to the men who risked their lives bringing about the great religeous reform from the Catholic church.  The wall is really big with the huge statues of the many of the principle reformers including John Calvin.  We were there for over half and hour and mommy and I were moved by the monument to such courageous men.

We then traveled back to Giselle for lunch and to say our goodbyes.  Phillip and Giselle were so nice and provided a great welcome to Europe.

After leaving Nyon we crossed the border into France and traveled to Grenoble.  It was only a two hour drive and we easily found our hotel.  After checking in we walked down to the city center and had dinner.  Mommy had an eggplant crepe and I had ravioli.

Tomorrow we climb L'Alp d'Huez.

P.S. Pictures to come