Renewal of Wedding Vows and Dinner Cruise

My early to bed last night didn’t work too well….our children all arrived in our room about 9 pm and we partied until after 11 pm. A great time was had by all…lots of chocolate and wine and good times. Seating was limited but we each found a place to call our own. My sister Mary had emailed me a photo of the Bradenton Newspaper with an article on my travel blog in their travel section and we all took a look at the photo and then before you knew it the chips were coming out of their cameras and we were downloading photos from everyone into my computer. It will be fun going through them on our trip.

Up early this morning and by 9:30 am we were all in the lobby to go to Sainte-Chapelle; the beautiful chapel built inside of a royal palace to house the Jesus’s “crown of thorns”. The walls of the upper chapel are stained glass windows that are truly magnificent. A nice way to start the morning. We broke up into smaller groups as we left and Jim and I headed for the Musee Eugene Delacroix. This is a small museum in his home and we were able to also tour his studio that is attached to his home. It is located on a small street behind the St. Supplice Church.

We toured the church afterwards before heading toward the Pantheon that is located near the Sorbonne University. There we saw Foucault’s pendulum showing the rotation of the earth. Many of the famous people of France are buried in this monument that was once a church.

We walked back to the hotel for a bite to eat and rest before getting ready for our adventure this evening. By 3 pm we were all dressed up; men in suits and ladies in dresses. Off to the Metro for a train ride to the Arc de Triomphe and a short walk to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. This is the only English speaking Catholic Church in Paris. Our daughter Mary had made arrangements before leaving home and Father Francis Finn said Mass for our family and we renewed our wedding vows during the Mass. Daughter Jenn even made me a beautiful bouquet of yellow roses for the occasion.

Afterwards we walked to the Arc de Triomphe and after reaching the top we had a glass of sparkling cider to celebrate the event. Then back to the Metro for a ride to the Eiffel Towers area for our dinner cruise on the Seine River. The weather was very humid and we were a drippy mess when we finally arrived for our evening out but we survived and when the boat pulled away from the dock for our two and a half hour cruise we were happy campers again. We did some dancing and enjoyed a fantastic gourmet meal before watching the lights sparkle on the Eiffel Tower as we dock and headed back to the metro and our hotel. Home by midnight and soon to bed….tomorrow’s another day….