Paris France Temple

Temple #74

Paris, France

6/7/2017

     We had just enjoyed the beauties of Switzerland when we took an overnight bus to Paris. We woke up in Paris, grabbed our bags, and immediately took a train out of Paris and to Versailles. We looked over Paris on our ride spotting the Eiffel Tower a few miles away. We were excited to see Paris but we were more excited to go to Versailles and see the brand new Paris Temple! 

     We got off the train and walked to the temple, going off a picture as a map to find our way since we couldn't use our phone data as usual. 

     The temple was on a long street lined with thick-leaved trees. It was hard to spot this temple because it was more flat and didn't have a steeple nor an Angel Moroni, and this was because of the building regulations in the area. 

     The temple was still beautiful even without a steeple. Next to the temple was the visitor center where a scale model of the temple was. The front of the temple had no lawn or anything, but between the visitor center and the Temple was a gateway into a courtyard. The courtyard was gorgeous with flowers and plants everywhere including trees with spring blossoms. 

     Amongst these flowers was also a Christus Statue, a replica of the statues in Church visitor centers around the world with the original being in Copenhagen. There were also two fountains amongst all the flowers. Behind all of this were other Church buildings such as temple housing and housing for missionaries. 

     We went into the temple housing where we were able to leave our luggage and then change into church clothes. We were still in regular clothes from our bus ride from Switzerland so it was nice to change. 

     We went into the temple which was confusing at first. They were fixing some problems with the front door and so we had to go through the back and through some tunnels to arrive at the front of the temple. We then did a session and loved it!  

     There was so much stained glass throughout the entire temple! It was a sunny day and so the windows were flowing brilliantly. In the stained glass, along with in the decorations and motifs, were French flowers, vines, and if you look close enough there were also small stars, moons and suns. 

     In the center of the temple there was a large spiral staircase and straight above it was a sun light made of stained glass. We made our way up these stairs to go throughout the temple. The entire temple was beautiful and we could tell it was brand new, along with all the new workers who were still learning yet were all extremely kind. The temple had just been dedicated a few weeks earlier and we were so glad to have been able to make it to the temple while we were in Europe. 

     After the temple we walked to the Château de Versailles, a massive, gorgeous palace. We walked around it and to the gardens behind it. We then took a train back into Paris and explored the sites there. We loved the Eiffel Tower, which was larger than we thought it would be. 

     We then walked around the city and saw other sites including Notre Dame and the Louvre. Our favorite part was the Eiffel Tower and so we headed back there in the evening. We sat on the grass and enjoyed the warm sunny day. There was a little excitement there as we saw a man steal someone's purse. He was quickly tackled by some police and so we weren't too worried there and felt safe. 

     We sat on the grass until the sun went down and the small sparkling light show came on for a minute. We enjoyed the pretty sight and then went to the airport where we found some hard benches and went to sleep. In the morning we got on our flight and headed to our next stop; Copenhagen! 

     Paris was amazing, yet not for the reasons why most people enjoy it. The temple was the highlight and it was spectacular. The Eiffel Tower was also great and wonderful but the temple was the best part!