Spring is well on its way La Rochelle. This is me on our way back from somewhere, walking through the mile long park that runs along the west side of the Centre Ville. Someone at sometime just rototilled strips in the grass and planted spring bulbs. The crocuses have come and gone, daffodils are blooming, and the tulips are just starting.

Last visit with Elder Dalrymple (left) and Elder Tom together at our apartment. Elder Dalrymple has been transferred to Poitiers, but Elder Tom will be here for a while. We just finished dinner, and they are helping with the dishes.

What are all these people doing in La Rochelle? And why are all the kids and a lot of the adults dressed up in costumes? Well, this was "Carnaval", a huge parade which began in two different areas of the city and converged on the port area. There were bands, small floats, balloons, and literally thousands of young kids just walking or riding bikes, dressed up as favorite story characters and having a good time.

One of the leading things in the parade - a stick man with moveable legs, head , and arms. He was rolled through the streets with people controlling the motion of the body. I'm not sure what he represented, but the style of clothing looks like 16th or 17th century. I can't even begin to guess how many people were along and in the parade route, but there must have been in the tens of thousands. The whole downtown and main roads were packed.

Several groups of people (especially with large numbers of small children) paraded with push or pull type wagons with themes built around Disney movies. This one was one of our family favorites, Robin Hood as a fox and bad King John as a bumbling lion. I'm sure you have all seen that one.

Can you believe this lobster balloon? They carried this through the main streets of the town, then took it into the narrow maze of narrow roads through the old city. I don't know how they managed it from here out, but I didn't hear any sudden pops or explosions!

This drum band was impressive! You could hear them coming from half a mile away, and right next to them it was like thunder breaking overhead. They walked for miles, and I don't remember ever hearing them take a break.

These little kids had a good time near the end of the parade, gathering up confetti and throwing it at everyone. The girl in red at the front was just gearing up to unload on a 60 year old facing away from her. Everyone had a good time!

We're back in Paris. This is a cathedral (St. Merri) built between 1530 and 1560, only 40 years after Columbus discovered America. I've taken lots of photos of cathedral interiors, but never before had I seen someone at the organ practicing. The actual organ pipes are far at the other end, and the sound resonated throughout the building.

This is the front of the Paris Mission home and office. It is in a quiet suburb of Paris, and has been owned by the church for many years. I took this just before walking to the train station to go to a zone conference. We stayed there overnight with the mission president and his wife, President and Sister Staheli.

This is a "dovecot", a building built many years ago to house pigeons or doves. People used them to provide doves and eggs for meals. There is a door in the back (you have to climb up the ladder to get to it) to get in to gather eggs etc. These are considered historic buildings and you aren't allowed to tear them down or remove them. This one at the mission home is much nicer than the standard simple stone ones in the country.

Just a quick view inside the dovecot. You can see some of the nesting boxes, and the slits in the wall to allow the doves and pigeons to get in and out. This one is slowly deteriorating, and the door is about half gone, but the main structure is still intact.

This is an RER train station near the Paris Mission home. The city is Le Vesinet, and it is out far enough that there is no Metro line, so they have trains that run every 20 minutes to take people into the city.
The house across the street is typical of upper scale housing in the 1700s and 1800s in France. We haven't been any homes like this, but hope to visit one someday.

Ste. Eustache Cathedral in Paris. It looks nothing like Notre Dame, except for the flying buttress architecture to give strength to the walls. There is a park nearby, and many people were out enjoying the spring weather.

Just before we entered the Metro system to head for our train, we took a walk through a park in the Les Halles area of Paris. The flowers were in full bloom and beautiful.

How's this for a spring bouquet? This is a closeup of the flowers in the previous picture at Les Halles. We enjoyed taking our time to wander through this area and enjoy the natural beauty.

We've been impressed with how the streetsides and parks are so beautifully organized and planted.

End of the day near the La Rochelle "plage" (beach). We went for a walk in the late evening and waited for the last rays of the sun to sink below the coastline. If you look closely, you can see Liz on the far left, standing near the sand and watching the light on the ocean.