Canadians in Paris: scenes from the Roy family's pilgrimage to France three years ago. “I constantly had to remind myself that we were on a pilgrimage.” (Scott Roy photos)
Three years ago this month, Scott and I were planning our pilgrimage to Lourdes, France. Elijah had been diagnosed with muscular dystrophy two years before, and we had hoped that one day this pilgrimage would be possible. With the help of friends, we were able to go, a family of eight, with a friend’s teenage daughter, Lucy, as helper. People thought we were crazy for going with all the little ones, but it was an all-or-nothing kind of deal.
I sent daily emails to a friend (my blog on a budget), hoping to remember our time there. Because I’m feeling sentimental I thought I would devote my next columns to the sharing of our trip with you.
We spent a few days in Paris before heading to Lourdes. Who knows? It might inspire a crazy pilgrimage of your own!
My present thoughts are in italics. Please forgive any grammar issues. I was typing on a cell phone. It was late at night. I was with six kids. And it was in France.
So, Day 1: The plane ride was long and brutal for Thomas. (Tom wasn’t yet 2.) Scott had him at the back of the plane for a long time. Good thing he has strong arms and a selfless heart. I got to watch The Devil Wears Prada while he soothed Tommy in the bathroom … Oh, and sip wine. (Yikes. Sorry honey.)
When we arrived in Paris, it was a few hours before we found our apartment. (Those few hours were spent walking, each of us carrying a backpack, hoping we would find the right area. We must have been quite the spectacle. If you can imagine our troop walking down the streets of Paris, people sipping café on either side of us, their tables spilling into the street, staring as though they’d never seen a child before, let alone seven. We knew that there were certain areas to avoid, for safety, or for the children’s innocence. Our apartment was right alongside what was referred to as the “gay district.” We would casually call attention to random sites whenever a lewd poster etc. was in view.)
It’s a neat little place with windows that open to look out on the street below. There are people out there at all hours, and they only seem to start eating dinner when we’re ready for bed! Everyone slept for four hours, and then we woke them up, painfully, and went out to find Notre Dame. It was closed (a major loss in our trip) but we walked around it, got ice cream and discovered St. Gervais cathedral. (French ice cream soothes many pains.) So, we went in and walked through it. So beautiful, but our highlight was the free concert of chant we got to hear while in there. (The cathedral was empty, except for us and a choir during a practice. It honestly took away a lot of the loss of Notre Dame.) It was so beautiful, a little gift for us, I think. God is good.
Day 2: Busy day, kids up and down through the night. We had breakfast (oatmeal-oatmeal-oatmeal) and made our way to Sacre Coeur. Poor Scott having to figure out all the insane directions everywhere. We took the little lift up to the cathedral. The mosaics were beautiful. We made our way back down and the kids played for a while in a little park. They were very excited to have a ride on a carousel. Then we took the metro to the Eiffel tower. The kids were amazed at how huge it was. We looked into the elevator ride up, but the line was too long, and it was too expensive. So, we decided to take the stairs! This was the highlight of my day, seeing Elijah successfully make it up as high as we were allowed to go. He did wonderfully and had so much joy doing it. (Elijah was so happy to conquer the heights of the tower.) We took the boat-bus home to get freshened up and then boated back to the tower to see it lit up. Non-stop interruptions as men approach, aggressively trying to sell Eiffel Tower keychains. The police arrived, and they dropped everything and ran … only to return a few minutes later. Late night. (On the boat ride we passed by the Louvre. Another sacrifice to pass by without entering. I constantly had to remind myself that we were on a pilgrimage and that a family tour would come another day.)
“Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is” (1 John 3).