An Evening Adventure

A bit of a "Quest" to find the Lyon version of the 'Eiffel Tower" as my kids like to refer to it...
It's always lit up at night,
we see in in all our pictures,
we KNOW it isn't far from the Basillica...
But we have YET to see it up close..

So we climbed up these stairs... WOW...
at least they were not steep..
But they put our 127 to shame...
I am beginning to think God put us at the top of the 127, to get us sort of ...
WARMED up..
feeling the burn, and the sun is RIGHT in our faces,
This is when we met Frank...
Frank is Chinese... From China, but studying in Texas
So Frank... speaks English...

Here is Frank... we end up walking with Frank quite a ways... just chatting...

more stairs... it goes on like this for ... well a long time,
I could photo graph every 200 stairs, or so, but honestly,
it would get boring...
isn't Buddy cute!
He is so enthusiastic!

:) taking a picture of me, while I am taking a picture of her... love it!!!!!!

Wow has Buddy got some eNerGY going ON!!!!!!!

He is dancing on the stairs!

Check out the view! We are so high up!!! Up up up we climb this narrow way :)

See the stairs?

Where you can not see them anymore is NOT where they end,

it is where the stairs bend...

too pretty! :)

LOVE this VIEW
TA DAH !!! We have found the Tower! Victory!

Walking toward the Basillica, we see the view... What a great day to be up here.

Looking over the view of the city, before me is the Saone River,

then Down Town, then the next green area is the trees along the Rhone river,

and beyond the greater city....

OO OO LOOK! We can see Bellacour from up here!

And the "twin towered church" as the children like to refer to that particular Cathedral

Look Mama! The Opera House and the Hotel de Ville!

Well our time with M. Frank must end, so we say Au Revoir Mr. Frank!!!

And begin the climb down... Isn't it pretty! Evening is here, is is about 7 pm now..

I thought this spot would make a nice one for a portrait of the children...

the lighting seemed still good... But...

Buddy got the giggles...

and one thing we all know about the giggles

is they are catchy

He is really trying to suppress them...

Princess is so encouraging...

Caspian is just enjoying it all..

Well perhaps another day!!!

Buddy just can NOT stop...

Princess has signaled me it is NOT going to happen here..

And Caspian is just enjoying himself...

Buddy chose THIS spot....

This spot also was ... giggle free :) They loved this spot

They had so much fun with it...

I think their poses turned out well... what do you think?

This is SO great!
It just screams ... I am 10.... I have so much before me.. Isn't life great!

LOVE this one :) Like he is ready to BURST into his teen years... I hope they are filled with wonder and joy for him... He is such a neat guy...

I love my Buddy! He is so kissable, squeezable, huggable, loveable, so very 4 1/2! :)

The kids loved this tree with its roots showing all exposed like this...

I love how they get themselves into position... rarely do I even have to give a suggestion...

It is fun to work and play with them.. I really like this photo :)

Cool Roman Stones Buddy found to sit on.....

Buddy is so super cool!

He climbed up all by himself too!

Hiding in the garden....

So much I could say about this face...

determined

Set

beautiful

smart

Princess

thoughtful

thinking...

flowers in the garden on the walk down to the "rose gardens"

... hmmm aren't they lovely?

The purple is beginning to glow in the coming twilight

a long walk, and someone found a place to rest

a place near the flowers........... smart thinking

Is it me, or do we grow old quickly...

We really are like the flower that fades... our time here is but fleeting..

She was born... yesterday I think...

Tiny, curly haired, screaming, and beautiful....

Where did those arms and legs come from?

She is like this, just beginning to bud here and there, with a long long way to go...

Beautiful, with much promise!

Praise God for promises..

May she have a joyful life,

and a heart full of Christ

A lovely quiet spot along the way...

A place of quiet contemplation..

A place to remember the Saints...

This is a rose bush of some kind and I just adore it! It makes me want to smile!

Loosing light,

but I was thrilled with the way the pale pink of this rose was still absorbing the light...

The purity of it, reflecting the light of the Sun...

O might I be like that... may I be so light, that I too would reflect the Son's glory....

even in Twilight

The boys are off and running through the gardens,

and I am so enjoying this time with Princess KI...

She has lots to talk about,

and I for once have nothing to do but listen...

I am all ears...

Look at the view! from up here :)

Enjoying the chat, I wonder where my Princess will be in 10 more years...

What will fill her heart, her mind, her time, her days...

For now, I am glad we can fill it with Love, Family, Christ Jesus, many adventures, lovely flowers, gardens to wander through, good books, delicious food, wonderful music, and for this season... France...

The boys are finally resting... wow... I wonder for how long...

I like that they like one another enough to stop themselves and sit and chat...

just like that...

I thank God that I was able to capture that...

for years from now, they may cherish this photo...

this moment.. this memory..

I am amazed to see the line of darkness cut across the city like that...

isn't it striking... time to tarry on our way..

It is 8pm and we need to get dinner ready,

Papa has called he will be home for dinner soon!

This is in a caged cave... an artists depiction of Christ... ? Princess discovered it!

Wow... I am not a fan of cities.... but I have had my fill these past two years..

Boston, Chicago, Lyon...

I have to say, I never expected to really love a city...

I think I do... I think Lyon will always have a place in my heart...

We certainly are making memories here...

Walking down the garden... on our way back home

as we near the bottom of the garden, it is lighter, and it looks more like 6pm than 8....

I am so enchanted with the blossoms... I am sure you can tell...

so is my Princess...

We have a lot in common it would seem, she and I ...

I am thankful for this evening adventure...