Marseilles....

The trip was sooooo good, but it is also good to be home. We both LOVED Marseilles. The culture there is much more laid back than in Paris. We did end up going to the Chateau d’If (which is the prison from the Count of Monte Cristo, as well as the prison which held many non-fiction prisoners). The prison itself was amazing walk through. What was really spectacular though was the view of Marseilles from the top of Chateau d’If. It was truly breathtaking.

In our time there in Marseilles, we decided we wanted to take a stroll the beach and stick our feet in the Mediterranean. We took a bus to one of the beaches. As we are standing about 30 above the beach on the side walk, we realized that the beaches in South France are definitely “clothing optional”, yes it was a little awkward. Needless to say, we did not take a stroll on that beach!

After two days there we returned to Paris on the iDTGV train (this is a ridiculously fast train that runs all over France.
We began our trip at point A, Went on to Lyon (point B) and finally made it to Marseilles (Point C), so fun!

At the Chateau d'If...

and yes we did both enjoy a burger and fries our last day there!

the view from our hotel, Hotel Saint Louis

The Mediterranean Sea...

The old port in Marseilles

The new port...and the Pajama Cathedral(I don't know the real name, that's what the locals called it)

The front of the Chateau d'If

The view from the Chateau d'If

At the top of the hill, Notre Dame de la Garde

All of that said... we had a total blast.

Quick Update

Greetings from Marseille

Allison and I just checked into our hotel after spending the morning wandering around Marseille. It is a gorgeous city and the seafood is ridiculous. We were really hoping to get to tour the Chateau d’ If (the prison from the Count of Monet Cristo) however the local fishermen are striking today and have blocked all of the ferries to the island. We will have to wait and see what kind of mood they are in tomorrow.

We spent the majority of our day yesterday with a missionary couple who have been serving the Lord in France for 20 years. They planted 3 different churches in Paris and are now working in south France. Our time with them was extremely encouraging and refreshing. We hope that this will be the first of many interactions that we have with this couple. We were also able to enjoy our first meal that didn’t consist entirely of carbs. (man cannot live on crepes and baguettes alone) The rest of the day we spent resting. It was good to get caught up on sleep as the night before we didn’t get much. Conveniently the Fete de la Musique took place directly below our hotel room until the wee hours of the morning and we had to be up at 5 to catch our train to Lyon.

After a brief rest this afternoon we plan to spend the rest of the evening and the majority of tomorrow exploring Marseille. We will catch the super-fast train tomorrow evening back to Paris and head to the airport Thursday morning.

We will post some pictures of Marseille this evening or tomorrow morning for you viewing pleasure.

Sunday Pictures

HILLSONG PARIS...and it was AWESOME!

Our metro station

A typical Paris Café... all of the tables face outward so you can enjoy the day and watch people passing by.

Our view from our seats in the café

A bridge along the Seine River

Le Mosquée de Paris

Us in front of the Arc de Triomphe

Le tour Eiffel... no pictures do justice to the size and beauty of the arc or the Eiffel tower!! They are both breath taking- to quote a man who saw the arc and said this to his family "this is a WOW moment, I need a sec"

L'école militaire

Pictures from Thursday, Friday & Saturday

Today, in addition to visiting The Louvre and Notre Dame, we figured out we have Wi-Fi in our hotel room......it has been a good day. As promised here are some pictures from our trip thus far.

This is a statue that was right in the middle of our terminal in Toronto.

The view from our hotel... and yes we are staying at Hotel Odessa, kind of ironic.

Notre Dame- We never got to go inside, the line had hundreds of people in it!!!

Hotel Dieu means 'Hotel God', I am sure it has some importance here... I just really liked the blue door.

Typical French Street

The Louvre -archways leading to entrance

A vanity from Henri V house

Becasue the Louvre was once a palace, all of the ceilings look similar to this

In the promenade area of the Louvre

Walking along the Seine River...if you look real close you can see the Eiffel Tower in the distance!

All that said, we have had a blast thus far!

Bonjour!!!

We made it!!! After a LONG two days of traveling we are here! Yesterday we spent some time in the city of Toronto. We have heard that Toronto is very diverse, and it really is. When we were riding the Subway, we realized there was no minority in the car, but rather is was a smattering of many different ethnicities.
Today,once arriving and navigating our way through Paris, we got to go to our adorable hotel, and also walk to the Luxembourg Gardens. It has been a great trip thus far, we are already tired :) and we are both amazed at the pace of Paris. More to come.... hopefully. Internet has been difficult to find but we will post when we can!

Love you all!

Allison and Justin

THE PRODIGAL BLOGGER

We hope that you, like the father of the prodigal son, will lovingly embrace our return to the blog world in spite of our long absence. We also hope that you will not judge the timing and motives of our return……… 3 days before we leave to go to France and, unashamedly, to ask for your prayers as we travel. Here is the itinerary for our trip as of this afternoon:

• Arrive in France Friday June 19th
• Friday through Sunday will be spent in Paris
• Monday we will travel to south France to meet with a missionary couple
• Tuesday and Wednesday will be spent in Marseille
• Arrive in DFW Thursday June 25

We intend to visit mosques and churches in different parts of the country as well as different neighborhoods within the larger cities. There will also be time to enjoy museums, restaurants, wine, cheese etc. I guess you could say that it is part exploratory, part visionary and part vacation. We are really excited about going. We simply ask that you would pray for safety and clarity. Our intention is to blog while on our trip so that we can share some of it with you…we will see how this goes. Regardless we covet your prayers as we seek out what it means for us to be obedient to what we believe we have been called to.


Thanks so much.
THE KITCHENS’

Flawed Logic

This morning I read two different stories regarding the issue of forced marriages of underage girls to men. (Finland) & (Spain) In addition to the obvious reasons to be offended and frustrated with these stories add to your list the logic of the parents. In both instances they claim that this is strictly a cultural issue not a moral one. This is the social norm in their former countries and therefore it is Western Europe that has the problem not Islam.

Even if this statement were true, which I do not believe it to be, their reasoning is bias. If we run out their argument then I should be able to live in their former countries and drink a beer or look a woman in the eye and have a conversation with her. My wife should be able to walk around with her head uncovered. However this is not the case because they would claim these cultural differences were moral issues. I would be subject to the laws that govern their country. In most instances Islam would be the law that governed the country, which I think helps to make my point.

These people are not trying to integrate into the countries they now inhabit….they are trying to conform them to Islam. Sometimes it is subtler than others but it is almost always the root issue of conflict between Western European countries and the Muslim population. They do not ultimately desire equality and freedom of religion. They want Islamic Republics governed by Sharia Law.

I share these things with you not to “get you all riled up” but rather in hopes that we will be moved to intercede on behalf of an already large and rapidly expanding people group that is, for the most part, unreached. I hope that our hearts will break for little Muslim girls that are forced to marry grown men AND their parents who think it's ok. The gospel is the only remedy for these problems. Because it values life (all are created in the image of God), it allows for submission to local authorities (God instituted them, He is sovereign) and because it is the power of God for salvation (which, from what I hear, is a pretty sweet deal).

I would love to hear your thoughts…..all 2 of you who have persevered through our blogging inconsistency.

the kitchens’