Rome
Florence
Milan
Geneva
Caen and Normandy
Chartes and Versailles
Paris

 Our " Early Christian Enlightenment” Tour
May 4-18, 2004

On May 4, 2004, we flew from San Francisco to London and then on to Rome. The sights in Rome, including the beautiful Vatican art, the Colosseum and Forum, the Catacombs, etc. were awesome. After Rome, we moved on to the Tuscany area near Florence. It was beautiful! The hotel had a nice room that we were able to use Sunday evening for Sacrament Meeting. With the permission of the Mission President, Lewis, because he is an active Bishop, was able to preside and conduct the meeting. Florence was wonderful, with its many art museums and beautiful scenery. Next, we moved on to Geneva, Switzerland, stopping in Milan along the way to see the Milan Cathedral, and to climb the almost 300 steps to the top of the cathedral. On our way to Geneva, the scenery through France was beautiful and included great views of the Swiss Alps. Geneva is a clean, modern, city with a wonderful park, as you’ll see in our pictures! Next, we moved on to Caen, where we explored the Normandy area, including Omaha Beach, the famous World War II site. From Caen we moved on to Paris, stopping at the Cathedral in Chartes and the Palace of Versailles, the home of Louis XIV, along the way. We spent three great days in Paris which included ascending the Eiffel Tower, visiting the Louvre and the Notre Dame Cathedral, shopping, and once again holding Sacrament Meeting as a group at our motel on Sunday evening. Oh, one final word. Breakfast was always provided at the hotel, but lunch and dinner were on our own. We found the greatest places to eat along the way. No matter what kind of food we had, from Italian, to French, to Chinese, to Indian, the food was wonderful! On Tuesday, May 18, we took a cab at 4:15 am from our hotel in Paris to Charles de Gaulle Airport to begin our journey home. After 14 hours on planes, we arrived back in San Francisco and then drove home to Santa Rosa.

While there were some hitches along the way, we have beautiful memories of the wonderful art, the beautiful churches and cathedrals, and the other sights we saw, and of the 48 people (ranging in age from 16 to 80) in our tour group. We are grateful for the knowledge we gained about art, architecture, and Early Christian History from our guides, BYU-Idaho professors Jerry Hansen and Phil Allred, who were always ready to share the knowledge they had with us.
                                                                                                                               ---Lewis and Dianne Newton

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