I'm just trying to walk myself home.
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Snapshots of Grasmere: Hike To Easedale Tarn From my bottom bunk, I couldn’t see the mountains that were visible the day before. No one was awake yet, so I let them all sleep while I got up to contemplate the wisdom of dragging my mom and two boys up a misty hill. “The weather looks …
A Winter Visit to the Palace of Versailles I’m pretty sure there are three main reasons it took me five trips to Paris to finally make it to Versailles: Number 1. My first four visits to Paris were really short. Number 2. On three of those occasions I had children with me who would have whined …
In a corner of a massive gothic church in the heart of Paris is a monument to the fruit and vegetable sellers who, after 800 years of selling goods in front of this church, were relocated to a suburb in Paris to make way for a train station and a giant shopping mall. Until 1969, …
Snapshots of Shopping in Paris Mama was lagging behind as we made our way through the Tuileries. Jet lag had caught up with her on our first full day in Paris, and we all needed re-fueling after a morning of walking and sightseeing. But then, we hit the Champs-Élysées. The Grandest Boulevard in all of …
20 of my favorite Snapshots of Paris! I’m sharing a few highlight Snapshots of Paris today! This is just a little taste of our fab week in Paris. I’ll have to dedicate several posts just to the glorious food we ate, so look for la gastronomie themed photos next! Every time I go to Paris I …
Aberdeen, the third largest city in Scotland, is often overlooked by guidebooks and tourists, and there are good reasons for preferring Edinburgh and Glasgow to Aberdeen. However, now that I’ve lived here for a season and shown the area to countless friends, I would vouch for Aberdeen as a decent weekend getaway. Last month I went on …
Ten Days in the UK via Train Friends, I have been playing a lot this month with creating itineraries around the UK, partly because I am still trying to fit in a few last wanders through the Britain before our time is up and also because I often find myself making recommendations to others about where …
Winter came early to Scotland this year. This snowfall was back in November. I glimpsed the Highlands of Scotland all covered in snow from my train window. The sun was coming up, turning the snow to pink. I was on my way to Aviemore, to spend the weekend with my family and sweet friends …
A few off-beat stops in London make up today’s Snapshots of the World post.
Last week we drove further north in the country of Scotland than we ever have before. Past Ullapool and all the way up to Clashnessie Bay. The bay is a little further north than the sleepy village of Lochinver. We drove miles and miles on tiny roads without seeing any other cars. It was eerily …
THE WAY: Summary Of Writing From Sarria to Santiago Friends, thank you so much for walking this pilgrimage with me! It has been a joy to share the adventure with you. I’ve enjoyed writing about our time on the Camino. For me, it’s like re-living the beautiful days on the trail to write about them. …
On the Camino de Santiago, lots of folks head off to a place called Finisterre after reaching Santiago. There is a tradition of going to the sea to unburden yourself of your belongings. It’s a second and more final ending to your journey. But we really just wanted a day by the sea. So when …
Live The Way: Make Friends Jerry, come and have a look at these girls. They already have their seashells on their packs and they haven’t walked one step of the Camino yet. They’ve already been to the Pilgrims’ Mass! Two brothers, ages 67 and 70, had completed all but the last stage of the Camino …
An ode to the food along the Camino de Santiago! The last stage of The Way is in Galicia, a region of Spain known for fresh seafood and red table wine. We tried loads of new foods on our adventure and we definitely found a few new favorites. The octopus is a local specialty. As is the …
We took our Camino Theme of Live The Way to heart when it came to stopping for photographs. We felt the freedom to stop for anything along the trail that we felt was beautiful. After years of walking trails with the men in my life, being able to stop whenever I feel like it is a …
While walking along The Way, every night we needed somewhere to sleep. A place to lay our heads and rest our weary bones. Sometimes it was a cabin on a farm, set back from the farmer’s vineyard and vegetable garden. And then he would feed us from his farm. Sometimes it was a room with a sunset view …
I’ve already mentioned that part of how we embraced our theme of Live The Way was that we stopped constantly. On our third day, we had fewer miles to cover so we just meandered from one stop to the next, and were treated with wonderful surprises all day long. This is the story of Day …
Ringing bells call pilgrims to the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. From east, west, north, south the doors are open and the people pour in. The church fills more bodies than seats. Folks wander and wonder looking up and spinning around taking photos taking it all in. People start settling against columns and along walls. …
If there is a better-marked trail in the world than the Camino de Santiago, I would love to know about it. The seashells, crosses and yellow arrows appear constantly along the path. You can see them on the ground. They are crafted with mosaics or set into paving stones. They are painted on signs for …
Your credencial or the Pilgrim’s Passport is an essential part of walking The Way. We were told that we would need our first stamp from one of the three churches in Sarria, where we were beginning our journey. Up on a hill we found a monastery, a place for pilgrims to worship and pray, as well …