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November 2011

BlogLink-worthy travel piecespersonalreflectiontravelwriting

Rick Steves’ most spiritual places in Europe — and one of my own!

by Renae

With credit to Wikipedia

Here’s another travel piece worth sharing: Rick Steves’ “Five Most Spiritual Places in Europe.”

From his list, I’d most like to visit Assisi, as I have felt a strong connection to St. Francis from my elementary school years, when I attended a Catholic school in Philadelphia.

I loved being in church singing the song:

Make me a channel of your peace;
Where there is hatred let me please sow love;
Where there is injury, your pardon Lord;
Where there is doubt, true faith in You.

The Sarah McLaughlin version is my favorite; listen to the sample on Amazon and see for yourself!

I’d also like to add a visit to Chartres to my list. I would like to drive toward the town and see the church TOWERING in the far distance, in the same way that pilgrims would have seen it back in medieval times.

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BlogLink-worthy travel piecespersonalreflectiontravelwriting

The stuff MY travel dreams are made of

by Renae

Where shall I go today?

Wow — this article called Living in Paris – The Great Escape reads like the life of my dreams!

But wait — it’s not that I want to “escape” and leave my “hum-drum” life behind; that’s not what motivates me. By this stage in life, I’ve learned that the chickens are NOT always fatter, the bugs are NOT always fewer, and the heat is NOT always less blistering on the “other side.” Whatever problems I have now will surely follow me no matter where I live, as “where I live” is not really the issue; where I live and what I do are not what drive me to want to travel.

In fact, just today I read and shared on my Facebook wall a quote by Dale Carnegie that speaks to this very matter:

“It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing, that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.”

What drives me to travel is the desire to EXPERIENCE and SEE the world! I want to learn about other cultures … experience life as others experience it … meet people who live differently than I do. I want to SEE, HEAR, SMELL, TOUCH, and TASTE the world!

My “hum-drum” life will come with me, I’m sure. I’ll still be working as a freelance writer and editor. I’ll still have my loved ones–my husband and kids–by my side. I’ll still be “me” inside, but I’ll be that person and do those things with the people I love, but somewhere else!

Oh, reader, let me tell you, when I read this article, I almost swooned, so strong is the desire to travel. I could absolutely imagine doing the things the author wrote about:

  • Visiting out-of-the-ordinary places
  • Savoring, sipping, shopping!
  • Strolling cobblestone streets
  • Retiring where life is affordable, the bread and wine cheap and plenty 🙂
  • Strolling farmer’s markets to hear the sounds of a tongue I barely know or am just learning
  • Buying health insurance for $1,500 a year?!? (That one is a bit hard to imagine!)
  • Darting to the beach one weekend, and across the Pyrenees (with a stop for skiing!) on the way to Spain the next

And it’s not just Paris I’m interested in. I’d like to experience life in many places, too many to name. I imagine doing home exchanges in the summers, when the kids are off from school, spending a month or two in another country while another family spends the time in our home here in the States.

Ah, yes….

This is the stuff that MY dreams are made of…. 🙂

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AsiaBlogChinapostcards

Miao-style House in China

by Renae

Diaojiaolou in China

I received this interesting postcard as the result of a direct swap. It shows a Miao-style house, called Diaojiulou. On the back is says, “The Diaojiao House with Hills behind and River in Front.”

From the web: “The Miao-style Houses are of wood and high above ground. Each has several wood pillars as support. Therefore, it is called “Diaojiaolou” in Chinese. Homes are usually two to four storeys. Upper layer is used to store the provisions; people live in the middle; while fowls are sheltered under the house. An ethnic minority museum was built in this village where some ancient ethnic cultural relics are exhibited. Seen from a distance, the whole village looks like a mirage.” (Check it out at http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/guizhou/kaili/langde.htm — some interesting photos and cultural info there!)

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BlogColleges and UniversitiesEuropepostcardsUnited Kingdom

King’s College, Cambridge University

by Renae

King's College, Cambridge University

This lovely card comes via a swap. On the back, the sender shared lots of great information!

*Founded in 1411 [Wow!]
*Formal name is The King’s College of Our Lady of St. Nicholas in Cambridge
*Until 1865, was specifically for boys from Eton College
*The building in the middle is King’s College Chapel, an example of late Gothic architecture built in three stages over a period of 100 years (1446 – 1531)
*Inside the chapel is the painting “The Adoration of the Magi” by Rubens

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