johnandlucie

Timeless Assisi

In our house, we had designated 2019 as the “year of St. Francis” with a focus on his teachings of humility and simplicity. Inspired by a living Franciscan brother, Father Richard Rohr, whom we had read and met, and respected a lot, we embarked on a spiritual journey where we sought to focus on the natural environment around us, simplify our lives and focus on what’s important. Our visit to Assisi was like a pilgrimage and a highlight of that memorable and meaningful year.

A weekend in Paris – on a whim

We have long harbored the dream of crossing the Atlantic just to spend a weekend in Paris, one of our favourite cities in the world. Coming from snowy Canada, Paris, especially in the spring, holds special memories for us. We realised that dream during Easter Weekend in 2018.

Cinque Terre magic

Perched on promontories along the ‘Italian Riviera,’ between Pisa and Genoa, Cinque Terre is a string of coastal villages that will capture your heart forever. Up to relatively recently these villages, situated within a national park, were off the beaten track for tourists. We hadn’t heard of this area up to a few years ago, despite having visited Italy several times. However, having watched an episode of Rick Steves’ Europe video series, we just had to visit.

An Atlantic crossing

We had never been on a ship larger than a ferry and we had never dreamt of going on a cruise. However, the idea of sailing from Southampton to New York seemed like a unique experience, with no land in sight for almost a week. The Cunard Line stresses in its communications that this journey is a “crossing” not a cruise.

Rocky Mountains sky

We visited Alberta in late May a few years back. One memorable aspect of the trip is the drive from Banff to Jasper, one of the most spectacular drives in the world.

“The Sun” – a poem by Mary Oliver

The video clips used to complement the reading of this beautiful poem contained in the post here were shot in the following locations in Canada: Lac Taylor in Gatineau Park in Quebec, The Ottawa River just east of Ottawa in Ontario, the Upper Canada Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Ontario, and The City of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. The background music is “Quiet Time” by David Fesliyan (fesliyan.com).