Awakening Through Love: Click Here for Photos

Paris 2006'

I took my niece, who at the time was 15 years old and we spent a week exploring Paris. We stayed in the "Latin Quarter" and used the "Metro" (subway) to travel...and walked a lot!

Of course we saw the Louvre... Notre Dame...the Eiffel Tower...three times...the Pantheon...the Arc de Triumph...walked along the Champs Elysee and the Seine River...ate "Bon Glace" (good ice cream), chocolate crepes and

many scrumptious pastries.

My favorite memories were of stopping in quaint cafes to have a drink or a bite to eat, shopping for bread, cheese & fruits and people watching.

One day I said, "lets take a picture of anyone with a dog", so we had fun snapping their photos!

These are photos of the Sacre Coeur...Eiffel Tower...

Musee' de Cluny

California 2006'

I went on this trip with myself...I highly recommend traveling by yourself at least once if you've never tried it. The experience is very empowering.

After flying to San Francisco, I took Amtrak trains and buses to Napa Valley, Yosemite

and San Diego.

This photo is in San Francisco.

My angels were looking out for me here...I got hit by a car when I was crossing the street. I didn't see it coming, so all I remember is flying through the air...landing on the hood...bouncing onto the ground and thinking...my hand and bottom hurt. After standing up, people starting surrounding me and someone had called an ambulance...but I was worried about getting back on the tour bus so I could see John Muir Woods.

I spent half of the day at "San Francisco General Hospital" getting a cat scan and upon release, had a taxi driver take me to a restaurant because I was famished. I called my husband and relayed what had happened. He said, "Come home now" and I said, "No way, this is the beginning of my trip!"

I didn't have a bruise on me...but two days later after going on a wine tour through Napa Valley and having a few too many tastes, I woke up with a huge bruise on my leg...go figure!!

I met a girl on a bus to Yosemite. She was from London and worked for E-Bay. I invited her to stay in my Lodge room in the Park because she was going to stay at a Youth Hostel that was 45 minutes outside of the Park. We hiked 13 miles together the following day and biked 15 miles on the 2nd day! It was so lovely there!!

A winery in Napa Valley

Yosemite National Park

San Diego

Zion...Bryce...Grand Canyon 2007'

I flew to Las Vegas with a friend...a vegetarian "organic farmer" on this trip. After renting a car in LA, we drove to Bryce Nat'l Park, followed by Zion. He had to leave for home before we went to the Grand Canyon, so I drove there by myself. This portion of the trip was amazing...I was able to hike down by myself to the bottom of the canyon and stay at the "Phantom Ranch" for one night. The following morning I hiked back up. The sense of accomplishment was very fulfilling!

Bryce Nat'l Park

Sunset at the Grand Canyon

Egypt & Jordan 2009'

I booked my trip through a company called GAP Adventures, based out of Canada and met my fellow travelers the evening I arrived in Cairo. There were 4 Australians, 4 Americans,

3 Irish and 3 Canadians.

The weather varied from the 40’s in Mt. Sinai to the 90’s in the Wadi Rum desert of Jordan.

We spent the first day in Cairo and then took the 12 hour night train from Cairo to Aswan. We stayed in Aswan for 3 days and then traveled for 2 hours by private van to Luxor where we stayed for 2 days and then took the night train back to Cairo.

To avoid paying a single supplement, GAP will pair you up with a roommate, but on this trip there were no other solo females, so I got my own room in the hotels which was nice because usually they were very small.

My first impression of Cairo was of a dirty, polluted, congested city with very aggressive drivers. Most of the buildings had re bar sticking up. We were told it was done that way, because they would
continue building as they

saved enough money to build.

It was a country of contrasts – the call to prayer vs. the sexually suggestive noises and gestures; the desert and the lush tropical Nile valley; the ugly buildings and the beautiful colors of the spices & fabrics. It was
an amazing trip!

I’m not much of a museum person. When I travel I’m most interested in the people, the landscapes, the culture
and the activities.

On the train ride back to Cairo, I went to the club car where you could purchase snacks/drinks and there quite a few people in it. They had music on and suddenly the waiter tied a towel around his hips, jumped up on a table and started dancing like Elvis. He took the towel off and

starting swinging it around.

I went out shopping by myself in Aswan and some of the men would make odd noises when I would walk by – I dressed conservatively, but I think they have a distorted opinion of western women.

One of the issues we encountered were the private shopping stops and pre-arranged restaurants. We decided after eating quite a few "not so good" meals to venture out on our own and the few times that we were able to do that – the food was much better. We assumed that there are kickbacks for bringing people to their shops and to restaurants.

I didn’t get sick with intestinal problems ...very vigilant with my disinfectant wipes...and I didn’t eat any vegetables that
weren’t cooked.

We rode donkeys to the Valley of the Kings and if you wanted your donkey to go faster you would say “hopa hopa”. My donkey liked to go fast...just like me...and every time someone else would say hopa hopa – my donkey would run. I raced one of the guys and
almost fell off.

The Great Pyramids

My first experience with the super aggressive salesmen was at the pyramids. A man came up with a hat and said it was a gift. He put it on my head and then asked if I had a gift for him. A few others on the trip said it was much worse there than anywhere they had been...such as Morocco, Mexico.

We spent the night on a felucca sailboat. They split us into two groups and we boarded two separate boats. There was also a service boat where the bathroom was and for meals.

Four of us stayed up after the others went to bed and we were on top of the service boat talking and noticed it became very windy. We looked out in the distance and saw a huge black mass approaching and one of the workers said it was a sandstorm. Once it hit us it lasted about 5 minutes. It was actually exhilarating to be

engulfed in sand!

The Karnak Temple is located in Luxor, Egypt. The entire complex which spans 1 mile x 2 miles, was built over a period of 1300 years, beginning in the 16th century BC, and is the largest ancient religious site in the world.

This is a portion of it...

This photo is of the Khan Al Khalili bazaar. There had been a bombing one month

prior to our arrival...a French girl died and others were wounded.

The top of Mt. Sinai

It took us about 3 hours to climb Mount Sinai to see the sunset and then about 30 minutes to run down in the dusk/dark. It was freezing!

St. Catherine’s Monastery was built in the 6th century and is the oldest continuously functioning Christian monastery in existence. It is built on the site of the original burning bush.

The Red Sea...actually quite blue

Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan

One of the highlights for me was sleeping in the desert with the Bedouin people. After being escorted to our tents for camping, we made our way to the main dining tent for dinner. After our meal, musicians entered the tent and an Arab man began dancing and beckoning us to join him – I rose and began dancing...feeling a bit like a gypsy. It broke the ice and some of the others got up.

The following day we took a jeep ride through the desert and I asked if I could drive. The Bedouin driver “Mohammad” agreed and kept telling me what a good driver I was as I careened over sand dunes and bounced the 4 passengers in the back around.

The "Siq" ... Petra, Jordan

The Treasury, Petra, Jordan...

(Raiders of the Lost Ark

filmed here)

Children of Petra and Jordan

According to the final chapter of Deuteronomy, Mount Nebo is where the prophet Moses was given a view of the promised land that God was giving to the Jews and that Moses was buried here by God himself. Pope Benedict 16th visited the site in May 2009.

The serpentine cross sculpture on Mount Nebo was created by an Italian artist and symbolizes the bronze serpent created by Moses in the wilderness (Numbers 21:4-9) and the cross upon which Jesus was crucified (John 3:14).

We went to a Turkish bath while in Jordan. It was a steam room resembling a cave where you sit for 20 minutes...come out and are doused with cool water by a squat, muscled man in swim trunks...repeat this process three times...lay on a cold marble slab while he scrubs you with a mitt...pours cool water on you...slathers oil all over...massages roughly for 5 minutes and you’re done!!

I was going to say that this was my first trip to a developing country, but after researching the term, I discovered that 8 other countries that I’ve visited are considered developing countries - Mexico, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Belize, Grenada, Saint Kitts, Aruba, and Cayman Islands. Actually, Aruba and Cayman Islands are high income countries but are still
considered developing.

Peru 2009'

This was also a Gap Adventures trip. After arriving in Lima, I met my fellow travelers. There were 10 others...from Germany, Morocco, Gibraltar, Austrailia, New Zealand, and America.

Our first stop was in Pisco...where the famous "Pisco Sour" originated. We took a boat out to see the "Ballestas Islands". This is a

photo of one area there.

We had a driver take us on this jeep in the desert...sooo much fun....we would race up a sand dune and fly over the top! Two of our travelers didn't join

us for this activity.