Skip to main content

31 Days: My Most Memorable Trip




My most memorable trip was the three weeks I spent in Europe in 2013. It was my 50th birthday present to myself. That year, I wrote about it for 31 Days. It was a dream come true and I've dreamed of going back ever since, especially to Paris. The photo above was the first time I laid my eyes on Notre Dame. The next time I go back, I'm going to attend a service there.


Can you imagine worshiping God every Sunday in the splendor?




Our first stop was London. I can't believe we were this close to Kensington Palace, the home of William and Kate.



We also saw Windsor Castle, where the Queen spends her weekends.



Stonehenge was amazing.



My sister and I were talking at dinner tonight about the burgers at this restaurant. They were so good we ate there twice in one week.



We took the train to Paris and I fell in love with that city. Both my sister and I feel at home there. We were so excited when we had our DNA tested and it said we were western European. We took that to mean our ancestors came from France and that explained why we are so drawn to the City of Lights.



We toured Monet's gardens at Giverney.



And we visited Versailles.




We climbed to the top of Notre Dame.



And we saw the Mona Lisa.


We took the train to Florence and saw Brunellesschi's Dome.



And I rode in a gondola in Venice.





We then made our way to Rome.




I made a wish at Trevi Fountain.



 I was moved by this statue at St. Peter's.  



I couldn't believe how long the Colosseum has been standing.



And the oculus of the Panthenon was spectacular.


This trip was some of the best weeks of my life. I can't wait until I get to travel to Europe again. I have books, DVDs, and journals full of notes of the places I want to see. I watch every episode of House Hunters International to take me on mini trips until I can take my next real one. I'm sure it will be as memorable as those three weeks across the ocean.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Five Minute Friday: Time

Five Minute Friday is a writing event that has writers spending five minutes writing on the same topic and then sharing them at http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ . This week's word is Time. Sometimes time feels like this, like we are in it. Standing inside it, watching life pass by. It is so easy to get stuck in a time - in our pain, in our hurt. We hear the ache tick away in our head like a giant clock. Time, instead, is a gift. More time with family, more time to accomplish goals, more time to see the world. When you are hurting, it seems like time takes forever. One day turns into another day, turns into another day. When we hate a job, the five days of time that make up a work week seem to go on forever. But those five days are also a gift. Because these days, a job is not a guarantee. I want to see time as gift, not as a chore. I want to be on the other side of it, wishing there was more of it. Making the most of every hour, minute, and second instead of

Five Minute Friday: Roots

Lisa-Jo Baker (lisajobaker.com) hosts a weekly event on her blog called "Five Minute Friday". The rules are 1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. 2. Link back here and invite others to join in. 3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.. So here's my first try at this. Today's topic was Roots. Roots – I think about my grandparents who lived on a farm until my grandfather’s diabetes worsened and they moved to a town with a hospital nearby. My father still says he wished he could have kept that farm. I think of my grandmother who was a widow for 20 years. Every year she would stand over my PaPa’s grave, wishing she was with him. I think of my parents, a product of those grandparents, how hard my father worked to put 2 girls through

Five Minute Friday: Dwell

Five Minute Friday is a writing event that has writers spending five minutes writing on the same topic and then sharing them at http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ . This week's word is Dwell. I have thought about this word a lot - where should I dwell. After my divorce, I had a big decision to make - did I buy X's half of the house and continue to dwell where I had for the past 15 years or did I sell and move to a new dwelling. After crunching numbers and weighing my options, I decide to stay in the house we had bought together. Because, when it came right down to it, I loved my house. I felt safe there. I try not to dwell on the sadness that happened in this place but instead try to dwell on making it my own. I have painted rooms in colors X would have never agreed upon, I have bought artwork that he would never have hung. I want to dwell in a place that reflects who I am. When the yard is full of weeds and the basement full of water, I long to dwell in