where the heart is

Finally home after my month of wending about Europe and visiting loved ones on the mainland... and i am just in awe of how two very different things can both make me feel wildly blessed. The homecoming is as good to my heart as the venturing forth has been- blessed in my going out and blessing in my coming in. The trip refreshed my perspective, filled my heart, opened my eyes and renewed my vision; being home allows me to run in it all. I'm blessed to have been where i have been, and blessed to have come home again.

people have a thing for hanging about doorways

(Images from Morocco and Malta)

a week and half ago

How can it be that I was in Malta a week and a half ago? Eleven days can take you worlds away...

seeing Sarah

After a couple weeks abroad, it was all the more sweet to pay a long over due visit to my close friend Sarah in Florida. Four days to unwind from my fast paced travels and see Sarah was such a blessing...

line of sight

(Fes, Morocco)

doors

(Images of Morocco, Spain and Malta)

in color

(Images from Morocco and Malta)

England: a walk in the wild country

With only two and a half days in England, you have to really soak up the lengthening spring days...and there are few better ways than to savour a ramble in the Peaks District- England's wild country. Sit outside a rural pub in truly good company, in the still warm golden dusk, and you have done it right.

my trip to Malta + another day in Malta

My few days in Malta were vastly interesting- didn't really know what to expect there and was pleased to find some fascinating history, diverse architecture, befuddling culture, and inexpensive traditional food...all set in a beautiful landscape of deep blue and green natural harbours. The sun even made a good showing while i was there- which i was grateful for. I went to the airport happy with my few days on Malta.

And then i turned around, got back on the bus and went back: the volcanic ash finally caught up with me- and my flight was cancelled. So i regrouped, sorted some options, and enjoyed another sunny day in Malta! I even got a little sunburned i think!

Next evening i finally made it out to what was now my abbreviated (and it was brief to begin with) visit to England....

Moroccan moments

A few moments in Morocco: the city of Fes, and the ruins of Roman outpost Volubilis...

rocking Morocco

From the minute i arrived i have been immersed in a world far flung from the churros and tapas of Spain. Fes Morocco, or more accurately, the Fes old city medina, is a labrynth. A maze full of all things mysterious; men in hooded robes, carved doors opening to tiled courtyards, piles of spices, and a thousand echoes of 1001 Arabian Nights. I have wandered the hopelessly tangled medina and also made it further afield, by way of an excursion into the countryside to see Roman ruins. If i wasnt typing on a french keyboard and having to peck out every disoriented word i would tell all about it! For now just think mint tea, dried dates, heaps of spices, and blaring arabic music. The rest will follow in time.

seeing Spain

Madrid (2)

Toledo

Avila

Segovia

Spain has been amazing- i have been in such remarkable places these last four days!! Above is just a few pics from the trip so far- more to come when the uploading is speedier:) Don't hold your breath. (It may be a couple weeks.)

Holiday in Spain

I finally arrived in Spain this morning. I had a wonderful (albeit short) visit with all my family in South Dakota, and traced the Lord´s design in all the inconvenient timing after all. He truly orders our steps.
Today i took a lot of steps. I arrived in Madrid mid-morning and set out to see the city in one day flat. I didn´t sleep on the plane and the night before i think i slept four hours...you do the math. After walking literally all day, I positively dropped when i got home from dinner about 9pm.
Madrid has more grand old buildings than i supposed, the Prado gallery housed some astronomical number of paintings, the city gardens stretched forever, and the choice of authentic hole in the wall dining options seems limitless.
I made my feet sore but i think i got a solid overview of the city! Good thing, too, because tomorrow i want to catch a train to nearby Toledo...