How time flies… It’s hard to believe that it’s been 7 years since I picked up my Gregory 36L pack (fully loaded for the first time) and walked those first wobbly steps out of the cathedral in Le Puy. Down the steep cobblestone street, turn left, and put one foot in front of the other…forContinue reading “Hey, 2022, What’s New?”
Category Archives: What Doesn’t Fit Anywhere Else
Hot Meals and Coffee to Go: On Becoming a Hospitalera in My Own Backyard
For an introvert, it turns out I’m really bad at a full pandemic lockdown. I know people who haven’t left their houses or seen anyone outside their immediate family for almost half a year. Me? It only took about a month before I couldn’t do it anymore. Washington state shut down in mid-March. By mid-April,Continue reading “Hot Meals and Coffee to Go: On Becoming a Hospitalera in My Own Backyard”
Pilgrimage in a Time of Pandemic (and Hummingbirds)
This morning I spent a delightful hour talking with two authors I admire, Richard Frazer (Travels With a Stick) and Ian Smith (Stepping Out). They’ve both thought deeply about the meditative and spiritual aspects of pilgrimage, and were gracious enough to allow me to join them next week in a free, public Zoom discussion aboutContinue reading “Pilgrimage in a Time of Pandemic (and Hummingbirds)”
Practicing Acceptance in the Time of Covid-19
Practice acceptance, my husband would remind me when the Camino got the best of me. When the gites were full, the markets were closed, and the rain just would. not. stop. You know, all of the times when traveling through new places didn’t line up with my plans. Practice acceptance, I remind myself now,Continue reading “Practicing Acceptance in the Time of Covid-19”
Saint Roch and the Art of the Camino (#CaminoTuesday)
I’m going to keep it short this week, because we’re diving into holiday planning, and there’s not much time or attention this week for anything that’s not a gift or a baked good. But here it is, #CaminoTuesday again, and the assigned theme is “Favorite Camino Art.” Which, I confess, threw me into a bitContinue reading “Saint Roch and the Art of the Camino (#CaminoTuesday)”
The 12 Camino Books of Christmas
“Books make great gifts because they have whole worlds inside of them, and it’s much cheaper to buy somebody a book than it is to buy them the whole world!” —Neil Gaiman Friends, I don’t want to scare you, but there are just 12 days left before Christmas. (And if you celebrate Hanukkah, you don’t evenContinue reading “The 12 Camino Books of Christmas”
The Worn Stones of a Timeless Camino (#CaminoTuesday)
It’s always the stone that reminds me. The almost concave steps in the abbey at Conques and the bridge in Cahors. The deep dip in the sill of the doorway of the tiny Eglise de Sensaq. The cobblestones worn to a slippery shine at the edge of the Monasterio de Zenarruza. Stone is supposed toContinue reading “The Worn Stones of a Timeless Camino (#CaminoTuesday)”
Almost Wordless Wednesday: Holloways
If you’ve walked the Camino de Santiago, you’ve likely encountered a holloway, though you may not know it. According to Atlas Obscura: “Appearing like trenches dragged into the earth, sunken lanes, also called hollow-ways or holloways, are centuries-old thoroughfares worn down by the traffic of time. They’re one of the few examples of human-made infrastructureContinue reading “Almost Wordless Wednesday: Holloways”
Notre Dame Cathedral and the First Camino Stamp
When we bought round-trip tickets to Paris as the launching point of our Camino del Norte trip, the rolling SNCF strike had not yet been announced. (Or if it had, I didn’t know about it.) I assumed that once we landed it would be an easy train ride from Paris to Irún, just as threeContinue reading “Notre Dame Cathedral and the First Camino Stamp”
A Day Alone in Burgos
A couple of weeks ago (yeah, I’m behind with my writing) I did something I’d never done before. I went to a play by myself. And not just any play. I went to THE play. Hamilton. The story of how I got there is long and not very interesting. Short version: I have been geekingContinue reading “A Day Alone in Burgos”
camino times two 