Milano! You either love it or hate it here or at least that’s what the tourist book says. Milano on first glance is noisy, crowded, busy and dirty. On second glance you will find a lively culture, with people out and about with many things to do and see; even in the middle of…
‘Enlightened leadership is spiritual if we understand spirituality not as some kind of religious dogma or ideology where we experience values like truth, goodness, beauty, love and compassion, and also intuition, creativity, insight and focused attention.’ Deepak Chopra After class today I thought, wow, what an awesome time in world history we live in! I asked…
Melted cheese under a grill, served over boiled potatoes and a variety of traditional meats. We spend our Sunday afternoon sampling the fine wines of the Languedoc. After, our hosts take us for a walk to work off our lunch. In Beziers, we find a park along the River Orb with giant trees for Daniel…
Mom has been visiting our family in France for over six weeks and with Daniel and Angelina’s school schedule, we have not shown her much of France or the neighbouring countries. We decided to change all that and take her to Barcelona on a three-day excursion. We drove the 2 hours and 45 minutes to…
The mayor’s wife sent over a giant organic savoy cabbage from her father’s garden, and along with the generous gift, she told me how she makes her favourite soup from duck confit. Confit is a traditional French dish of slow cooked duck in its own fat. The end result is a…
Imagine finding a statue of a Black Madonna in a cave high up on a mountainside: a relic from a time past, with a story to be sure. Some believe The Virgin of Montserrat – The Black Madonna was carved in the early days of the church, others say as late as the 12th century….
Gladiators were fighters who entertained Roman Empire. They fought animals, other gladiators and condemned criminals. Some were volunteers who risked their social standing in the arena. Most were slaves and despised, segregated in death. If they died well they could elevate their status Built in 70 AD, the…
How do you teach a child the value of money? Every parent has moments of sheer pride and beaming admiration for their children when they accomplish something that wasn’t easy for them. Daniel has been delivering bread from Au Palais des Saveurs Boulangerie the bakery in the square, each morning before 9:00am on Wednesdays,…
Gaudi created Güell Park with the intension of establishing an elite neighbourhood for 60 houses in a setting high on the hillside, away from the smoke and pollution of the city of Barcelona below. The park and its roads were designed with natural forms and lines in mind. To enter the park it is free…
Barcelona Spain Picasso Museum is for the art lover. A little known fact about my past- I worked 10 years for an Art Gallery where I met local and famous artists like Carl Brenders, Terry Isaac and Robert Bateman and participated in signings and sales in the Canadian art scene. I loved my job and…