On our last night in Athens, our EF GoAhead tour group took one final group picture before walking across the street for our farewell dinner. I must say that this was really a nice bunch of people and we seemed to get along well. Someone asked how we liked the food, and I responded that… Read More 28 hours to Honolulu
Today we visited the Acropolis of Athens, which includes the famous landmark, the Parthenon. The first thing we have learned on this trip is that many cities have acropolises — this one in Athens is probably the most famous, but “acropolis” means “high city.” I did visit the Acropolis in Athens five years ago, but… Read More Last day in Athens
After leaving Glasgow this morning and several stops, we are finally in the beautiful Scottish Highlands—exactly how I pictured Scotland: cool, green, and misty. How cool? Along most of our ride here, the outside temperature ranged from 11–13 deg. Celsius, that’s 51.8–55.4 deg. Fahrenheit, a welcome relief for our fellow passengers from the blistering hot… Read More The Scottish Highlands
Bill Potter and I are part of a GoAhead Tour called “Edinburgh and the Castles of Scotland,” a nine day tour which begins in Glasgow and ends in Edinburgh. Today’s first day on tour included a walking tour, an art museum, and a cathedral, but to me, one of the most interesting thing we saw… Read More The Kelpies
Over 8 million people visit Fátima in Portugal, and I’ve visited TWICE this year, once in May and today. The story began on May 13, 1917, when three peasant children saw five apparitions of the Virgin Mary, on the 13th of the next five months. The three children were Lúcia dos Santos (who became a Carmelite nun… Read More The Fátima miracle
Back in 2018, I signed up for The Marian Sbrines and Way of St. James tour with GoAhead Tours, and as you know, there weren’t enough people signed up for the trip to be viable. The tour was then postponed three times until this year 2022. Curiously, though, there were four other people from Hawaii… Read More One man’s journey to Compostela
GoAhead Tours describes the “Marian Shrines and the Way of St. James” tour as: Trace the route devout pilgrims have walked since the middle ages. Follow in the footsteps of medieval pilgrims as you make your way through France, Spain, and Portugal on this immersive tour. As you go, admire some of the holiest sites… Read More Wine, dine and shrine!
Yesterday I was getting ready to go practice at the church when I received an email from Mairi Manley, the Administrative Coordinator from Nu‘uanu Congregational Church: Hello Everyone-The medical team and Diaconate met last night. Due to the concern of the active Covid cases, hospitalizations, hospitals at or near maximum capacity, they have decided to… Read More Back to virtual reality
I have just arrived back in Boston with a stopover in Rome and even though it’s now 12:30 am back in Greece, I feel I have to stay up since I will be flying to California tomorrow afternoon. In looking through my several hundred photos of Greece, I thought this home in Oia had an… Read More A musical wall and more
Last night was our farewell dinner in Brussels, a last chance to visit with new friends before we took off for parts unknown. We were at La Porteuse d’Eau restaurant, decorated in an Art Deco style, spread out among five tables. It was so noisy with laughter and conversation, and got louder and louder as… Read More Hugs all around