A game of Petanque When we were planning the trip along the coast from Barcelona to Antibes, Keith thought about hiring a car and we would have a leisurely drive, town to town. But the cost to return a car in a different country from where it was rented was too expensive. So we sat in a comfy train seat and enjoyed the view! When ever we passed the sections of highway, I had to laugh to myself, thinking of how the drive might had been, with me "nagivating"! As we got near to Arles, the country side outside the window turned into familiar undeveloped salt marsh. But then the flamingos wading in the lagoon reminded us that we weren't riding by the intracoastal waterway! Our destination of Arles, is at the extreme northern boundary of ... read more

The town of Oswiecim, Poland is just 50 kilometers from Krakow. It's brick barracks were built before the second World War, as barracks for the Polish Army. This little village, has grown into a small town over the last 65 years. And each day thousands of people from literally all over the world find their way here. To see for themselves, and to remember those that died. The numbers of the victims are subject of controversy. But this facility claims more victims of the Nazis, than any other such camp. It was built for slave labor and for extermination. Now the memorial and museum at Auschwitz-Birkenau stands as a reminder. Memorial plagues at Birkenau state in 21 languages "...let this place be a warning to humanity..." 21 countries have victims in Auschwitz-Birkenau. In his book, "Night" ... read more

I would love to be so elegant a writer to be able to explain the meaning of such a place as the Ossuary of Sedlec, near Kutna Hora. Or have the ability to photograph these sculptures made of human bones, so that you could clearly see the meaning in them. The little booklet states that "This work is not an end in itself; for decades, it has reminded visitors of the limits of human life and the fact of death. This fact is intended to lead to mutual harmonic coexistence and to respect for life and to make people aware of their responsibility to God." From a modern point of view, besides being unbelievably beautiful, it is a recycling marvel! A trip to the town of Kutna Hora had been on our to do list for ... read more

This past weekend, we took the train up to Warsaw. We feel obliged to make a visit, being that we are temporary Polish. And this is Poland's capital for the past 400 years. It was first in Krakow. At the top of this entry is a photo of the Jewish Cemetery, it was the only deserted place we were in during the time in Warsaw. This is a very alive, busy city. We were impressed by the size of this cemetery, with the snow highlighting the tops of the grave stones, it seemed to go on indefinately into the woods. If you are considering touring Europe, don't be put off from traveling in the winter. Even though it may be cold, there are fewer tourists. Had there not been snow to cover the graves and ... read more

Her voice is calm and seductive, "Recalculating, recalculating, make a legal u-turn at the first available opportunity..." Even so, after awhile it does get annoying, to the point we turned off sound volume... We nick-named this marvel of technology "Inga". Since there were three of us on this trip, I thought it would be nice for you to read Kate's version of "Inga", the rental car's GPS... "Keith, being Keith, had done an exceptional job of planning the trip. Exceptional. From the places we would go, to where we would stay, and to how we would get there. Being ever practical, as well as printing maps, he rented us a new best friend for the journey... Inga! She was our Neverlost, and provided us a constant source of information as we drove from one spot to ... read more