Visiting Santiago de Compostela

On Saturday, the day after we finished walking the Camino, we went to a government building in Santiago de Compostela to get our certificates acknowledging our completion of the walk. You need to have walked at least 100 kilometers on any Camino to get this certificate and we walked 143 kilometers. So we more than … Continue reading Visiting Santiago de Compostela →

Day Five on the Camino

Weather was beautiful today, clear skies, moderate temperatures and no rain. Unfortunately, we have all had enough of the Camino. Santiago Ways, the company we booked our trip with, consistently underestimated the kilometers we need to walk to get from one city to another. Perhaps they are just calculating the distance from city A to … Continue reading Day Five on the Camino →

Final Day Walking the Camino

On our final day walking the Camino we went from Padron into the city of Santiago de Compostela. We walked 31 kilometers, more than 45,000 steps. That was an insane amount of walking! Here is a photo of the Camino we walked, from Tui to Santiago. This map was included on our credencial del peregrino … Continue reading Final Day Walking the Camino →

Third Day Walking the Camino

No rain today and many beautiful sights. Walking is getting harder though as it is the third day in a row of long-distance hiking, including going up and down many hills. Also, when Google maps says there is a cafe up the street, that may not be the case. So expect some disappointments. I would … Continue reading Third Day Walking the Camino →

First Day Walking the Camino

Hubby and I walked 33,000 steps today, almost 23 kilometers. That’s the most either of us has done in almost 34 years of marriage. Bonus: we are still speaking to each other! Here we are about to begin in front of Tui Cathedral We saw lots of lovely sights along the way. Here are some … Continue reading First Day Walking the Camino →

Mindful in Majorca

The last time I was in Majorca was in 1966. I was 10 years old and was there with my parents and three siblings. If someone had told me then that I would one day retire to Spain with my husband, I would have said, "No way!" The idea would have been so implausible for … Continue reading Mindful in Majorca →

The Culinary Delights of Hungary

Many people I know who like to travel have extolled the virtues of Budapest. So when my hubby Rick and I finally traveled there, our expectations were high. Fortunately, this lovely city did a fine job of not only meeting but exceeding our expectations. We traveled there through a US travel company called JayWay Travel. … Continue reading The Culinary Delights of Hungary →

Spectacular Peterhof Palace and Gardens

I participated in another Heygo.com live-streaming tour this weekend and went on two back-to-back tours of Peterhof Palace and Gardens outside of Saint Petersburg in Russia. I had actually been there before but I think I got better photos on this virtual trip because there were less people about. This was probably because it was … Continue reading Spectacular Peterhof Palace and Gardens →

Photos From Tours of Budapest and Ireland

The other day I wrote a post about this great company called Heygo that does live-streaming guided tours of locations around the world for free. https://www.heygo.com/. I have since participated in half a dozen tours, first on my PC, then on my tablet and finally on my mobile phone. What I saw so far has … Continue reading Photos From Tours of Budapest and Ireland →

Flowers in Bloom Photo Essay

Our Zen Garden Hibiscus beauty is short lived. The bloom is here today, gone tomorrow. Such delicate flowers blooming from a riot of stems Don't know what these pink flowers are called but they thrive in sunny Spain Even our bushes are blossoming!