It has been three and a half weeks since my husband and I returned from two months in the U.K. and Europe and one month in Cambodia. Almost 8 years ago, myself and three others founded Love146 an international human rights organization which combats child sex slavery and exploitation and cares for survivors. Unfortunately, I was not able to blog from here while in Cambodia but I did blog from here.

After almost a month I am finally getting settled back in. Expect to see more soon…

“So enormous, so dreadful, so irremediable did the Trade’s wickedness appear that my own mind was completely made up for Abolition. Let the consequences be what they would, I from this time determined that I would never rest until I had effected its abolition.”

“If any country were indeed filled with men, each thus diligently discharging the duties of his own station without breaking in upon the rights of others, but on the contrary endeavoring, so far as he might be able, to forward their views and promote their happiness, all would be active and harmonious in the goodly frame of human society.”

“Never, never will we desist till we … extinguish every trace of this bloody traffic, of which our posterity, looking back to the history of these enlightened times will scarce believe that it has been suffered to exist so long a disgrace and dishonor to this country.”

“If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow-creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large.”

My sabbatical has come to a close. Now, to Cambodia…

I think for one day you should bring your camera out for a walk. It’s amazing what you can see in your everyday walk around. Really, it’s magic. You will find things you never noticed before, you will find utter surprises around corners and you will surely find beauty. Below are a few photos I took while walking around Venice.

Piazza San Marco. Sadly it is now forbidden to feed the pigeons in this Piazza (You know what comes with pigeons and apparently there was so much of it it was ruining the buildings!) but luckily these girls had no idea (until about 5 minutes in when the Police came). They obviously came prepared!

After the two young girls where quite seriously told of the law forbidding the feeding of the pigeons, this woman crouched down arms akimbo and waited. I can only guess that she was hoping the birds where not clever enough to realize she offered no bird seed on those arms.

Lucky for me he’s handsome AND amazing.

No, we didn’t ride in a gondola but,

I thought the drivers where cute.

Alter to Mary

Alter to Gucci

These are the kind of wonderful surprises you can photograph when you bring your camera for a walk.

I’m not quite sure what this store was selling…

Tomorrow (Nov. 24) we leave for Venice. We won’t have internet where we’re staying so I won’t be able to blog. We’re back in England on the 28th. I have some really yummy crushes lined up so I hope to post them as soon as possible. Happy Thanksgiving to all of our American family and friends. We miss you so much.

Here are a few pics from our walks around Rome.

Growing up I had four grandmothers. As I grew each gave me something to carry within myself especially my grandma Missy and my grandma Marge. One of the many things that grandma Marge has given me is a love of the Catholic church and a deep belief in the power of prayer, lighting a candle and respect for Mother Mary. Although I am not Catholic and likely never will be, I love the Church because I love my grandma and it is part of who she is.

Jon and I went to the Vatican today. Although there were no candles to light I said a prayer for my grandma Marge who has given me so much in this life.

St. Peter's

This depiction of Mary was a bit creepy for me. Remember the scene in Lord of The Rings when Gandalf visits Saruman? I think this statue might work well with Saruman’s sense of home (or tower) interiors.

The Pieta

While I was getting a postcard for grandma, Jon was in the courtyard of the Vatican and took this shot which I think is great.

A gritty train ride launched our time in Rome. First stop, our hotel. After walking into our room which Jon thinks used to be a utility closet (it is the size of a double bed  with enough space for the two of us to stand on one side) we walked out in to the city. We both have been here before (not together) and were excited to be back (together). After being in a small village, the energy of city was wonderful. We ambled about and stumbled on the colosseum just as dusk fell, staying until dark beneath the beautiful site.

Stumbling on the Colosseum…

As darkness came

Everyone here likes Gelatto

I liked how the Colosseum seemed so authoritative as to frame the moon in the sky

Not a bad first night.

A friend sent me “The Road” by Walt Whitman in an email. I so appreciated the gesture, I hadn’t read it in years and loved reading it again. Here is a tiny excerpt.

Thank you Anastasia.

The earth expanding right hand and left hand,
The picture alive, every part in its best light,
The music falling in where it is wanted, and stopping where it is
not wanted,
The cheerful voice of the public road, the gay fresh sentiment of the road.

I think heroic deeds were all conceiv’d in the open air, and all
free poems also,
I think I could stop here myself and do miracles,
I think whatever I shall meet on the road I shall like, and whoever
beholds me shall like me,
I think whoever I see must be happy.

Now if a thousand perfect men were to appear it would not amaze me,
Now if a thousand beautiful forms of women appear’d it would not
astonish me.

Now I see the secret of the making of the best persons,
It is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth…

Your days become strangely turned when your on sabbatical. Instead of the normal “to-do” lists, pressures etc. the daily challenges have become where can we buy the cheapest clemantines. This search could take at least two hours as you amble your way through a village or catch a train to the next village in search of these perfect bits of sunshine. Or, another challenge might be trying to get one of the old men that seem to sit in the square day and night to smile back you (I never succeeded at this one). You begin to lose track of time and days but you are more aware of minutes (little bits of eternity) that seem so meaningful. It seems extremely meaningful to watch a sunset for a full 40 minutes or to smell your latte twice before you even take a sip.

These are our days in Vernazza. A tiny room in a tiny town overlooking a tiny harbour.

Vernazza – told you it was tiny.

Our room with a view

We came to Italy for 1. the beauty 2. the sunshine 3. economic reasons. We found 1. beauty 2. sunshine and 3. Vernazza is so expensive. Our kind Land-Lady  provided us with a hot plate so we could cook our own meals. You can’t get much better than vegetables and cheese from a local market and fresh handmade pasta. Not bad for a hot plate.

After dinner everyone heads to the harbour to watch the sunset.

and I sneak off by myself…

” Battered and torn still I can see the light tattered and worn but I must kneel to fight

Friend of mine what can’t you spare I know some times it gets cold in there

When my legs no longer carry and the warm wind chills my bones I reach for Mother Mary and I shall not walk alone

Hope is alive while we’re apart only tears speak from my heart break the chains that hold us down and we shall be forever bound

HDR

When I’m tired and weary and a long way from home I reach for Mother Mary and I shall not walk alone

Beauty that we left behind how shall we tomorrow find

Set aside our weight in sin so that we can live again

HDR

When my legs no longer carry and the warm wind chills my bones I reach for Mother Mary and I shall not walk alone

Burn to shine.”

Did I mention our friends are very, very generous? On their day off they took us to Spain! We went to the hometown of Dali which was so much fun. His weird face is everywhere in town which gave the town a very unique feel.

I loved this statue on someone's terrace in the middle of an apartment complex

There was art everywhere

Driving through Spain (and from France) you can see the Pyrenees mountains. We stopped on the side of a road so I could grab a photo. It’s not a great pic but I love how the city is nestled below and the mountains climb up to the clouds.

This looks like a model but it’s real I swear!

HDR

Ahhh, afternoon light…

We were able to walk through this cave (HDR)

Monument (HDR)

South France (almost Spain) HDR

I was waiting and waiting for this couple to leave but the guy was talking on his cell phone! Oh well.

South France (HDR)

South France

art on a tree - South France

Since I haven’t gotten a chance to post since we’ve arrived in France, I will likely post a few things today.

France has been remarkable. We are staying with an old friend of Jon’s and her family in the southern part of France. Their home rests in vineyard covered hills but it seems like everyone’s does around here. Grapevines in this area is what grass is to suburbia. Everywhere the red leaves of the vines brighten the hills. Amazing.

A walk through the village and country roads.

What do you take pictures of in Europe? Windows and doors of course.

Autumn in the vineyards

I love the wind in the leaves

Our very, very generous friends have cooked us lunch and dinner everyday. Food is more involved in one’s life here. Every meal is a carnival of tastes, textures and new experiences. Everything is fresh and tastes of the district it came from. A neighbor came by and didn’t ask what we had seen or where we had visited, she asked what we had eaten since we came. Families sit down to cooked lunch (2 hours! And, never a sandwich in sight) and all eat together for dinner (another 2 hours). It is integral to family and community. Most everything we have tasted from honey to tomatoes we have learned from who they came from, not what store but what part of France and the name of the person who grows it. The food (and wine) here seems to join districts, families and communities. It is something I feel blessed to be a part of.

I will miss.

Soft days,

beautiful walks,

traffic jams,

tea in the afternoon,

and the view from our window.

I’m so thankful to have been here.

Goodbye Scotland (for now).

Hello France…

“Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker,

wherever you’re going I’m going your way.

Two drifters off to see the world. There’s such a lot of world to see.

We’re after the same rainbow’s end-

waiting round the bend,

my huckleberry friend,

Moon River and me.”

As I’ve said before, I’m not a nature photographer, I’m a people photographer. But, the Isle of Skye is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I don’t feel like I can capture that beauty but I’ve been experimenting with HDR. HDR (high dynamic range imaging) is blending multiple exposures. There is no photoshop used on the images below they are simply a blending of multiple exposures. It’s been raining so much here I’ve only been able to capture a few images but I hope you enjoy them.