Scars...

Rozie thought of scars as  visible reminders
 of where we've been healed.


As opposed to wounds which are all about the pain we suffer now.

Scars  mark what we've been through
 and how we've moved on.

They're about getting from a painful place to a peaceful place.

Moments...

Rozie started to see things that she'd previously glossed over,
or driven past, on the way to somewhere important.
She began to open up to the little moments
 that are just there waiting to greet your heart
with beauty and wonder.
Moments that offer a glimpse of the misty centre of the woods,
 all quiet and majestic in the morning light,
still with ancient time.
she wondered at the potential for beautiful moments...

Driving in Assisi....

What with driving on the other side of the road...
 and driving on the other side of the car...
Mother Superior declared...
"It's all very well if your a man and have that gift of spatial awarenes!"

Train Tickets....

After all the hastle with tickets and money and not having things explained,
there's nothing like a bit of,  'Ita' and 'The Weekly" to settle the nerves.

Shopping...

We enjoyed the shopping, and also the looking.
Some of the shops are like exquisite little treasure chests.
The craftsmanship is superb...
The stand outs were Venice, The markets of Florence, and Paris.
Our cases are packed to the gunnel's.

Trouble In Paradise...

After an evening in town and a late night stroll,

around the tranquil streels of Lido, (a resort island of Venice)....

" Well it's no good sitting around doing nothing"
she exclaimed....to Rozie who was sitting around doing nothing!




After waking the neighbours, and practically waking the dead, we were saved by a dear French couple who got the door open.
We're not used to locks with 4 bolts and a latch...so much turning to the left. Then a nifty sort of pull and shove at the end


Steffano (the proprieter), was just bemused, and noted
 "that it's different in Australia....It's practically boring."

The Beach On Lido....

Lido is amazing for it's relaxed and gentle atmosphere,
It's been so hot, really hot.
The women here are mostly brown, and thin.
However there's still an amount of sagging flesh, and the odd plump body.
But they all still wear bikini down to the beach and also to the bar on the beach.
It's quite liberating and freeing, that no one bats an eyelid.

Some Things Never Change...

More life lessons from the big trip.

Roma...

Thankfully the next stop was Rome.

When we started in Rome,
our hotel 'Selene', had a deal going with a near by restaurant - 'Cotto'.
The manager was a bit stand offish at first, well lots of rules for this and that.
One table for drinks, another for dinner (musical chairs),
 but he was OK in the end, and we enjoyed the food and of course the 'Prosecco'.

Back Again....

It's been a while, and Rozie and Mother Superior are finally back from the 'big trip abroad'.
Lots of stories to tell, lots of reflections to be shared, so here we go....

The minute we landed in Quatar, it was apparent that it's a mans' world.
Men in white, women in black.
Men face exposed, women face covered.
Men in front, women behind.
Men looking at women, women not making eye contact.