Travel on

It's been awhile since I've written but it's not for lack of material to communicate. It's more like an overload of material that feels lacking in focus. Ever feel like someone with all of the pieces to the puzzle but somehow you've misplaced the box with the picture on it? Yeah, like that.

The trip to Paris was amazing. Specifically, the vow renewal. Two very beautiful things happened that had the supernatural smile of God on them. It was around 31 degrees when we stood in front of Notre Dame to read what we had written. We stood, faced each other, were ready to go, and the bells started ringing. Very loud, very beautiful, very cool. But it wasn't at the top or bottom of the hour. By the clock, there was no reason they should have rung. But they did, and it was wonderful. The second thing was, when Traci started to read what she had written it suddenly got warmer. Warm enough to notice and warm enough to be comfortable. But when we were finished and we walked away from that spot, it was cold again. Like it had gotten warm in a radius of about 10 feet. I carried her over the threshold of Notre Dame where we then sat and listened to the silence of the cathedral. The kids walked to the top but we stayed inside and talked. Later we had a carousel ride in the rain, a walk on the banks of the Siene, went to the top of the Arc of Triumph, danced beneath the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower, and had an all around magical experience. So good, so God.

Rome was spectacular, and the food in both countries was good enough to cry over. I'm not sure how I'll cope with American cuisine after this trip. I know some have an affinity toward Rome, but Paris felt like home to me, to us. In Rome, I felt like a tourist, which isn't bad. We only had two days to spend there so the first night (which was very cold) we spend getting lost in the alleys and backstreets, turning the corner to be greeted with a colossal cathedral or fountain, each one more spectacular than the last. Wandering into these places where a handful of people were scattered around praying in the dimly lit caverns of art and worship was surreal and awesome. I would live in Paris and visit Italy often I think. We saw the usual Roman postcard montage, the Coliseum, the Vatican, St Peters, Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and ruins upon ruins. It was Eat, Pray, Love as it ought to be.

Now we're in Albania. It's the wild west here. A living example of what happens when a country attempts to embrace both Communism and Islam at the same time. But God is stirriing this nation. Much more to write about that, but I'm out of time.