Travel is a great gift:

Visiting wondrous places

honouring triumphs and tragedies

indulging in local cuisine.

Aside from witnessing

and celebrating diversity,

those with whom 

we share our travels

enrich and amplify the experiences

and are a unique grace and blessing.

My best friend and soulmate

brings her compassion and humour,

demonstrating what real connections

look and feel like.

These light up every day together,

a blessing for which I’m deeply grateful.

Connections going back nearly 40 years

brought us to Krakow

with Gui and Daniel.

Aside from great company,

we shared excellent accommodation and food.

Also the powerful experience

that is Auschwitz

and the concert in Berlin,

all of which were blessings

that deepened and strengthened our bond.

Friendship and family were celebrated

with Richard and Werner.

Our conversations,

the hospitality we enjoyed,

the generosity shown,

along with spending time with Erica and Theresa

again filled our cups with blessings.

Our cruise experience 

on Viking ‘Egdir’

was made by relationships.

The staff were wonderful

and looked after us beautifully

such as Bogy and Karl from Slovakia

Nemanja from Serbia

Alvin and Efrem from the Philippines 

and Patrick from Portugal

along with all of the others

whose names I forget!

An unexpected blessing of this time

was our connection with the Gartners:

Dave, Sharon, Stan and Kay.

sharing lively conversations

filled with laughter and faith

amplified an already-rich time on cruise.

Made in the image of our triune God

who is love,

who is relationship,

we’re most whole, most alive

when connected with others.

Making special moments

even more so.