Camino Prep and info

For those interested in our trek across Spain, whch is now a week away from beginning. 

I've posted up a map  of all the trails of The Camino de Santiago. From the map, you can see the veins leading to Santiago - so it looks like the veins on the conch shell - a symbol of the pilgrim.

We are taking the French route - so starting in France at St Jean Pied De Port..then straight up over the Pyrenees, through Pamplona, Burgos, Leon and onto Santiago. We will go on to the coast after the Pilgrims Mass at the Cathedral.

We plan to do 10 - 15 km a day - sometimes less.. sometimes more.. with just under 60 days - we hope it will be a blessed, relaxed time for the three of us to bond and focus on our future... and to clear the minds.

The camino is a metaphor for life, how you 'do it' how you show up for it, how you handle things. So much learning and so much  peace to come to terms with. I am both  nervous and excited about the teachings which will be handed down to me along the way.  One of the biggest ones I am hoping to clarify is the theme St James Way is known for - that of love. I have done a little research on the various routes and sacred spots along the way and was both surprised.. and not surprised to find that it has a strong feminine energy and pathway throughout. 

Morgan is in charge of the trek - he will be planning every day where we stop, and where we will end up each night. He has been practicing his Spanish too and is really exited about the responsibility.

Please do follow our trek here - I will try to post every second day at least - and instagram photos will be loaded up onto facebook as we get internet coverage hopefully every day.

Italian Fountains in Hyde Park

Such a perfect day today in London.

After some furiously busy times in the museum, I wanted to chill and soak in some sun ( because - shockingly - I am now a whitie!! no tan whatsoever) and soak in some nature.

With Hyde Park so extensive, its easy to find a relatively calm and unhurried spot. We wandered into the Italian Fountains and Gardens and had a lovely picnic on the softest grass I have sat on for a long while.  

 The Italian Gardens are just over 150 years old. They form part of ornamental water garden on the north side of Kensington Gardens near Lancaster Gate. They were a gift from Prince Albert to Queen Victoria. 

Within the fountains there is a statue honouring "Jenner" -- a country doctor responsible for finding a smallpox vaccine. 

Something that the kids loved was seeing the gang planks leading into the water so that the ducks can waddle up and out of them. 

Another sunny day in London

Another glorious day in the UK. We headed to London for the day, to catch up with some more museum visits and to wander some of the magnificent parks...  We took a break and picniced the the park.. I had a bit of a shushie and then we kept going.

Oh and to have another ride on the London Eye.. ( have I mentioned what a fantastic thing having the Merlin Passes have been?)

The line up for the London Eye was well over three hours long.. but with the passes, we wandered to the front and was basically waved on. ... this is what feeling like royalty must be like.