Charlotte Douglas Airport
Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina really got dressed up for the holidays. The festive decorations made me smile as I transited through the airport on my way to Mexico City.
A procession of the Virgin Mary through Cusco, Peru
There she is: a purple-enthroned picture of the Virgin Mary, parading through the streets of Cusco. A Peruvian friend said these Virgin Mary processions take place all the time. Marissa said she sees parades almost every week. I imagine how much a parade a week would enliven my life and hope I wouldn’t take it for granted.
Cusco, Peru
The Plaza de Armas in Cusco, Peru, attracts both tourists and birds to its colonial architecture, such as La Compañia de Jesus (Jesuit Church) and the fountain in the middle of the square. I love this picture because there’s so much going on: church spires glowing in the setting sun, bird flying, tourist in tough vest looking at the sites, fountain spouting water, person walking past the fountain… More to come!
Raining & singing in the Pantheon
When my mom and I visited Rome, I couldn’t wait to visit the Pantheon. You see, not only is the building 2,000 years old, it also has a hole in its dome. When it’s sunny, light streams through this oculus; when it rains, water falls through. I could see storm clouds building in the distance. Maybe, just maybe, I’d be lucky enough to see it rain in the Pantheon? My mom said she was ready to go. I stalled. “Oh, look at those pretty engravings over there! Aren’t these crosses over here shiny?” Yeah. What I really wanted was rain, rain, rain. And finally, it came. And it was magical. The rain fell in slow, sparkling sheets. Most everyone stopped what they were doing and stared up at the dome. Flashes popped and cameras clicked. A couple umbrellas snapped open. A red-and-white chain kept visitors out of the direct path of the rainfall but many people still got wet. Oooh. Ahhh.
While at the Pantheon we were also lucky enough to hear a choir performing inside. A Catholic church group from Manhattan, Kansas (my birth city!) were walking from famous public building to famous public building in Rome and singing their hearts out for free. So lovely.
Mom, the world traveler, in Paris
Doesn’t my Mom look so cute in this picture? This is as close* as she and I got to famous Paris monuments during what I’ve dubbed our “Catholic Extravaganza Tour,” a 2+ week adventure through pilgrimage sites in France, Italy and Germany. At this point in the journey – the beginning, that is – my Mom was still oh-so willing to let me photograph her. By the end, she was tired of her personal paparazzi. But hey! She now has some of the most awesome and candid vacation shots ever. I’ll be sharing more of them over the next couple weeks.
*We had planned to use our five-hour layover in Paris to venture into the city for lunch. But Air France didn’t cooperate with us. Our flight left DC late and we had just enough time in Paris to transfer from one airport to another, where we caught our next flight.
(Above: That's me photographing while snowshoeing through a snowstorm. Picture by