Breakfast was early on Thursday, because Father Dan from our group would be the main celebrant at the English mass, and we wanted to get there in time to get a seat up front. We arrived more than an hour early, at which time worshippers were entering the church for the German mass. Neither JoAnn nor I understands German, but we went in and stayed for the mass. Continue reading Medjugorje Blog Day 5 – May 12, 2016
Medjugorje Blog Day 4 – May 11, 2016
The long walk the night before was very hard on my bladder, but fortunately, I had my medication with me. I took a pill during the night but I knew I would be unable to participate in the morning’s activities. Continue reading Medjugorje Blog Day 4 – May 11, 2016
Medjugorje Blog Day 3 – May 10, 2016
Tuesday began with a big breakfast: scrambled eggs, cheese, cold cuts, toast, various jams, and Nutella. It is so easy to fill your plate when all the food is put in front of you, and you don’t have to do any of the preparing or the cleaning up! Continue reading Medjugorje Blog Day 3 – May 10, 2016
Medjugorje Blog Day 2 – May 9, 2016
It was a short hop from Munich to Sarajevo. Once there, we were joined by our tour guide, Ivanka, who would accompany us for the duration of our time in Bosnia. We settled in for the three hour bus ride. We passed many open fields, some farm animals, many houses that were in disrepair and some that were being rebuilt. Continue reading Medjugorje Blog Day 2 – May 9, 2016
Medjugorje Blog Day 1
Before the Journey Part 2
Then came April, the month in which Nick and I would have our medical check-ups. Continue reading Medjugorje Blog Day 1
Before the Journey
In February of 2016, I received a phone call from my cousin JoAnn. As children, JoAnn and I saw each other often, because our mothers were sisters. Continue reading Before the Journey
Day 9: Friday March 25, 2016
In order to get our 6 AM flight, we left for the airport at 3. Our cab arrived promptly. Nick told me that he was going to check our tickets to find out the number of the flight’s terminal. The driver said, “Excuse me, sir. We are a small country. We have only one terminal.”
Our flight home was turbulent, but our ride home from Newark Airport back to Connecticut was placid. We have lovely photos and memories of Costa Rica. ¡Pura Vida!
Here are the Photos of our trip! http://pisarro.org/CostaRica2016
Day 8: Thursday March 24, 2016
The highlight of the morning was to be a visit to Manuel Antonio National Park, a nature habitat for the white face monkey, the rare squirrel monkey, and many tropical birds.
Day 7: Wednesday March 23, 2016
We began returning eastward. Our bus took us through cattle ranches, which we found fascinating. At home, all the cattle are of the same breed, while here, many different breeds of cattle graze together. Continue reading Day 7: Wednesday March 23, 2016
Day 6: Tuesday March 22, 2016
I awoke fully congested, but I was determined not to let that keep me from any of the day’s activities. Luckily, this day was to be spent completely at the resort. Continue reading Day 6: Tuesday March 22, 2016
Day 5: Monday March 21, 2016
We left Arenal Springs and went west, stopping at Mistico Hanging Bridges, a series of fifteen suspension bridges interspersed through a private park in the rainforest. Our tour members had a choice between four activities. 
We could remain at the entry and enjoy the view of Arenal Volcano, or walk half a mile to the first bridge and then turn around, or walk halfway through the bridges and then turn around, or walk the two mile loop with a guide through the rainforest. Continue reading Day 5: Monday March 21, 2016
Day 4 Sunday March 20, 2016
Today we went north to Rio Frio (Cold River, which it is not), for a “wildlife jungle cruise.” Previously, the only ‘Jungle Cruise’ we had ever been on was the one at Disney World. There we spent an hour on line for a five minute ride through a man-made jungle filled with mechanical animals. Here we spent two hours in a boat seeing some of the most magnificent creatures on the planet on both sides of the river! Continue reading Day 4 Sunday March 20, 2016
Day 3 Saturday March 19, 2016
We left our hotel in San Jose, heading west for Zoo Ave, a wildlife rescue center. At this facility, injured birds and other wildlife are rehabilitated so that they can be released back into the wild. Continue reading Day 3 Saturday March 19, 2016
Day 2 Friday March 18, 2016
On Friday morning Nick and I walked through the hotel’s fantastic gardens before breakfast. Take a look at some of the beautiful flowers we saw.
Our Trip to Costa Rica, Starting Off
Day 0
Several months ago, I remarked to my niece, Dawn, that Nick and I had not seen her and her husband for several years. Rather than them returning to Connecticut to visit us, or us visiting them in Texas, I asked if there was anywhere they’d like to go that the four of us might enjoy together. They suggested Costa Rica. As Coast Rica was on Nick’s Bucket List, we decided to meet there. Continue reading Our Trip to Costa Rica, Starting Off
Trip to France: Our Photos
At long last, here are our photos from our trip to France.
There are two links:
Click here for our photos of Paris.
Click here for our tour from Chartres to Nice.
We hope you enjoy them!
Trip to France—Our Friends in Paris…
Nick and I are extremely grateful that our dear friends in Paris, Agnès and Jose-Maria, are safe, as are their friends and family. Today all of the citizens of Paris are our friends and family.
Trip to France, Day 20
Day 20
Saturday Sep 26
Back at home, we learned that the money owed us by the restaurant in Paris had been credited to our account. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 20
Trip to France, Day 19
Day 19
Friday September 25
We, Toni and Rich were the only early birds at breakfast. We thanked them for all they did to make our trip so wonderful. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 19
Trip to France, Day 18
Day 18
Thursday September 24
In the morning we had a tour to and through Nice’s Old Town led by a local guide, Agnès. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 18
Trip to France, Day 17
Day 17
Wednesday September 23
Our first stop was the town of Les Baux and a visit to the ruins of its 10th century castle. The castle was so much more than a building. It was a walled city of 4000 inhabitants including bakers, blacksmiths, carpenters, cobblers, cooks, herbalists and tailors, minstrels and troubadours, as well as knights, squires, pages, soldiers and serfs. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 17
Trip to France, Day 16
Day 16
Tuesday September 22
Late in the morning we met Nina, our local tour guide. She explained that Arles is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, meaning that it has special cultural significance. Its most spectacular attraction is its arena, which was built in 90 AD and was capable of seating over 20,000 spectators. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 16
Trip to France, Day 15
Day 15
Monday September 21
Breakfast today consisted of many varieties of croissants. We left Carcassone for a tour of a vineyard that was owned and operated by Serge and Sylvie. The vineyard had been in the family for many generations. The family name traced back to the Knights Hospitaller, who emerged at the same time as the Knights Templar (about 1100 AD). Continue reading Trip to France, Day 15
Trip to France, Day 14
Day 14
Sunday September 20
After saying adieu to Sarlat, we left for Arles. At the lunch stop, Nick and I shared a salad, quiche and crème caramel. After crossing two parking lots and a highway to reach the ATM in the gas station, we discovered that the machine wouldn’t take the credit card we had been using all along. It’s a necessity to take more than one card!
We were back on the bus to medieval Carcassone, 
Continue reading Trip to France, Day 14
Trip to France, Day 13
Day 13
Saturday September 19
It was market day in Sarlat. We expected to see merchants selling many types of food, and we saw cheeses, meats, fruit, and veggies. We didn’t expect that the streets would be closed to vehicular traffic and lined with booths selling not only all that food, but many other things including handbags, sweaters, and jewelry. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 13
Trip to France, Day 12
Day 12
Friday September 14
Nick’s breakfast was chocolate croissants, while I enjoyed granola with fresh walnuts. We liked the hotel’s nutcracker so much that we bought one for ourselves. Our group’s first morning activity was a trip to Rouffignac Cave, in which a little low-tech train took us through a subterranean riverbed to see 13,000-year-old cave paintings Continue reading Trip to France, Day 12
Trip to France, Day 11
Day 11
Thursday September 17
It took six hours for our bus to get from Chinon to Sarlat. During this time, Nick and I considered the differences between our current tour with Rick Steves’ Europe, and the one we took last year with a different company Continue reading Trip to France, Day 11
Trip to France, Day 10
Day 10
Wednesday September 16
Chinon is known for its walnuts. I loved my breakfast of homemade walnut bread with homemade jams. Soon we left to visit the Chateau de Villandry, known for its spectacular gardens.
The day would have been more enjoyable had there been less rainfall, but with our umbrellas and rain jackets keeping us dry, we wandered through the gardens admiring the plants and their phenomenal landscaping. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 10
Trip to France, Day 9
Day 9
Tuesday September 15
We left Chartres after breakfast, at which I enjoyed “do-it-yourself” crèpes: strawberry, apricot and chocolate. In my defense, they were smaller than typical crèpes!
Our next stop was a town called Amboise. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 9
Trip to France, Day 8
Day 8
Monday September 14
We were the only early birds who were awake for breakfast at 7 AM. I went French, choosing French bread and camembert. Later our group took a walking tour of the old town. We felt as if we had stepped back in time as we were among buildings that were constructed centuries ago. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 8
Trip to France, Day 7
Day 7
Sunday September 13
After packing and a farewell lunch, Jose-Maria drove us to Gare Montparnasse so we could get the train to Chartres. Standing out in the rain for an hour the day before took its toll on Nick, who now had a head cold, but compared to any other medical issue that could have befallen either of us, this was minor. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 7
Trip to France, Day 6
Day 6
Saturday September 12
This was our first day that was devoid of glorious sunshine. Rain was pouring down. There were only a few more things on Nick’s Wish List of places to visit— the Catacombs, the Paris Sewer Tour, and the Orsay Museum. I voted for the Orsay, and with encouragement from our friends, my vote won. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 6
Trip to France, Day 5
Day 5
Friday September 11
Because the weather was still simply spectacular, we decided to spend as much of it as possible outdoors again. I had never been to Montmartre, so off we went. We were metro experts—changing train lines and taking a funicular. All of this brought us to Sacre Coeur, Continue reading Trip to France, Day 5
Trip to France, Day 4
Day 4
Thursday September 10
Today, Jose-Maria planned to drive us to Giverny to visit the home and garden of Claude Monet. We needed an early start because of rush-hour traffic, so we left at 9:15 AM. There was plenty of traffic, and there were plenty of visitors to Giverny. The garden was spectacular! Continue reading Trip to France, Day 4