Elephant Love ~ Mae Tang

Is this how elephants kiss?

Seen in Mae Tang Elephant Park, these two elephants seemed playful!

Belvedere de Buffon

Every time I find myself in Paris, I take some time to go visit the Jardin des Plantes (Botanical Garden) near the Austerlitz train station.
Founded in 1626, it has first been used as a medicinal herb garden and later was opened to the public in 1640. Today the garden covers 28 hectares and hosts four museums: The Grand Gallery of Evolution, the Mineralogy Museum, the Paleontology Museum and the Entomology Museum.

In the south corner of the garden is a small "maze" (it's actually a spiral to the top) around a 20 meter high hill with a beautiful belvedere crowning the top. The small hill was actually a huge pile of garbage. Instead of removing the pile, it was turned into a tiny hill for the public to enjoy a higher view of the garden.

The elegant belvedere is the work of the architect Edme Verniquet, made for Comte de Buffon. It is a mixture of Chinese and western architecture and is topped by a sundial. The words "Horas non numero nisi serenas" are inscribed around the higher part of the structure. It means in Latin: "I do no count the hours, except the calm ones". The word serenas, meaning calm represents the weather, more precisely the sunny weather.
Every day, a bell used to ring announcing noon only when the weather was clear. The mechanism was invented by Mr. Mille and consisted of a counterweight balancing a hammer striking a bell. A string held the counterweight in place until the sun was up high. At noon, thanks to a magnifying glass cleverly positioned, the string burned and released the weight. Every day, it was replaced with a new one for the next day.

Although the view is not what it used to be (new buildings), the belvedere is still a beautiful place to sit and relax away from the busy streets of Paris, or just hang out with your loved one in a nice romantic setting.

Have you ever visited this part of Paris?

Le Bistrot Parisien

When you hear Paris, what do you think? What image comes to mind?

Of course, most people visualize the Eiffel Tower or Notre-Dame. But Paris is also much much more than that!

What I love most is the small narrow streets with the old bistrots and the cliché frenchman with his baguette (for the record, a baguette never reaches a house untouched.. half of it is ALWAYS eaten on the road..yumm!) going home under a cold rain while a couple is kissing soaking wet.

That's Paris for me, the old Deuch ("Deux-Chevaux" The old Citroën car on the photo), the cafés and bistrots, the smell of croissant, the sound of accordion..

Listen to this music, close your eyes, and wander in the streets of the city of Love!

~Paris je t'aime!~

Pilgrim's Path

"Education must remove hatred between the pilgrims on the various roads to God. There is only one God, one Goal, one Law, one Truth, one Religion and one Reason"

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

The most amazing experience on the Camino de Santiago is encountering pilgrims. Many people from various nationalities, horizons, religions and color walk this long dirt road.
All carry a personal reason, nobody walks 800km just for fun... But all are here because they seek something in common: They all seek a Truth.

The pilgrim walks on this long road with many others. Although surrounded, he is still walking alone with himself. It is a journey of self-discovery, listening to his own soul, away from the hectic and chaotic life outside the Camino.
He walks towards the same city, the same Goal. He could take a different path, a different road, a different means of transport. And no matter his color or religion, he will still reach the same destination as all others.
The pilgrim is not judged by his social status. He may be a CEO or a farmer, he still walks on the same level as anyone else, sleeps in the same bed as all other pilgrims before him have slept and shares the same food.
The Camino reminds us we are humans after all, stripped naked from our status. We all have the same doubts, fears and all seek the same Goal.

It also reminds us we are all beings of Love. That even the most expensive gadget can not compete with the pleasure of sharing a simple "bocadillo" with another hungry pilgrim, or a comforting smile that gives strength to a tired person, or just the tears of joy when hugging a complete stranger in front of the gates of the Cathedral of Santiago.

The Camino pulls you back on Earth, with everyone else. And teaches you that we all have the same path, same destination, same goal, walking under the comforting shadow of one God/Universe.

Buen Camino peregrino!

"For a moment of night we have a glimpse of ourselves and of our world islanded in a stream of stars - pilgrims of mortality, voyaging between horizons across the eternal seas of space and time".

~ Henry Beston ~