In Paris, in 1992, I turned 23 years old.  That night we decided to go to a club that we picked out of a tourist guide.  The club was called Les Bains, or The Baths in French.  It didn't disappoint.  We stood outside in the chilly weather, as it was early February, while the bouncer picked and chose who got to go in.  He picked us I suppose because we were dressed to the t's.  Once inside, and downstairs, it was a fashion model Mecca.  Naomi Campbell was holding court in one corner, and out on the dance floor, not three feet from me, was Claudia Schiffer.  She had on very little makeup and her hair was in a pony tail.  I remember that she wasn't very tall, and was dancing, I think, with some guy who had basically just asked her to dance because he didn't look like someone whom with she would be on a date.  In any event, I remember being totally under whelmed by her presence and thinking she was kind of a normal girl for dancing with some one who just plain asked her to.

I have been to Sequoia National Forest in California to see the giant redwoods.  These are truly some of the most amazing living things on earth in their size and majesty.  From a tiny seed, smaller than a pea, come the largest living things on earth (save for some subterranean fungus that is somewhere I can't remember).  There was some snow on the ground when we were there, but it wasn't too cold, just chilly.  But to see these trees, including the General Sherman, is truly one of those things to put on your "to do before I die" lists.  I learned that the trees are often struck by lightning, and will sometimes start to burn from the inside, and slow burn for almost two weeks before the fire goes out.

In Lebanon, I have been up in the mountains to see the Cedars of Lebanon, which are now protected from harvest, as they are endangered and a national icon.  The cedars, in ancient times were used in construction all over the Middle East and are mentioned in the Old Testament.  Now they are a popular tourist attraction and a must visit if you are in that part of the world.

In England we went to all the big cathedrals, but two instances in particular I found to be very unique.  We trekked out to Canterbury to the Cathedral where Thomas Becket was assassinated.  The spot where he was killed was at the bottom of and around the corner from the main stairs inside the church that lead down from the mail altar area and the choir.  Going down the stairs, you turn to the right and there is a wall with a little corner that is made by the sides of the stairs.  It was here that on December 29, 1170, that four knights, thinking they were doing the will of Henry II, took him by surprise, and killed him, one of them lopping off the top part of his skull.  The Cathedral then housed his tomb and shrine, until the Reformation under Henry VIII, who had it destroyed in his mission to rid Papal influence in England and to erase icons of Catholic sympathy in the country.  When we were walking around the chapel perimeter where his shrine had once stood, I became so moved that started to cry.  There is nothing but a single white, perpetually burning candle sitting on the spot where his shrine once stood.  We were doubly blessed to be there that day as the choir were rehearsing for Sunday services and the singing flooding the cathedral was ethereal and moving.  I purchased a copy of The Canterbury Tales from the gift shop and read it on the train back to London.  It was truly a spiritual and moving experience.  In fact, it was the only the in England that made me emotional, and I was 5 months pregnant at the time.

One other stop in England was special for me as well.  We took the train to Yorkshire and to the town of York which is STEEPED in British History.  The York Minster Cathedral is smack dab in the middle of the town (as are all of the main cathedrals in England) and LOOMS over the town.  It is immense, and the largest cathedral in England.  You see its spires before anything else.  York is a wonderful little town and the word "quaint" does not do it justice.  Its a weekend get away spot for Brits and its not hard to see why.  The famous Shambles are located here.  The Shambles is a street in York that dates back to the 12th Century.  The 15th century buildings lean into the center of the street and almost touch each other.  You can get a good idea of what the Shambles looks like as they are the model for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter stories.  But this was not the reason our visit there was so memorable.  After touring the Minster, we emerged and headed over to the Shambles to look around.  Just as we were leaving the church, the bells started to chime in a concert that lasted for at least 45 minutes and filled the air with the most glorious music heard far and wide.  I can only imagine what this must have sounded like in the days that the country side was unspoiled by modern technologies, and noise such as traffic.  I got goose bumps listening to it.  I wish we could have stayed overnight in York.  Its a really special place.

Song Virus du Jour:  "The Girl from Ipanema" ~ Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto and Astrud Gilberto on vocals

Useless Trivia du Jour:  This is the official website of The Shambles, in York, England.