“She’d like to know if she can ask you a few questions?” Arjun, my travel guide, Bangalore Walking Tour, remarks. “Absolutely.” A women, cross legged on the floor, sits behind a small hill of flowers; their bright colors and smells flooding my senses. Arjun becomes our translator, seamlessly weaving between Kannada and English. Her first question:…
Category: Soul Strolling
Étretat, Arromanches-les-Bains, Anguerny: Normandy, France, October, 2017
“Étretat is becoming more and more amazing. Now is the real moment….” Claude Monet, February, 1883. My soulstrolling pal Kayce Hughlett prompted our weekend adventure from Paris to Normandy. Following her intuition, we found ourselves driving through the countryside from Trouville/Deauville to Étretat on a Friday evening in October. A mutual friend adores Étretat and recommended…
Suspending time: Paris, October 2017
“Y-a-t-il plus belle façon de suspendre le temps?” Is there a better way to suspend time? Oh how this phrase strikes a chord within. My heart’s been missing Paris. Alisha Wielfaert was in Paris recently and referred to the city as her “soul’s home.” This is true for me. For some, time feels suspended simply by…
SoulStrolling and Savoring in the 9th and 18th Arrondissements, Paris, October 2017
“C’est un rayon de soleil dans votre assiette.” It’s a ray of sunshine on your plate. My taste buds and Paris have an ongoing love affair. I recently spent the month of October soulstrolling and savoring Paris. Home was an airbnb on Rue D’Orsel in the 18th, (close to Sacre Coeur) with 3 weeks spent walking…
Paris: Language School, L’Atelier 9, October 2017
“I’m following the thread. When you listen to your soul, pay attention, who knows where your ‘soles’ may lead.” This was a journal entry of mine from April 2015. I’ve been following the thread of my love for Paris since I first strolled her streets and stood atop the Eiffel Tower: summer, 1985. What a…
Mother/Daughter Adventures: Tarragona, Spain, May 2017
Tarragona surprised me with roman ruins, a stunning cliff top Mediterranean view, modern art, and pastel colored buildings. We arrived via train from Barcelona. Our airbnb host advised us to follow the signs from the train station to the ‘mechanical steps.’ “Oh,” I remarked to my daughter, “it’s a series of escalators,” which took us…
Mother/Daughter Adventures: Barcelona, Spain, May 2017
“Everyone agreed to this, and that was how the adventure began.” C.S. Lewis “Fancy a SoulStrolling journey with me?” I asked my eldest 25 year old daughter about 7 months ago. “Absolutely,” was her reply. Spain was her request: Barcelona, our first destination. I adore travel (not so much the jet-lag) the planning, packing, wandering, exploring,…
Party in a Bowl
In February, 2017, I had the pleasure of participating on a yoga retreat with 8 limbs yoga at Haramara Retreat in Sayulita, Mexico. Every other night, water ‘disappeared’ from a beautiful clay bowl placed on the path just above our casita. This poem flows from that time. Enjoy. Daily, the light brown clay bowl on the path…
“Allow presence and awe to come back into your life.” Brendon Burchard
“In all the chaos and hurry, do not forget to notice the beauty and miracle of this world. Slow down. Notice. Observe. Be aware. Allow presence and awe to come back into your life.” Brendon Burchard This quote strikes a chord in my heart. Even deeper than my heart. It touches something in my soul…
SoulStrolling Rue Mouffetard, Paris, March 2017
There’s so much to see, taste, and experience along Rue Mouffetard in the 5th arrondissement in Paris. I was fortunate enough to spend a week in March, 2017, at an Airbnb just around the corner from Place de la Contrescarpe at the north end of the street. Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley, lived…
Conversation with Owl in Paris, March 2017
Owl is my word for the year. She chose me. Soulstrolling the streets of Paris last week, Owl appeared often: hanging as a backpack in the shop window on Rue Mouffetard, on a magnet in a tourist shop, at the Brocante Antique fair outside Paris (Foire de Chatou), and peering out through an art gallery…
Haramara Goddess – Conversation with a Statue
This is how it happened: Statues began speaking to me a few years ago. It’s been a process, this paying attention to art. The nudge I feel within to slow down, pause, listen. “What would you like to talk about? What do you have to say? Would you like to converse?” Are the types of…
Sharon Richards 