I was really sorry to leave the monastery in Leon and all the people who had been so generous in their support of my journey, however it was a great feeling to finally put on the backpack and walk out on the Camino. Still not walking freely, going slowly and taking it easy and smelling the poppies and the other wildflowers along the route.

Managed the 22kms OK. The sun was shining but with a slight chill in the air I wanted to keep moving. Backpack felt heavier than usual but that was due to the bottle of perfume I bought myself in Leon when I was feeling sorry for myself.  Funny how the sun and perfume cheer me up!! Once I left the old town the walk became rather uninteresting as it slipped through a vast industrial area all the way to Virgin del Camino, 7kms outside Leon. Walked past a soaring shrine dedicated to the Virgin and then followed the road alongside the motorway for most of the way.  The scenery was mostly scrub broken up by warehouses, factories, petrol stations and truck stops. In the distance I could see the snow capped Leon mountains where I hope to be in a few days. Friend Sinead is already up there and reports that she is staying in a lovely mountain village where she stumbled into a friendly, local restaurant with great food and a roaring log fire. Sinead is wearing almost every article of clothing she bought with her - a positive, I say as the backpack will certainly be lighter.

Altogether 22 pilgrims passed me on the trail to-day. Most enquired if I was OK (little limp) and the encouraging words (in Spanish, but the sounded encouraging) and generous wave from an elderly gentleman riding his bike into the village was worth about 6kms!

Its almost time to head for the airport and hopefully I can negotiate a British Airways cabin crew strike and a cranky volcano and end up in London on Sunday. After a few days getting over the jet lag I leave for Biarritz on Wednesday, where I should connect with a train to St-Jean de Pied de Port in Aquitaine which is the start of the Camino Frances.

 St-Jean appears to be a lovely little place and I am going to spend two nights there psyching myself up for the first day of the Camino. Some people say this is the hardest day of the walk as the trail leads up and over the Pyrenees and where the downhill sections are apparently more difficult to negotiate than those going uphill. With a bit of luck I will finish the day at the Spanish hamlet of Roncesvalles, 30 kms away. I am hoping for a crystal clear, windless day although the rain has been teeming down over the past week.

While I am in St-Jean I will need to pick up a couple of trekking poles so I don’t slide down the Pyrenees, a few odds and ends and from what I am told, extra bandaids for the blisters I am almost assured of getting.

The backpack weighs only 8kgs and as I won’t have any check-in baggage I should be first out of the airport. With bright red backpack, waist-bag securely tied to belt and various items of trekking paraphernalia attached to me, I will feel a bit weird walking around London. It will be great to finally get to St-Jean and just blend in!

Walking the Camino in May must really be on my mind.

 Last night I had a dream (nightmare) that I was walking along The Camino trail on the very first day and I had become so engrossed in so thoroughly inspecting the sights along the way that I completely forgot about the time and the walking bit.  It was only when I looked at my watch and it was 6.00pm that I frantically started on my way once again. It got dark and I had forgotton to bring a torch and the next 18 kms had to be walked with no street lighting.  Thank Heavens I woke up before I fell off the Pyrenees!!

There must be a message in this dream!!

Good news at last.  The second volume of Good Night and God Bless has just been released in Australia and is now available at all good bookstores. If your local bookstore has not yet received copies the book can be ordered in. It is also available on-line through Mosaic Resources, via the website.

The book will be released in the USA in 2-3 weeks time.

Comments and suggestions are always welcome.

At last!
News is that the first shipment of Good Night and God Bless Vol II: A Guide to Convent and Monastery Accommodation in France, the United Kingdom and Ireland has arrived in Australia. The books will be distributed to book stores next week. The books will arrive in the USA a couple of weeks from now as they are being shipped from Hong Kong.
Trish

Last Saturday I was invited to speak at a lunch (at a great little restaurant called Blue Ginger) in Noosa in Queensland. It was with great pleasure that I headed out the door and travelled north to the Sunshine State. The event was arranged by Annie Grossman who brings books and peole together at her well-known and popular bookstore, Annie’s Books on Peregian at Peregian Beach, south of Noosa.
The lunch was held during a ‘Weekend in Italy’ event at the new boutique shopping complex in Noosa, the Evergreen Lifestyle Centre. We ate well - Tomato and Bocconcini Salad followed by authentic Italian Risotto and a glass or two of crisp, Soave white wine.
Not your average shopping centre, Evergreen consists of a number of specialist shops including the aromatic Italian skin care and beauty centre L’Erbolario, where creams, lotions and perfumes are made by herbalists in Italy; and you won’t have to spend a fortune to spoil yourself! As well there is a florist, a photographer, an art gallery, an aromatic, gourmet chocolate shop, an interior decorator and a garden centre blooming with an eclectic selection of flowers and plants. The centre is well worth a visit next time you are holidaying in Noosa.
‘Til next time…

With a 900 km trek on the Spanish Camino fast approaching I am furiously trying to get the old body in reasonable working order. The first step was joining the WEA Rambler’s Club which run a selection of short, medium and long walks on almost every day of the week. I have managed to complete three of the ‘medium’ walks and found them testing and enjoyable, exhilarating and working wonders on the muscles and the endurance.

Yesterday’s ‘medium’ walk took us around the stunningly beautiful Pittwater area in the northern beach suburbs of Sydney. We trekked along white sandy beaches, climbed rugged, hilly trails through a shady, woody wonderland including the endangered Spotted Eucylyptus Gum and finally reached the Barrenjoey Lighthouse where we found a rocky look-out, perfect for a picnic lunch.

The views over Palm Beach and up to the Central Coast were superb as was the lunchtime entertainment. We were joined by a few curious and very friendly lizards and a fat, timid, long-tailed rat watched cautiously from behind a nearby tree. Boats bobbed up and down on the turning tide, a sea-plane swooped and taxied into port and ferry boats plied up and down the channels.

Reluctantly we had to move on and trod carefully down a steep, rocky narrow pathway once used by rogues and smuggler’s when hiding their loot. A long beachwalk led to the most difficult section - 700 steps. We all made it up but thankfully half of these were downhill and we soon found ourselves back where we started. Another day with the rambler’s and another great work-out.

Hello Again.
Well, I never thought I would make a You Tube video - but I have now. It is a 3 minute film on convent and monastery guesthouses in 6 European countries. We had such fun making it and I hope you like the result. You can have a look via the following link or by clicking the you Tube logo on the home page of the good Night and God Bless website.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgzOG9oAgRg
I welcome all comments. Please let me know where I went wrong (or maybe even right).
All the best,
Trish

Yesterday I saw the movie ‘Precious’, and spent a highly disturbing hour and a half squirming in my seat, covering my eyes, flicking away tears and wishing I was somewhere else. The movie almost hurts to watch and the story told by Claireece Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) presents the dark and darker side of her family life, relieved only by contrasting images of this desperately unhappy girl escaping reality the only way she knows how, by day-dreaming about a seemingly impossible new life as a person who is loved, cherished and wanted.
Thankfully, just when the audience is thinking that it can’t get any more harrowing, the movie ends, though on a slightly depressing note even though there is just the faintest glimmer of hope for Precious and her children. The acting is Oscar winning and the gorgeous Gabourey can now live in real life, those dreams that Precious once had for herself.
The movie is dedicated by the director, Lee Daniels to ‘Precious Girls Everywhere’ and brings attention to the sad and inescapable plight of many young women like Precious who are living anonymously in suburbs just like our own. God Almighty - you just want to help them!!