THE WORLD IS STILL A BEAUTIFUL PLACE…

By Karlene Stewart

Jul 21, 2019

Rome, Paris and London

Scroll the internet or watch your television for some world news and you’ll easily think this is a dreary world that is on its way to dooms day or end of times. But vacation has a way of transforming such a view. I just spent the last three weeks travelling across Rome, Paris and London. I had a wonderful and impressive time that has left me feeling that the world is still a beautiful place.

I was very nervous at first because I had never travelled to Europe and the UK before. Also, I had very recently watched news reports of unfortunate incidents that happened to people while on vacation. I wont go into all the gory details in this blog. Lets keep things happy, shall we? :-).

I travelled with my family via bus, car, trains and planes on my trip. The train rides included the Eurostar and Thello overnight sleep trains. This was a new and interesting experience for me. I think it’s very cool that you can travel by train to get from one country to the next in that part of the world.

I enjoyed the rich history and culture of each place. All the sculptures and historic buildings and museums were breathtaking and way more striking than any work of art I had seen in person before.

Rome

I was happy to finally experience the Vatican Museum, which I had been hearing about for years. It certainly was worth travelling the 9 hours by plane and several hours on the sleep train to get there. I hadn’t heard much about the Coliseum until planning this journey, but it too was impressive, along with the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. I am grateful for the Big Bus Rome also, which allowed me to see much of Rome in a day.

Paris

Well, seeing the Eiffel Tower is no longer a dream of mine, as it became my reality. I am only surprised that people speak mainly of the Eiffel Tower and the Mona Lisa when they mention Paris, but there was so much more beauty to the place. There were some negatives of course, which I’ll just leave at saying some parts of Paris needs more TLC. I bless Paris with love. But, the museums and gardens were amazing! As a Christian, I was also particularly impressed with the depictions of Jesus Christ, not only in the cathedrals, but also in the museums. Paris is so much more than just the Eiffel Tower or Mona Lisa. Nonetheless, I was extremely pleased to see people from various parts of the world all gathered in harmony to watch the Eiffel Tower as it light up at night. There were many families and couples there taking photos. Love was certainly in the air.

One of my best and happiest days in Paris was actually at an amusement park. That day I felt true bliss. I even went on a pony ride and my smile was the widest I felt it in a long time. Who knew an amusement park could make a grown woman feel so happy?

London

I fell in love with London. While in Rome and Paris I had pretty much done or visited all the attractions that I wanted to, in London I was shocked and positively overwhelmed with all there was to do and see. But I only had a few days to spare. I have to go back in the near future. But in the meanwhile I was sure to capture spectacular moments that will create great memories. London was also full of synchronicities. I found it so eerie and strange while watching Spider-Man Far From Home on Imax, that some of the scenes were based in Rome, Paris and London. There were even scenes from the Tower Bridge in London, which we had just visited two days prior. How freakish is that!

Despite the cliché’, I have to say that London gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling. I felt like I was on top of the world. In fact, in some instances this was almost literal, as I stood high up in the air on the London Eye and on the Shard, getting great views of the sky above and the earth below.

Conclusion

I don’t know what adventures life will take me on in the future, but I will always cherish these moments I experienced on my three weeks vacation. Most importantly, whenever fear rears its ugly head and I get scared by the negative news reports, I will remember the beauty I witnessed in Rome, Paris and London. Yes bad things continue to happen in our world, but despite that, the world is still a beautiful place.

Cheers,

Karlene Stewart

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