Greg in Girona

My son, Greg visited us here in Girona this weekend and we walked our town and Barcelona. This is a photo in the old quarter of Girona of the three of us.

Will Occupy Wall Street Join the Democratic Party?

I'm hearing that Democrats are looking to join the Occupy movement. I think that the movement should welcome every individual who wants to join. However, the Democratic Party as an organization is another matter. I'm a life-long Democrat, but this movement should not be co-opted by a political party. It is a movement of individuals. In my first post below I warned about big money buying the movement. The Democratic Party is big money, even though I agree with its principles for the most part.

Lets keep big money out of this movement and see what develops.

Hopeful Signs in the USA

This morning I have seen on the BBC news that the protests against Corporatocracy (Wall Street, Military Industrial Complex, Corporate Media, Big Pharma, etc.) is beginning to take hold in the USA. Hurrah for that! I am in full support of those protests. We are seeing similar protests here in Spain, but they appear not of have fully grasped the nature of their problem. They simply know they have a problem.

Now, watch out for the sell-out. As soon as a grassroots movement gets started in the US big money buys it and owns it. Watch out for the sell-out and keep telling your truth. The money will start coming in and tempt you to sell out, but stay clear. There are certainly more of us than there are of them!

And Back to Girona

We arrived home in Girona this morning after over two weeks in Wales. We truly love Wales, but Girona is HOME! We're glad to be back.

And back to Wales again

We leave tomorrow for a return trip to Wales. We will be concentrating on the northern parts this time, but will pick up a few areas in the south that we missed the last time. Our friend, Hillary will be our guide and she knows many of the stories of the land, having lived in north Wales for many years.

Home to Girona

It has been awhile since I updated this blog. We made it home and have been resting and recovering. I now begin to feel back on the planet.

Wales was an amazing place and we feel that we have just begun to explore its many hidden treasures. I just finished an interesting book: The Virgin Mary Conspiracy by Graham Phillips. He identifies the island of Angelsey as the true location of the mythical Avalon and the burial place of the Mary the mother of Jesus. It is pretty convincing stuff and we will have to return to Angelsey to explore further.

Still in Wales

We are still in Wales and I'm recovering nicely from my surgery. I go into the local clinic every day so they can change the dressings. I continue to receive the best of care from the Welsh public health system and it is all without charge.

We can get out a little each day and are visiting local places of power. There is Carn Enoch, a towering volcanic plug where my compass turns completely around and points toward the south. Nearby are little churches with ancient standing stones carved as crosses in the church yards. The sea coast along here is one of the prettiest in the UK, which makes this place a favorite vacation spot. We have new friends in the area, so are not deprived of social contact.

Last Sunday we attended a concert in a tiny chapel near here, a benefit for the local hospital. The choir were mostly people older than me, but they sang lustily with surprising accuracy. There were also a harp soloist and a local soprano who was really quite excellent. The entire evening was in the Welsh language, which is melodious. A good time for all and for us a little window into a way of life that has changed little over time--a small community entertaining each other.

A Welsh Saga

We have been traveling in Wales for over three weeks, going to ancient sacred sites, beautiful holy wells, and natural wonders. At the end of our planned stay I became ill with signs of an infection. Since we are residents of the EU, we were told that we could use the Welsh public health system. A visit to a doctor (no charge) confirmed that I had an abscess that needed surgical treatment immediately. We checked into a regional hospital, where the surgery was performed (again, no charge). They sent me back to our local B & B, where we visit the local clinic daily to have the surgery dressed (no charge) daily. Since it is now the weekend and the local clinic is closed we were visited by a nurse this morning to dress the wound (no charge). I am on two antibiotics and pain medication (supplied at no cost to me).This is health care in a society where people care about people. While it isn’t a perfect system, it is a humane system. We could have such a system in the US and it would cost much less than our present system and would serve more people. 

Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff, Wales

We found a powerful place here in Cardiff this morning by attending services at Llandaff Cathedral. The cathedral has the only boy-chior-school in Wales and the boys and young men of the choir sang beautifully, accompanied by their new (2010) pipe organ. There are a number of very interesting things to be seen and experienced in this ancient church and the atmosphere is peaceful and very sweet. All in all, a great way to spend a Sunday morning.

Review from Katrina Eldridge

Katrina Eldridge (www.katrinaeldridge.com and www.sacredstonepilgrimages.com) just sent us a wonderful review of our book Powerful Places in Brittany. Thanks Katrina.


"Powerful Places in Brittany is the kind of book that actually transports your imagination to the rich landscapes of France before you even arrive at your destination. The personal accounts describing the sensations the authors felt when visiting the megaliths, churches and other places of power are so helpful when planning your own trip. Many guidebooks describe the bricks and mortar of tourist sites but when you visit, the experience seems flat. With this guide, the locations are selected for the beauty, awe and emotion they evoke."

Pebbles for the iPad

Apple finally has my little autobiography Pebbles up for the iPad. For those of you who have that technology you can go here.

Slides from Powerful Places on the Caminos de Santiago

Powerful Places on The Caminos de Santiago Slideshow: Pilgrims’s trip from Castilla y León, España to 8 cities Jaca, Soria, Finisterre, San Andres de Teixido (near Espasante, Galicia), San Millán de la Cogolla (near San Millan de la Cogolla, La Rioja), Yesa, Pola de Lena and Quintanilla de Onésimo was created by TripAdvisor. See another España slideshow. Create your own stunning free slideshow from your travel photos.

Powerful Places in Brittany

Here are a few slides from the ePub version of Powerful Places in Brittany:

Powerful Places in Brittany Slideshow: Pilgrims’s trip from Erdeven, Bretaña, Francia to 3 cities Carnac, Larmor-Baden (near Arzon) and Tréhorenteuc (near Paimpont) was created by TripAdvisor. See another Francia slideshow. Take your travel photos and make a slideshow for free.

Pebbles

. . . and here is the link to Pebbles: Memories of a Small-Town Kansas Boy which has just gone live for Kindle on the Amazon site:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004XJ55LS

Kindle and iPad again

I now have finished twelve of our books for ePub editions. All but two of them have been approved and are currently for sale on Amazon and on the iTunes bookstore. If you want to see them online search for "Gary White," "Elyn Aviva," or "Leonard Feinberg." You can download free samples or purchase the books from the Amazon Kindle Store or the iTunes Bookstore.

Powerful Places on the Caminos de Santiago

Our second eBook is Powerful Places on the Caminos de Santiago. It is now up on Amazon as a Kindle book and on the iTunes Bookstore as an iPad book. You can download a sample or purchase the book there. The ePub versions of these books have many more photos and graphics than the print versions and they are in full color if your reader has color.

Elyn's Latest

Click HERE to find out why we love living in Girona.

Our first Kindle book!

Our first Kindle book is up at Amazon.com. Click the link to see it.Waking the Tiger by Leonard Feinberg

Our Santa Fe home is for rent

While we are living in Girona, Catalunia, Spain our lovely house in Santa Fe, NM is available for short term rental. Follow this link to VRBO and take a look.www.vrbo.com/340472

Looking at Apartments

We are thinking of moving to a different apartment here in Girona so we have been looking. There are many available, but not so many that meet all our criteria for space, light, view, etc. Two days ago we came upon one that is really intriguing. It is in the old quarter but just across the river from our current place. You can see the ancient stone bridge out the balcony window. What we found intriguing is that there is an stone wall in the back bedroom and when we walked out of the apartment, instead of taking the new, modern elevator, we walked down and encountered remains of a 13th century chapel that was once a part of a Franciscan Convent that has been gone for centuries. There is a sign on the wall telling all about this place. I took two quick pictures with my iPhone to give you some idea of the place. What a find! We may move there just to be in the lovely, sweet energy of those ancient Franciscan nuns. The place is really sweet, the remodeling is first rate, and Elyn might have her work space in a room with a wall from the convent.