I can’t quite believe the moment is already here. Well, the truth is I can believe it, but I’m not ready for it! I’m close to finished with my packing, but I’ve got to get back to it.
Lugano bound!
To take with us when we go
It’s extremely rare for us to be away from our spiritual home at Christmas.
First of all, because it’s such a powerfully meaningful time that we love being a part of.
But also because — duh! — it’s probably the busiest time of the year for church music directors!
At any rate, I felt inspired to take a few photos of the beautiful Christmas altar, holding this sacred place and our beloved spiritual family in our hearts as we travel.
Ready or not
I’m almost mostly ready. Suitcase is packed but there are still a lot of little details to handle early tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, it’s taken until after midnight to get this far. Arrgghhh!
Bicoastal perspective
I saw this on Facebook. Here’s what the original post said:
For all my East Coast friends & family who say – “Oh, we’ll be in Los Angeles – why don’t you drive down for a visit !”
We are on the coast where the “o” in “Sacramento” is.
I haven’t spent all that much time on the East Coast, but I’ve certainly experienced a similar challenge when I try to convey just how far apart things are in California (much less the whole of the United States!) to friends and family in Switzerland and/or Italy.
Every point on the globe has its own unique “reality,” which is why I’m so grateful for the opportunity to travel and even live in places so different from where I grew up.
Landing with a bump
Last night at this time we were soaring in the afterglow of the Oratorio.
Today was back to earth time, but with a pretty bumpy landing.
The fact is that — despite being totally excited to go — I’ve been struggling with the reality of packing for our trip to Europe.
It’s overwhelming for several reasons. The first and most obvious is the short amount of time between finishing the Oratorio and leaving (two days!).
There’s also the fact that we haven’t traveled internationally in almost four years, so all the prep is feeling sort of strange and unfamiliar.
Finally, we need to leave the apartment in decent shape because a friend from Ananda India will be staying here while we’re away.
So, yeah. I’m feeling a little stressed.
Relearning how to travel
Tomorrow we head out into the big wide world for the first time since well before the pandemic hit. And I have to admit that it feels pretty darn strange.
It’s only for a few days and Lord knows we’re ready! And yet…there is a certain ambivalence.
Not to mention packing…! I’m hoping it all comes back to me, like riding a bicycle. š
Hurry up and wait
Ah, the joys of travelingā¦
Got to Sacramento Airport with plenty of time before our flight (itinerary: Sacramento, San Francisco, Copenhagen, Milan), only to learn our flight to San Francisco would be delayed by a full two hours.Ā
Finally arrived in San Francisco with barely enough time and rushed to catch the Copenhagen flight, only to learn we had missed it by minutes due to the delay.
Thatās when things got really interesting! So interesting it was almost surrealā¦
In fact, we never did understand exactly what happened. All we know is that we were sort of ālostā between United, Scandinavian, and Lufthansa Airlines. End result? It took a full two hours before we were successfully re-booked onto a Lufthansa flight to Munich, which is where we are as I write this blog post.
Hereās hoping the last leg of our journeyāMunich to Milanāwill proceed without a hitch!
Update in Munich: so far so good!