Yellow Rose's Garden

This is one of my favorite places in Europe.
Notre Dame de Paris 

Should you ever have an opportunity to visit Paris, this is a good place to go whether or not you are Catholic.

Pictures.

Rose Window>/a>

I need a vacation. I haven't had a real one since 1999.

However, that year I had two. One was to Europe with the family and the other was a brief vacation to see Jess graduate from one of her Naval schools.

Heat here is getting worse as we go.

Reading again. That is good.

1) Name a book you own that no one else on your friends list does
2) Name a CD you own that no one else on your friends list does
3) Name a DVD/VHS you own that no one else on your friends list does
4) Name a place that you have visited that no one else on your friends list has

Following the lead of tommydiablo, my answers are behind the cut.
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Have you ever been to a place that pulls you in or that you had gotten a dizzy sense of déjà vu in? I’ve felt that in a few places. Some people may blow that off as wishful thinking, but others, who are kindred spirits, understand that is more that a chill up the spine. It’s almost as though our souls are remember what once was or, perhaps, hinting at what will be.

Often the first writing exercise people are given is to discuss their own life. I’m a dabbler. A creature that looks into this or that as it catches my fancy. It’s evidenced by the eclectic taste I have in books and hobbies. In my early teens, I started reading about hauntings and other phenomena that are classed as supernatural or paranormal. I was and still am fascinated by these things. A few of the reasons seem cornball or just plain nuts. I feel things… those walk over your grave sort of chills sometimes. I’ve had those, “follow this road, you need to know this place” feelings and followed. Some part of me is afraid I will end up somewhere that I don’t belong; yet, another must follow and know what is there.

When our son was about a year old, we moved from Kentucky to PA. Kevin was assigned to recruiting duty about an hour’s drive from my folks’ home. We were out for a drive. Something just said…. Take this turn and follow this road. I had never been on that road before. My parents confirmed that I had never been to the cemetery I ended up driving to. My great-grandmother and I were very close while I was growing up. She passed away in 1984 while we were in Germany. I didn’t get to go to the funeral because we couldn’t afford it. I have no idea why I went down that road. I just did. The cemetery plot is a bit up the hill and out in plain view. I was ok once I figured out where I was.

Have you ever had an experience like that and ended up questioning your own sanity? I had an experience like that about 1985. We were at the Tower of London. Two places there caused me to stop cold and look around. The only clue to the first spot is that it was near the bridge the crosses over what was once a moat. I have since learn that something called Lion(’s) Tower existed near that spot but was destroyed in the seventeenth century. The Lion Tower, so named because lions and other animal were housed nearby, was constructed during the time of Edward I. Now, we all know the movie Braveheart stretched the truth in some places, but he was indeed a thorn in King Edward’s side. The point is that if I had been there before it would have been some time between the reign of Edward I and the time Lion Tower was destroyed.

Another one that gave me cold chills was Traitor’s Gate. The gate is a waterway entrance from the Thames River. At the time, I dismissed those feelings, but after researching I learned much about the dark history that involves that entrance. A good reference on the history of the Tower is The Tower of London by R. J. Minney.