14 Comments
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Jill Swenson's avatar

What an interesting sensory experience!

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Yasmin Chopin's avatar

Quite a different sort of holiday for sure, Jill. Very interesting.

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Lora Arbrador's avatar

Fascinating!!

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Yasmin Chopin's avatar

Thanks Lora.

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Julie Snider's avatar

Yasmin, what a great way to give of yourself while embarking upon an entirely new adventure in touring! I love the photo of the ruins, with its mosaic floor and view of the sea. I could feel cool breezes—were there cool breezes that day? Thanks for sharing your journey.

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Yasmin Chopin's avatar

Julie, thanks. It was a holiday that gave and gave. I loved the mosaics. We went to a few different sites of special interest, and the floors were astounding.

It was a day of hot sun and sea breezes, and really quite perfect. The canopy was very welcome for its shade.

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Julia Webb-Harvey's avatar

What an experience - and a different ‘lens’ (that is jarring now, but am going with it as you were encouraged to) to experience place. What a gift! For you and the VIs. Sounds so rich an experience - I guess travel isn’t always about a place.

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Yasmin Chopin's avatar

I agree, about the lens, haha!

I thought I'd bring my ever-increasing 'place' vocabulary into play while describing things to my VI partners but it was all much more down to earth than that. Literally. Some days we had sand between our toes and water lapping around our ankles. Other days we were smelling the flowers. We did drink quite a lot of wine as well!

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Stacy Boone's avatar

I really enjoyed the pace of this essay, reading with the pauses of developing friendships and trust. Being accountable in a way that is meaningful. Having to "look" at the environment differently and be prepared to draw on your senses and details that might otherwise be overlooked.

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Yasmin Chopin's avatar

Thanks, Stacy. I appreciated the heightened awareness I had of my surroundings in the company of these lovely people. Yes, it was fascinating.

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Cindy Eastman's avatar

I've had this post open on my phone for a week! What an amazing trip and such a rewarding experience. You captured it beautifully!

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Yasmin Chopin's avatar

Hi Cindy. Thanks for your comment, it means a lot. The holiday was great fun.

And I appreciate the re-stack!

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Jennifer Zarin, LCAT's avatar

I really enjoyed this piece, Yasmin. It seems like such a meaningful and sensory-rich experience, as others have mentioned. I love it when an experience allows me to slow down, be curious, open up and be of service. Thank you for sharing your holiday - and so much more- with us here.

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Yasmin Chopin's avatar

It was a special time for sure, Jennifer. Two people travelled from Florida to join us on the holiday as well, which gave it an international flavour.

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