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The next morning, right after breakfast, we drove to the small city of Tomar for a short excursion. On the way back to Fatima, we made a stopover at the small village of Aljustrel, where the visionary children from the famous apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary were born and where they lived. We parked on one of the side streets and took a walking tour, passing by the houses of Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco. Lucia's house has been restored and contains furniture and artefac

We headed to Fatima in the late afternoon and arrived there in the early evening. I felt that this was the real start of our pilgrimage. Fatima is one of the major Marian shrines visited by Catholics worldwide. For those who are not familiar with it, this unassuming place is where Mary, the Mother of Christ, appeared to children tending sheep and brought messages of faith, hope, and peace. Our Tour Director did not need to announce our arrival. From a distance, we saw the tow

By the time we started the monastery tour, all luncheon lamentations had been forgotten, for we were completely mesmerized by the grandeur of the Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça. From the outside, the structure certainly looks somber and austere, but inside is a treasure throve of architectural surprises. The church was founded by the first Portuguese king, Alfonso Henriques in 1153. This, and the adjacent monastery, were the first Gothic structures in Portugal. The churc

It was past two o’clock in the afternoon when we arrived in Alcobaça, a city in central Portugal that sprouted along the banks of the Alcoa and Baca Rivers, from which it derives its name. We were there to visit its famous church and monastery. By that time, all of us were famished and could think of nothing but food. Our Tour Director walked with us to the square facing the monastery. The short trek from the parking lot took us through winding cobbled alleys, where we were g

We made a short stop in Porto, the second largest city in Portugal next to Lisbon. Since this was not part of our official itinerary, we did not see much, except for the riverside quarter of Ribeira as we crossed Ponte Luis I. This area lies along the banks of the Douro River. Traditional boats floated at the quayside overlooked by colourful ancient houses and medieval streets, and lined by smoky bars and seafood restaurants. Across the river is Vila Nova de Gaia, where accor

Belém has so much to offer. Aside from being a key historical and monumental area, it is also known for its myriads of museums, contemporary art exhibitions, spacious parks, tree-lined plazas, scenic riverside walks, chic restaurants, and cafés. It is where downtown folks usually escape for a little bit of peace and quiet to commune with nature and engage in more laid-back leisure activities. For some reason, it reminded me of Ottawa, my current home city. We circled its aris

Our next stop in Belém is the undisputed star of the district, the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos (Jeronimos Monastery). I had never seen a monastery like this before, in terms of size, architecture, and ornamentation. Built in the 16th century to commemorate Vasco da Gama's voyage (Vasco and his crew spent their last night in Portugal praying in Belém before sailing for India) and to give thanks to the Virgin Mary for its success, this grand complex is the most impressive symbol of

Belém, a historic riverside district of Lisbon, is a “must-visit” place and definitely worth the 20 to 30-minute drive from the city centre. Located at the mouth of the Tagus River, at the point where it meets the Atlantic Ocean, Belém used to be a humble fishing village. It rose in importance in the late 15th-century, when Portugal launched its sea explorations to East Africa, Brazil, and India. It was from there where caravels sailed on their voyage of discovery, and to whe

After an early buffet breakfast and check-out, we packed into the official tour bus to drive around Lisbon for a sightseeing tour with a local guide. I had no preconceived expectations of Lisbon. Apart from the fact that it is the capital of Portugal, I knew very little about this city. But as our bus cruised around tree-lined streets and navigated the narrow, winding alleys through its different neighborhoods, I found it oozing with old European charm without the pretension

A month after my whirlwind travel booking, I was on an overnight flight from Ottawa to Frankfurt, where I would get my connecting flight to Lisbon, the start-off point of this pilgrimage. From there, our tour group would head north to Fatima and Braga, then cross the border to north-western Spain and spend time in Santiago de Compostela. Then, we would travel east to Burgos and Spain's Basque country and onwards to southwestern France. We would cross the border again to go ba

I stood outside the airport in Lisbon with a bunch of retiree tourists from the West Coast. They were excitedly snapping group pictures as we waited for the shuttle that would take us to our hotel. It was late afternoon and the summer weather was gorgeous, but I hardly noticed the sunny skies and the cool breeze. I was too tired from a long flight from Ottawa and a little bit flabbergasted at the turn of events in the past few hours, the past few days, and the past few weeks.

Our 2012 visit to Toronto was mainly to see Bruce Springsteen in concert, and my husband and I managed to squeeze in some date time that weekend. Little did we know that seeing “The Boss” would go beyond the typical arms-length encounter between the performer-on-stage and his audience, but something that was much, much closer. And it was totally unplanned...and unexpected. My husband is a huge fan of “The Boss.” When he heard that Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band were

Since moving to Ottawa, we’ve only been to Toronto four or five times, which is not a lot. I guess it’s because we have always preferred going to Montreal. It’s closer and more accessible to us, and my husband’s family lives there. It has become our second home here in the East Coast. And we’ve never really had any compelling reason to drive five hours to Toronto each way. However, the last two times that we visited were quite memorable. The first one involved a first date of

Toronto was the very first city I visited in Canada, even before I lived in Vancouver. I went to Toronto in the summer of my second-to-the-last year in university. That time, I was part of a theatre group that got invited by our North American alumni association to perform in four cities in the U.S. and Canada East Coast – New York, Washington D.C., Detroit, and Toronto. I liked Toronto right away. It is a bustling city with soaring skyscrapers and a dynamic metropolis life.

We stayed in London for three more nights after returning from Paris. My husband and I decided to book a different hotel because we wanted to be in another section of the city for the sake of variety. The previous hotel we stayed in at the beginning of the tour near the Marble Arch area was excellent, but we already explored the Marble Arch neighborhood as well as Oxford Street and part of Hyde Park. This other hotel is situated in the south banks of the River Thames and is c

The city of Bath got its name from the Roman Baths, its famous landmark and one of the ancient world's most renowned religious spas. The people of Roman Britain built this around 2,000 years ago and regularly visited the site to worship the goddess Sulis Minerva (the original Roman name of this place was Aquae Sulis ) and bathe in the natural thermal springs, which were believed to have healing properties. As Roman authority faded from Britain in the early 5th century, the ba

We did not want to leave England without visiting Bath, one of England's prettiest cities. Sitting on a landscape of rolling hills astride the Avon River, it is both charming and elegant, exuding an air of small-town simplicity, yet oozing with sophistication. Located in the ceremonial county of Somerset in southwest England, Bath is a historic Roman and Georgian spa city. It is famous for its hot springs, stately Georgian architecture, medieval heritage buildings, and of cou

We booked an outing to Stonehenge, which is about 90 miles west from London. This needs no introduction. I suppose everybody knows what Stonehenge is, though nobody is absolutely sure what it is for. I have read so much about this prehistoric monument but have not formed an opinion yet as to what its purpose is. The myriad of studies, research, analyses, theories, speculations, assumptions, and even conclusions on the Stonehenge have contributed to its mystery. I had long dre

Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire. Situated in southern England's rural heartland near the edge of the Salisbury Plain, its history dates back over 5,000 years. I had always wanted to see this place, so we booked a day trip from London. It took us about an hour and a half to get there from downtown. Along the way, I enjoyed the countryside view and even nudged my husband from his bus nap (he always falls asleep on bus, train, plane, and car rides) to tell him about t

A fun Parisian experience would include a cabaret night. France is known for its cabarets and the legendary can-can dance - a highly spirited performance characterized by high kicks, splits, and even cartwheels to the tune of raunchy music. It brings images of a chorus line of female dancers in ruffled skirts and frilly petticoats. This dance was born in Paris in the 1830s and became synonymous with La Belle Époque (Beautiful Age) , an era "characterized by optimism, regional