Bayeux: Tapestry and Cathedral

The city of Bayeux, in the province of Normandy, France, has three main tourist attractions. The first is a famous tapestry that tells the events surrounding the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy’s successful campaign to invade and take over England. William became king of England, later passing the throne to his […]

Thursday Doors: On a Farm in Normandy

My brother and sister-in-law use Airbnb a lot when they travel. When they decided to book a place in Normandy, France for a family reunion, they needed a place that could accommodate all of us. They found a charming farmhouse on the edge of Merville-Franceville-Plage, and booked it for two weeks – the house sleeps […]

Thursday Doors: Church of All Nations, Jerusalem

On January 13, our Maranatha tour group visited the Church of All Nations, which is right next to the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem. The Garden of Gethsemane has several olive trees that are thousands of years old – that is to say, they were already there when Jesus went there to pray before his […]

CFFC: Patterns Around the World

For Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Patterns, I am going multicultural! November 2018: At a Chicago Sinfonietta concert celebrating the Indian festival of Diwali, during the intermission, audience members (especially children) made their own Diwali patterns using glue and glitter on preprinted patterns. Here are two of my favorites. December 2018: In Egypt, we visited Al-Azhar […]

December Squares: Two Amazing German Timepieces

This is my last opportunity to post for Becky’s December Squares (Time), as we will be leaving tomorrow for a two-week trip to Egypt followed by 10 days in Israel. I will have lots of photos to share when we get back home! Meanwhile, here are some amazing clocks in churches in two German Baltic […]

Thursday Doors: Sigma Alpha Epsilon National Headquarters (OHC 2018)

During Open House Chicago 2018, we visited several sites in Evanston, including the national headquarters of the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Regardless of my personal opinion of this fraternity’s history of hazing (for which it has been disciplined at least nine times) as well as of fraternities in general, the headquarters building is an austere […]

Thursday Doors: Lake Street Church (OHC 2018, Part 7)

During the weekend of Open House Chicago (Oct. 13-14, 2018), we visited another of the Evanston sites, Lake Street Church. Although founded as Evanston Baptist Church in 1858, according to their welcome brochure, Lake Street Church is now a “progressive community of spiritual seekers from across multiple denominations” and is “rooted in the free-church tradition,” […]

First Presbyterian Church of Evanston – Open House Chicago 2018, Part 5

One of the most beautiful churches in Evanston, particularly its stained glass windows, is the First Presbyterian Church, which we visited during Open House Chicago 2018 in mid-October. The architect of this building was Daniel H. Burnham, the same man who made Chicago famous for the design of the White City during the World’s Columbian […]

Thursday Doors: First United Methodist Church of Evanston (OHC 2018 Part 4)

During Open House Chicago on Oct. 13-14, we visited some beautiful churches in Evanston. The largest was the First United Methodist Church, the first church established in Evanston (prior to the building it is housed in today) in 1854. The current structure was built in 1910; the architect, Thomas E. Tallmadge, was a member of […]

CB&WPC: Stairways

The topic for Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge this week is Steps: Indoors or Outdoors. Iowa State Capitol, Des Moines Iowa State Capitol, Des Moines Lake Street Church, Evanston, Illinois Art Institute, Chicago, Illinois War Memorial, Indianapolis, Indiana River Walk, San Antonio, Texas