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Kauai Cave

Friday, April 25, 2014

After a vigorous hike to a hidden beach, we find the perfect spot to rest and shake off the grainy sand that's stuck to our clothes and salty skin. I have just enough energy to wish we could explore the little watery cave. I imagine us on a wooden boat, leaving the bright shore behind and disappearing into a murky green world. The farther we oared, the darker and more primeval it would become. Instead, with one last look at the cave, I climb back into the car and we drive through sunlight and fresh air to our hotel.

Cemetery Pere Lachaise

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

We navigate the tree-lined pathways of Cemetery Père Lachaise. The quiet, the foliage, and the unstudied orderliness promote a sense of peacefulness, but the cemetery also gives rise to another feeling, like reverence or maybe fear. We arrive at the grave of the French writer Honoré de Balzac, surrounded by a wrought-iron fence. A lone, dying rose is resting against it. Though I'm only vaguely familiar with Balzac's work, I feel touched by his genius, just as I feel touched by his mortality.