The Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville, NC

In August we traveled to western North Carolina and decided to spend one afternoon exploring Asheville. We spent the few hours we had in the colorful and vibrant Downtown Arts District (complete with street performers playing Bluegrass music!). While walking around, we happened upon the beautiful Basilica of St. Lawrence. There has never been a church built that I didn't want to explore, so in we went! 

The Basilica had a very informative pamphlet at the main entrance so I'll be able to share a few interesting aspects of the Basilica along with some pictures! It was completed in 1909 and is a National Historic Site. The entire structure was built without a single beam of wood or steel! Only tile and other similar materials were used in its construction. (For more information, visit the Basilica's official website.)

The interior is beautifully serene... One of the Basilica's main features is the dome that spans the entire nave and is considered to be the largest freestanding dome in North America. 

At the center of the main altar is the Crucified Christ with statues of his mother, Mary, and his beloved disciple, John, at the base of the cross. On both sides of the crucifixion scene are life size reliefs of the four evangelists and Archangels Michael and Raphael. The picture below shows, from left to right, Matthew (represented by the praying angel), Mark (represented by the lion), and Archangel Michael (defeating the devil with his sword).

There are two large stained glass windows on either side of the nave, the one below depicts Jesus healing the sick.

As with the pews (above), the floors are embellished with crosses. A blood red cross is located at the base of the steps leading up to the main altar and, in the chapels, the stone tiles were placed in a cross pattern. (I love all the details!)

Along the walls of the nave are niches with life size statues of St. Peter (pictured below), St. Cecilia, St. Patrick, and St. Rose of Lima. These statues flank the large stained glass windows.

There are also two chapels: Eucharistic Adoration Chapel and Chapel of Our Lady. The latter is decorated in a beautiful light blue tile with an altar holding white marble statues of Our Lady of the Assumption and two angels.

At the entrance of the Chapel of Our Lady is an ornately decorated baptism font. On its top is the depiction of Jesus' baptism in the River Jordan at the hands of John the Baptist.  

I hope we get another chance to visit Asheville and explore more of this beautiful city! (While we were driving around, I spotted an very interesting church near the Biltmore Estate... Maybe on our next trip!)

Can you tell I love visiting churches? If this post left you wanting more pictures of magnificent churches, check out Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal and Saint-Anne-de-Beaupre just outside Quebec City.

Traveling with Kids: Sticker Book Tip

We spent two wonderful weeks visiting my parents in North Carolina over the summer and got to visit a few places we hadn't been to before (I'll be sharing some pictures in another post!).  We usually travel by car and, I confess, it is a long ride... I usually spend a good amount of time in the weeks leading up to our trips preparing activities for our daughter to entertain herself in the car. One of my go-to activities is sticker books! What kid doesn't love stickers? And with Labor Day weekend just around the corner, they are a great activity for long car rides.

The stickers come lumped together on a few pages at the center or end of the books. In the past I would rip out the pages and patiently cut them with my tiny Swiss Army knife scissors while riding in the passenger seat. It was on an on-demand basis... our daughter would finish a page in the book and I would cut out the stickers for the next page. 

As I was packing up her activity bag for our latest road trip, I decided to cut out all the sticker pages in advance. I wanted to make the books easier for her to do by herself but I didn't like the idea of tucking the cut sticker pages inside the book (way too easy to fall all over the floor...).

Then I had the idea of sticking the sticker pages to their corresponding book pages! It was extremely easy to do and there was no chance of getting the stickers and book pages mixed up. It worked out great and our daughter did all her sticker books by herself!

One of the sticker books I had picked out was "Cats" from Phidal. I love the Phidal sticker books, they have a very wide selection (animals, numbers, colors, shapes, stories), the images and illustrations are engaging, the books are only 16 pages long (not overwhelming for young children), and are very affordable (I often find them on sale for under $1 apiece at Staples). I started by removing the center sticker insert.

I cut the sticker insert along the cut lines. I then had stickers for each page of the book.

I peeled back the sticker backing paper just up to the first stickers. I cut off a strip of the backing paper and pressed the sticker sheet back onto the backing paper.  

By clipping the backing paper, the sticker sheet now has a sticky strip that can be connected directly to the appropriate page of the sticker book.

The stickers are now conveniently attached to the page they belong to and they won't fall out when the book is moved around.  All our daughter had to do was pull off the sticker sheet and start working!

Safe travels!

Acadia National Park, Maine (USA)

Back in May we spent a week traveling around Canada and Maine. We visited Montreal, Quebec City, and Acadia National Park, along with a lot of scenic routes in-between!  Every now and then I'll be sharing some pictures from our little adventures because there are so many beautiful things to see in this world! 

Our last stop on our trip was Acadia National Park in Maine. It was absolutely gorgeous...

And, when in Maine, you have to stop for some lobster!

Montreal, Quebec (Canada)

Back in May we spent a week traveling around Canada and Maine. We visited Montreal, Quebec City, and Acadia National Park, along with a lot of scenic routes in-between!  Every now and then I'll be sharing some pictures from our little adventures because there are so many beautiful things to see in this world! I shared some pictures of Quebec City in a previous post.

Our first stop on the trip was Montreal. My husband and I had been there once before back in 2006 and we loved it and have always wanted to go back. It is a city with something for every one! In my case, it has one of the most beautiful churches I've had the opportunity to visit. I love to take pictures of churches and Notre-Dame Basilica is a feast for the eyes!

Inside the Botanical Gardens is the Montreal Insectarium. Having grown up in Brazil, I've seen my fair share of strange bugs, but I was amazed at some of the bugs we saw there. The butterfly displays alone are worth the trip! One display in particular caught my eye: beetles. There were so many colors and varieties of beetles, they looked like jewels! 

And when in Canada you have to have some poutine! We stopped for some near the Old Port and it was absolutely delicious!

Quebec City, Quebec (Canada)

Last month we spent a week traveling around Canada and Maine. We visited Montreal, Quebec City, and Acadia National Park, along with a lot of scenic routes in-between!  We love to travel and explore new places but we hadn't ventured far from home in a while, so this trip was a real treat! 

I love to take pictures and I go pretty wild when we travel. Every now and then I'll be sharing some pictures from our little adventures because there are so many beautiful things to see in this world! I've selected a few of my favorite pictures from Quebec City for this post. It is an enchanting city and seems to have something beautiful and amazing around every corner. 

My favorite things to photograph (besides my family) are churches. I could get lost in a single church for hours soaking in every detail of every sculpture, mosaic, pattern, lay-out, everything! On this particular trip we visited two gorgeous churches, Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal and Sanctuaire de Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre just outside Quebec City. The latter honors St. Anne, the mother of Mary and the patron saint of Quebec. It is a sight to behold and can be seen from quite a distance on the highway leading up to it.

Outside the Sanctuaire de Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre is a steep hill. A path leads you up through the 14 Stations of the Cross, with a life-size sculpture at each station. The crucifixion scene is just below the top of the hill. This was the most powerful representation of the Stations of the Cross that I have ever seen. 

I will be sharing pictures from Montreal and Acadia National Park in future posts! 

Do you want to capture every detail when you travel, too? What are your favorite things to photograph?