iris2002's VirtualTourist Home Page

And since books were my initial inspiration, here are some that have inspired me:

"Nathaniels Nutmeg" - Giles Milton
"The little Prince" - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
"Livingston Seagull" - Richard Bach
"Vertical Limit" - Mel Odom
"Himalaya" - Michael Palin
"A mapmakers dream - Fra Mauro" - James Cowan
The Zahir - Paolo Cohelo
"Gorillas in the mist" - Dian Fossey
"Cry Freedom" - John Briley
"poemas" - Pablo Neruda
"The God of small things" - Arundhati Roy

most recently:
"The History of love" - Nicole Krauss
"Cloud Atlas" - David Mitchell

A poem for India

Between death and colourful butterflies
she lies -
breathing heavily under the mid-day sun
dust whirls causing her eyes to narrow
and look for shadow under the blooming
acacia trees
She is brutal in her extremes yet beautiful
always swaying between exotic temptress
and deathly strikes to those
who already have nothing -
she is loud, shrill and pulsating life
out of every pore
that sweats a history so old,
no one can comprehend,
but it's wisdom is still growing
amongst the roots of the jakharanda
and between the slums and the palaces
she finds peace at night
while the days heat only lingers now
under the skin of her children
This is her- this is Delhi
(by Iris B. 2007)

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USA HIGHLIGHTS

Florida Tip Off the beaten path

St.Petersburg Tip Off the beaten path

Dallas Tips

San Diego Tips

>>>> !!!American Hill Billy Slang Dictionary !!!

All counties of England ticked off now :)

Yes I can hardly believe it myself, but ... as of this weekend, I have been to every county in England.... here is the list:

Bedfordshire
Buckinghamshire
Berkshire
Cambridgeshire
Cheshire
Cornwall
Cumbria
Derbyshire
Devon
Dorset
Durham
East Sussex
Essex
Gloucestershire
Greater London
Hampshire
Herefordshire
Hertfordshire
Kent
Lancashire
Leicestershire
Lincolnshire
Norfolk (in loving memory of Berni Shand, my VT-mum XX
Northamptonshire
Northumberland
Nottinghamshire
Oxfordshire
Shropshire
Somerset
Staffordshire
Suffolk
Surrey
Warwickshire
West Sussex
Wiltshire
Worcestershire
Yorkshire

TATAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA !!!!

This is what should be done
By one who is skilled in goodness,
And who knows the path of peace:
Let them be able and upright,
Straightforward and gentle in speech.
Humble and not conceited,
Contented and easily satisfied.
Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.
Peaceful and calm, and wise and skillful,
Not proud and demanding in nature.
Let them not do the slightest thing
That the wise would later reprove.
Wishing: In gladness and in saftey,
May all beings be at ease.
Whatever living beings there may be;
Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,
The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
The seen and the unseen,
Those living near and far away,
Those born and to-be-born,
May all beings be at ease!

Let none deceive another,
Or despise any being in any state.
Let none through anger or ill-will
Wish harm upon another.
Even as a mother protects with her life
Her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings:
Radiating kindness over the entire world
Spreading upwards to the skies,
And downwards to the depths;
Outwards and unbounded,
Freed from hatred and ill-will.
Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down
Free from drowsiness,
One should sustain this recollection.
This is said to be the sublime abiding.
By not holding to fixed views,
The pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision,
Being freed from all sense desires,
Is not born again into this world.

(Metta Sutta - Loving Kindness)