Arrival!

We have arrived! We are safe and sound at Dr. Survilla's sister's wonderful house in Toulouse. We have explored, taken pictures, gotten lost (erm, "taken an adventure"), had real bread, and caught up on sleep. Yesterday we explored into the hills around us, and saw the Pyranees.
The picture is of us in the Minneapolis airport. The pilgrims are (left to right): Dr. Survilla, Amanda (holding Jaffy), Allison, Dani, Britt (holding MoosiePoo), and Megan.

More news and pictures as time goes on.

Here we go!

Well, we leave today on our trip. We're meeting to have breakfast together in about eight minutes, and then we'll leave for the airport. From Waterloo to Minneapolis to Amsterdam to Toulouse.

And thus, our pilgrimage begins.

Getting ready...

Well! We just had our final official pre-trip meeting. With many sidebars, jokes, serious discussions, and a tangible air of excitement, it is clear that we are in for a great trip. 

A little about the trip: We are going on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. We will begin the trip (the official part, at least) in Toulouse, France, arriving in Santiago around the 9th day of the trip, and then return by a slightly different route to Toulouse and head home.
The course is called the Anthropology of the Pilgrimage, and we will be taking an in-depth (and certainly hands-on) look at spiritual tourism, medieval and modern pilgrimage practices, as well as other aspects and methods of transcendence.

Countdown to take-off: 17 days!