Hotel Gardenia Ivrea

... Experiment Community. Years ago Damanhur began to buy land above the Temples to create a sacred space in the heart of nature and to save a dying forest. With great effort they succeeded in bringing the forest back to life and now they have a symbiotic relationship with this plant world. They believe we can communicate with plants and their research has shown that plants can learn! Nature is a living energy Force and Plants are Beings ...

Both Torino, and Carlos home town of Monastero Bormido are located in the region known as Piedmont, or 'foot of the mountain'. From Carlos top floor apartment, I look past a prominent bell tower and catch a glimpse of the distant mountains, and the name seems fitting. As we drive out of the city and along the rolling hills to his hometown, the full glory of the Alps come into view. At 3800m Monte Viso (face mountain) stands head and shoulders above any of the surrounding peaks. From this ...

... going at ten for a Euro (compare that with the prices back home!). Oranges are in season and hard to resist; a Euro will get you three kilos of the best. Plump fennel, sits next to giant unusual pumpkins, and a huge variety of greens, most of which are foreign to me.

Inside the main building the butchers are doing things the way they should be done. Silky tripe sits next to glistening livers. Chickens, with heads, and sometimes feathers, still ...

... to call Carlo. I'm a little gun shy about arriving in a new place and expecting things to go well. With my luck I half expect to have a wrong number or something.

"Hi James" his voice surprises me. He's already waiting. Brilliant. I'm so happy to see him that I greet him with a big hug. I only knew Carlo for three weeks of the Tour d'Afrique last year. He was one of the Lonely Planet relay team members in Ethiopia. He was always very ...

... erratically. A minute later steam fills the cab and condensation forms on the windscreen. Duncan utters some more of those colourful European phrases he has been learning.
There is no safe place to stop. A soft explosion from the bonnet and brown liquid covers the cab floor. Slowly we edge rouund a bend and mercifully somewhere to pull off the road.
Another explosion, more steam and a lot ...

... Canadian guy and a French girl. We got a short ride together to the pay station and then another good ride to the Marseille freeway exit. I kept going as they were going to Marseille, I was going to Milan. I went with the same guy to the Nice freeway exit, we stopped at a gas station and he bought me a coffee. Nice guy. I got another ride with a French guy to the toll station, and then got another ride with a Slovakian truck driver into Italy ...

... lines of the planet meet (in mylonite rock over 300 million years old) and the intentions during these Rituals flow through the planet influencing events...so very special to be part of this ancient spiritual earth celebration. (See 2 min video at end for more info) As Damanhur has so many people and a limited space to hold these sacred gatherings, were told the Damanhurians have their Solstice a day before on the 20th ...

... 50, full of smiles and humour and beautiful energy. (It is snowing outside! WOW) We all had a good meal at the CREA and then off to the Temples...but first some preparation exercises - to reactivate they say our sensitivity. We had an into talk, did a 3 labyrinth walks in the dark cold winter night, ( I was second out thank goodness!) and then looking up at the stars and selecting a star for our contact. Then into The Temples of Humankind. Let me tell you a bit about them ...

... for a few days. In all rooms in D are the Selfica paintings by Falco...I will take some photos tonight at the meeting where Falco chats to all - the founder and Creator and spiritual guide of D. Some are very magical! After being shown the sacred sites in Damjl and visiting the CREA - shopping, art workshops, cafe...went to the meeting with Falco in evening...about 500 Damanhurians and guests. But first talk by head researcher for esoteric physics...was some new research ...

... tour. I'm just not into these things and the
palaces in England are so much grander than this. Whatever.
We kept walking through the streets in Turin. Some buildings are funny.
One of them has a piercing. Another one has cannons left by the French on
the wall. We shopped in one of the shopping street and Sally and I bought shirts
in ...