In a change from previous pilgrimages (and because there is a big equestrian event in the area, making it difficult to get an appropriate hotel for a group), we are spending our first two nights in a retreat center. The Ermitage is located right next to the Carmel (cloistered convent) where Therese lived, worked and prayed. The rooms are small, clean and basic- no TV, no fancy shampoo (but there IS free wi-if in the lobby, so the necessities ARE covered!).
Breakfast, too, is simple: juice, coffee, tea, with French bread and jelly or butter. There is a lovely courtyard, and flowers are in abundance throughout the town. After the many hours of hustling through airports and trying to nap on the flight, I think most of us are appreciating the simplicity, and some finding it a helpful way to tune in to the simplicity of the lifestyle of Therese, and of so many, by choice or circumstance, around the world.
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