Slideshow: Rick's Top Moments in 2011
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With each trip I take, I bring home magic memories — travelers' gold nuggets of experiences I will remember all my life. In this month's edition of Travel News, in words and pictures, I'm sharing a few favorite moments that gave my 2011 travels that extra sparkle:
Climbing the Scala Santa, On My Knees
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All of my Protestant life I've watched hard-scrabble pilgrims and frail nuns climb Rome's Scala Santa (Holy Steps) on their knees. I always observed as though they were in a parallel universe. This year, I passed into that universe. I picked up the little pilgrim's primer explaining what holy thoughts to ponder on each step, knelt down, and — one by one — began climbing the Scala Santa. Knees on stone, I experienced each of the steps Jesus climbed on his way to being condemned by Pontius Pilate. If they could, my kneecaps would have been screaming. In my pain, the art that engulfed the staircase snapped into action. And, while my knees would never agree, the experience was beautiful.