Program 549a: Searching for Stars; Stoked My Spirit; Champagne

MIT Professor Alan Lightman tells us how a little time alone with the night sky in Maine illuminated his awareness of the universe, and his place in it. Also, listeners share travel experiences that really "stoked their spirit." And we get ready to welcome in the new year with a toast to Champagne, and the region in France where the bubbly comes from.

• MIT professor Alan Lightman, author of "Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine" (Pantheon)
• Virginie Moré, tour guide from Lyon, France
• Julie Sonveau, tour guide from Burgundy, France

• Alan Lightman is the author of "Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine," and "In Praise of Wasting Time."  Since his interview with Rick, Alan has received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from the United States House of Representatives for his latest book, "Three Flames," a novel about the struggles of a farming family in rural Cambodia.
• As caller Carol notes, the hymn "St. Patrick's Breastplate" is based on a poem St. Patrick is believed to have written.
• Taizé is a meditative spiritual community in France that Rick has visited.
• The Prado Museum in Madrid posts photos of many of its paintings by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo online.
• Rick writes about Reims in the Champagne region as a possible day trip from Paris.
• Tour guide Virginie Moré can be contacted through her website.
• Julie Sonveau talks about moving from Kansas to France.