Being in France has had the biggest impact on my Catholicism. The theme this year at Lourdes was Christ our light. Even though I have still not 'returned' to Communion, thinking about light seems so much more fruitful to me, than always repeating what sinners we are.
My time at Lourdes still gives me much to think about. I know that after participating in the evening Mariale processions, I knew profound peace. I had a similar feeling of deep peace after being at the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum with the Pope, and walking home with the crowd afterwards along the traffic-free boulevard.

Being part of such a multinational congregation in St Peter's Square on Easter Sunday was a very special experience. The exuberance of young South American pilgrims was especially good to be near. For me, the music here and at other places in Rome was just wonderful. The quality of the tenor soloists was amazing.

Much of my French experience of Catholicism revolved around my time cycling on my 'velo'. It felt like a "St Francis experience" - as I spent so much time outdoors, both during the day on the bike and at night camping. Once I got near Tours in the Loire region, I kept coming across sculptures, pictures, brochures, paintings etc about St Martin, who had evangelised in the area in the 300s. There were often crosses in the French countryside, and villages sometimes had Romanesque churches dating from the 1200s. (These were cool to sit in once the June version of the summer heatwave arrived!) Bicycling, I had a chance to see details of Christian history in small villages that I would have missed as a 'train' tourist.

Another thing that happened in France was that in various ways I became acquainted with the idea of 'pilgrimage'. In Cahors especially, I met up with a whole lot of people engaged on the French section of the St Jacques walk to Compostella.

Walking in some mountain places was an experience I treasured yet again, and as always I felt closer to a glory. Climbing up the hill in the village of Assisi I felt close to the spirit of St Francis. My week walking in the valleys of my Scettrini ancestors in southern Switzerland was a real highlight, and I found it sad to finally leave. Coastal walks on the island of Jersey I loved -so much rugged beauty. And in Ireland I walked in various places of past and present pilgrimage. Walking high in the Glendalough area was beautiful in the fine weather, but I will remember Croagh Patrick the most - a difficult descent as the weather deteriorated -and knowing that for so many Irish this has been a penetential pilgrimage.

One of the biggest bonuses of a trip such as this is simply 'time'. I had time to sit in churches, or on the bike, or beside riverbanks, and have conversations with God. I may not be back at Church yet, but some lines of communication are there.

My last European experience of Catholicism was at Notre Dame in Paris. On the Saturday night I attended an audio-visual presentation in the church about its history, and again a major theme was Christ is Light. Next morning I enjoyed beautiful Gregorian music and the splendid organ at Mass, then I left as bells pealed out across the Square.

Where to from here? A conversion of heart is yet to come. But there are things I want to read about and learn about - the Eucharist, relativism, St Francis.