  i went on another day trip on thursday......this time to New Norcia, Australia's only monastic town. my blog's beginning to look like a Western Australia tourist promotion website huh? :) can't help it guyz, i'm still on skool holidayz. it's awesome that i get to skate alot more, but it's also&nbsp;heaps of fun doing these day trips. &nbsp; i've decided to miss out on visiting my grandad and unkle over east. been trying to save some money for either~a 2nd hand car or brand spanking new scooter.&nbsp;don't wanna feel like i've wasted my holidayz, so these inXpensive trips fill this need. no regrets! New Norcia was beautiful! so peaceful...... urlLink ME in front of St. Abbey church&nbsp; urlLink first learnt of New Norcia from the label on a loaf of bread i've recently enjoyed eating. there's&nbsp;supposedly&nbsp;a bakery&nbsp;in the monastery of New Norcia. all this while, i thought the monks baked the bread.&nbsp;it made&nbsp;my 'bread eating' Xperience a lot more special for me.
i'd imagine the monks in their habits covered in flour with every bite i take. &nbsp; &nbsp; Alas, they don't! i've been fooled! creative packaging .......bloody merchandisers! doesn't matter though~ it's a gem of a town. there's a Spanish/Latin flavour and feel to the architecture at New Norcia.&nbsp;that's cause the pioneering benedictine monks of New Norcia&nbsp;are from Spain.&nbsp;&nbsp;the picture u see of St. Abbey above is used&nbsp;as a logo for the sourdough bread i love so much..... yummmmmmmmm&nbsp; urlLink interior of St. Gertrude's church&nbsp; urlLink i'm athiest......eventhough i was born and raised as a muslim.
religions don't do anything for me! recently however, i've been sucked into Catholicism. it probably started 4 years ago&nbsp;in Rome @&nbsp;the Vatican city. Basilica di San Pietro took my breath away. U won't believe me but i&nbsp;shed a tear against my will&nbsp;when i walked into this massive, impressive structure! never felt such calm in my life.&nbsp;as a matter of fact, every single church i've&nbsp;gone into&nbsp;in the U.K and Europe, made me feel this way.&nbsp; &nbsp; the prayer rooms and 3 churches at New Norcia are no Xception.
nothing compared to St. Peter's&nbsp;basilica obviously!&nbsp;nevertheless such serenity, bliss, peace and quiet. if only our lives were like the interiors of these churches..........the world would be a better place. i really think so! !&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; urlLink interior of St.Ildephonsus' church&nbsp; urlLink sorry the pics aren't all that clear cause&nbsp;most churches are dimly lit. U&nbsp;can imagine&nbsp;what it's&nbsp;like to&nbsp;meditate in prayer&nbsp;whilst&nbsp;kneeling before the Lord&nbsp;in&nbsp;one&nbsp;of the aisle seats&nbsp;right?&nbsp;U don't get this in Singapore. most churches face rapid modernization back home. everythings so sterile, fake, plastic, industrial, metal, contemporary, bright, yucks! U just wanna say Ur prayers and bail A.S.A.P!! what has become of this world?? not that i'm against progress but i hate these changes.....sometimes old is beautiful.
i'm sure U get what i'm trying to say.... urlLink ebony switched with ivory ~ subliminal message maybe? ?&nbsp; urlLink an interesting find @ New Norcia is probably the&nbsp;organ in the monks' prayer room. the guide&nbsp;claimed that they were short of ivory in the early 80's so they used ebony instead. white is black. black is white.....isn't that beautiful? ?&nbsp;i know my papa + MiOw would love to Xperiment + jam on this organ! ;) &nbsp; about the keyz, i just think some radical punks or S.H.A.R.P came into town that day and made a statement. ha!ha!ha!&nbsp;Down with racism!! it could be true cause according to my mum, racism was rampant then. in this day and age, it's 'cool' to be politically correct. go figure! the monks were probably punk @ heart......they did what no other 'white' Australian wouldn't do back then.....they welcomed the aboriginals into their monastery with open arms.
respect! &nbsp; *interesting to note* that PAX is the motto of the benedictine monks of New Norcia. PAX is a Latin word meaning peace. bought a PAX patch in support of the monks......they fuckin ROCK!! trying to decide what i'm gonna sew this patch on to.&nbsp;till then....PAX out everyone! !&nbsp; 
