corsica

“Live the full life of the mind, exhilarated by new ideas, intoxicated by the romance of the unusual.” -Ernest Hemingway

A few hours on a ferry took us to the island of Corsica. Given the opportunity Ezra and I would sing Corsica’s praises for hours. It’s beautiful and has incredibly varied landscape. Such a treat to drive from mountains to the gorgeous beaches. During the week Ezra worked and I started chipping away at some online classes to keep up my Shiatsu certification. Mix all that in with walks and an hour or two at the beach.

We arrived into Bastia in the evening and wandered her old streets and around the harbor. We tried some local wine and otherwise enjoyed this character-filled town before heading out west along the coast.

We had a long weekend that was pure joy cruising around and taking it all in. Something about Corsica prompted great conversation and ideas and we starting putting together pieces of what we want in our lives. At times our wants seem mutually exclusive but maybe it was all the fresh air that inspired some cohesion. But why share these ideas now, it’s more fun to see them as they unfold.
 Lavender and wild fennel!

Cute little town of Calvi became our home for a few days.

There were all sorts of great liqueurs including Myrtle.Just in case you consume too much Myrte it is quite handy that the elevator mat informs you of the day.

The prehistoric site of Filitosa was a pleasant surprise. We went with no expectations and had a wonderful few hours enjoying the countryside and wandering around the menhirs (standing stones). Being here prompted more great conversation.

Wine may not grow on trees, but their corks sure do.

Lastly we stayed in Bonifacio. Another beautiful harbor town that was partly built atop dramatic white cliffs. We took a walk up to the citadel at sunset which was otherworldly in its beauty. Alas, we did not bring a camera so I will just try to keep close that memory of the warm wind whipping wildly around as the sun set through the foggy air. I will remember being atop the white cliffs and thinking of the Cliffs of Insanity. Name that movie.

This is why I love travel and am feeling renewed for it. It stimulates realizations and great conversations. We share ideas instead of always getting stuck on the same topics. It brings us closer and I was realizing how much I’d realized these past few months.

south of france

“The way to know life is to love many things.” -Van Gogh

We returned to Paris so Ezra could meet with his replacement at work and help transition him into the role. Since they couldn’t meet in the UK, Paris was the obvious destination. So we left Greece and not wanting to have to purchase another ticket back, we decided we’d hop on the train and head south.

I did a daytrip to see Versaille. After taking the wrong train and buying the wrong ticket (which resulted in a hefty fine – just my luck!) I made it to the infamous palace. It was beautiful but I was feeling a bit exhausted by the time I finally arrived. Getting pushed around by so many tour groups was not my idea of fun and so I just went through quickly and left.

The hall of mirrors was pretty spectacular!

We hopped off the train in Aix-En-Provence where we wandered around town and rented a car to cruise through Provance. I fell in love and we were there at such a fortuitous time. Red poppies dotted the landscape as well as many other wildflowers. Spring is my favorite time of year. Everything smells so fresh and it holds so much promise. The countryside was shifting from a dull brown to verdant green and life seemed to teem in every corner. Can you tell I was excited to be in Provence in Spring?

We stopped at Pont du Gard which is an old Roman aqueduct and enjoyed the view over the river.

Poppies!

My new favorite candy – where have you been all my life?

Next we spent a couple day in Nice enjoying views of the French Riviera and drove along the “James Bond” coastal road up to a cute little town called Eze. We were going to head to Monaco for the day but were short on time and instead returned to Nice and did what everyone does when they’re in France – went to a Chinese restaurant. We did follow it up with a more traditional stroll through the flower market.

       

The French’s version of a non-stop restuarant. God I love the French!

 

 

crete + santorini

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”        -Marcus Aurelius

Ezra had accumulated a abundance of overtime, so he decided to take a week off. We felt completely spoiled by choice – where should we go and what should we do?

Priority #1: Sun + warmth.

Priority#2: Island.

Priority #3: History + culture.

Crete was the obvious choice. There was one whole week of driving around looking at beautiful beaches, craggy mountains and no cramped quarter with lots of phone calls. In a nutshell it felt like a slice of heaven.

We saw the obligatory Knossos (which I sort of felt bored to tears by), but the best part was sleeping in late, great food, great talks and moving at a slower pace together. The Cretans live long for a reason! So we drank their wine, ate their fare and sipped their herbal mountain teas. Watch out – 120 here I come!

As you may have noticed we were planning to stay in Spain and now here we are in Greece. What happened you ask? Vacation happened, and then we just decided to stay for the remainder of our time. Well that will be short lived as you will see in the next post, just sort of par for the course.

Knossos – so authentically preserved (insert sarcasm).

 

I’ve seen the pictures of Santorini and have been wanting to see those stark white towns with the brilliant blue-topped churches for years. So we spent a week in Oia, the honeymoon capital as I always think of it. It is decidedly less romantic when your husband works all all day – although the town was blindingly beautiful. On a really sunny day it was just blinding.

We had a great expansive view over the caldera and I can see why people honeymoon here. A week felt a little long, but as a result I made friends with one of the women, Saba, who worked at the hotel. She shared bits about how much Santorini had changed the last 20 or 30 years. How the costs have gone up and she can hardly afford to buy a piece of spanikopita. Every time we talked it was very enlightening and I felt a sadness as she talked about the woes that have fallen on the Greek people.  

While I knew of Greece’s economic plight I must admit I was not very informed on what events lead up to the current downfall. The few times people chatted with us about the state of their country, there was a lot of anger and frustration and fear in their voices. Emotions ran high. Sometimes it was directed at their government and other times at different Eurozone countries. I can’t say that I blaim them for feeling trapped. Saba told me she works every day for six months and the rest of the year has only one (sometimes two) days off a week. While also trying to maintain a household and be present for her children. This was a common situation we heard from a few others. 

Ezra’s day of rest and I found a few new treasures for my ever expansive sand collection.