sardinia + sicily

“Live life as though everything is rigged in your favour.” -Rumi

With only a few weeks left before our return home we decided to spend it on the Italian islands of Sardinia and Sicily. So we got on another ferry and arrived into Santa Teresa which was a cute little seaside town.  

 

We spent a week here while Ezra worked and I did my usual of finding ways to keep busy. This included buying an electric hot water kettle and learning thru trial and error how to cook full meals in it. Hard-boiled eggs? Yes. Beans? Yes. Rice? Yes. Pasta? Yes. Was this messy and a little disgusting? Yes. Was I discouraged? No.

Ez had a few days off so we rented a car and checked out the Esmeralda coast. Glitz and glam are not usually our thing but we drove by the famous coast line and could appreciate why the rich and famous would want to soak up the sun here.

 This was not a very thought-out trip and we ended up in some strange little towns but had long breakfasts and ordered pizza in little mom and pop shops and as such had some fun interactions with people whom we’d otherwise have never met. I had a great interaction in Italian with a little old grandma. No, I do not speak Italian. That much is for sure.

 

We happened along the beautiful Cala Brandinchi otherwise known as “Little Tahiti.” We spend a few days in the cute town of Cala Gonone and hiked one day to Gola Se Gorropu gorge.

Sardinia was beautiful and it was especially nice to be back amongst the Italians. Q: Would I ever come back to Sardinia? A: Does the Pope wear a funny hat?

We had only a few days but we left for Sicily. Ez completed his last day of work and we boarded an overnight ferry and celebrated. Well sort of celebrated. We were really tired and fell asleep, but we were happy and had a party-like attitude as we drifted off.

This was a first site to welcome us in Palermo. I love a horse in a straw hat.

Once in Palermo we immediately got a car and cruised around. We sat in an outdoor cafe sipping caffe freddo while admiring the Cattedrale di Monreale.

We then drove through the rolling countryside towards Mt. Etna.

 

We had thought of hiking but true to our nature we got a late start and it was pretty chilly anyway.

We we sampled some local honey and cookies and wandered around the base of Etna before heading off towards Syracuse.

  

Which happened to be pretty amazing. We spent a day wandering around the old streets.

We had one last Campari soda, wandered through the morning market, checked out the old archeological park, then it was time to start driving back towards Palermo and our flight home.

But last minute plans took us to Reserva Naturale Oasi Faunistica di Vendicari which is a fancy way of saying a cool park that had flamingos.

 

An overnight in Agrigento to see the some of the best preserved Greek temples.

And a quick swing by Scala dei Turchi which were gorgeous white rock formation jutting out into the sea. I was worried we’d miss our flight with all these quick side trips but I was also secretly hoping we would as well. There was so much to see and just not enough time. Sicily was a gem.

 

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.

 

 

 

a paris apartment

“Home is where the heart is.”

We have rented a lot of AirBnB apartments and have had mostly excellent experiences. However, my parents and I had one that is worth mentioning. The whole experience was a comedy of errors. It was Ezra’s idea to just copy the thread of emails back-and-forth as is. As a side note, we love France and the French. Any jokes are just that – a joke!

Ez – You are not going to believe the experience I had today with this apartment. My parents and I have been dying over it. I will just list them for you:

1. No internet that appears to work.
2. Random half drunk water bottles all thru the apartment.
3. Baby formula all through the apartment.
4. Nothing is plugged in.
5. The toilet has no light fixture, at all. Nor a window. It is like being in a dark closet.
6. She wrote me and said she forgot to tell me there was no light. The fixture is in the bathroom. The ladder is in the closet. She was going to put it in at 1:30 when she was going to meet me. So I guess BC I didn’t get in at 1:30 we don’t get a light. Or I guess I’m suppose to put it in BC she told where the ladder is?
7 . I got major ‘tude because I wanted to check in before 6:30 pm. Even though the check in was at 6, which is ridiculous anyway.
8. I had to go across town and meet her to get the keys. Worst. Directions. Ever. Took me over an hour and my parents had to wait in a cafe with all their luggage.
9. The (I presume) apt manager questioned us when we came in and didn’t appear to like nor know what was going on.
10. The refrigerator and freezer is full of their food. Including a used toothbrush.
11. The full kitchen is really just a sink and microwave. The two heating plaques are really just one hot plate…. on the floor.
12. The microwave was not plugged in, because there was no plug in where it was. We had to move and set it up.
13. The hot plate was in front of boxes that held the stove – that was not set up.
14. There is a TV, it has no service to it.
15. I shut the bedroom door and got locked in because the door knob fell off. There was tape over the hole. We’re guessing so it doesn’t lock because the door doesn’t work. Regardless the tape didn’t hold and I was locked in the room for quite awhile.
16. I’m sleeping in the bedroom BC my parents don’t feel comfortable. While the description states the whole apt has curtains there are none in the bedroom. The huge window faces a busy street with office buildings.
17. There are curtains in the living room but they only cover the top 3/4 of the window.
18. There are dirty sandals and slippers lying about.
19. There are huge IKEA type boxes all over the apartment and cleaning supplies everywhere.
20. Weird teddybears and other kids toys lying about.
21. She mentioned she was going to skip her lunch break to meet me so I could check in, and that I better write her a good review. I replied that I wrote her 10 days ago to arranged a time and would have canceled if I’d known sooner that this would be a problem. She didn’t apologized, said she had work commitments and was doing me a favor and that I knew she was making herself available at 1:30 for me (our train was late). She was not polite in her responses. I guess that is also when she was going to put a light in the bathroom? Considering she was so strapped with work, this makes sense.

There are a few more gems I’m forgetting but this is what comes to mind at the moment. Needless to say my parents and I have been laughing (mostly) at how ridiculous this in. We will drink wine in Granada together and craft a scathing review. I think she deserves it.

Hope you are having a lovely night in Granada. The internet may be slow but at least you don’t have a dirty toothbrush in your refrigerator.  Xoxo

Love,
Angie

hilarious. only because it’s not me. you should just post a blog entry with the above exactly as is, i was dying. and that’s why i hate the french. 

love you,

ez

A couple more things…

1. I woke this morning to a jackhammer outside my window and hammering in the apt above.
2. The water in the whole apartment stopped working. Mid-shower. Oh, she forgot to tell us the water was being turned off.
3. She wrote back and said the internet should work and also, yes the information about the ladder was for me to put the fixture in. Apparently its easy…

did she tell you how to work the jackhammer as well? maybe you’ll need to use it to get the water working. maybe you’ll need to clean the whole place too before you leave and fix the door. and the shades. you should double-check.

 

ez

mis padres

“Respond to every call that excites your spirit.” – Rumi

We arrived into Granada on a Sunday and already I left on Thursday. But for a good reason, my parents were coming to visit! They’d wanted to see us in London but now there was one little catch – Ezra couldn’t return to the UK unless he wanted to start paying taxes. Because they still wanted to see England they decided to head there first. Ezra stayed in Spain and I met up with them. It was cute to see how excited they were about everything and to hear their stories about what they’d done so far on their own. It was fun to do touristy things and take all the silly quintessential pictures!

We decided to visit Stonehenge and because we are gluttons for punishment we decided to take a tour called “England In A Day.” If that doesn’t tell you something about how tortuously long this day was I don’t know what will. But England we saw.

After Stonehenge and a drive thru the Cottswalds we arrived in Bath. Bath would definitely have been the place I chilled back in the day. I think I was more interested in this than my parents.

 

I took a little swig of water, which tasted very mineral-like. I guess this is what makes it so special:

More driving up to Stratford on Avon where we saw Shakespear’s birthplace and were rewarded with a strawberry cream scone and champagne. This was much needed before a long drive back. I was tempted to ask for seconds.

After a quick ride in the chunnel we were in Paris and had literally about 48-hours to see as much as we could. We had a very interesting apartment experience which I will recap in my next post. We hit the major attractions, drank a bunch of wine and ran around the Louvre like crazy people so we could make our appointment to go up the Eiffel Tower.

View from the top (well halfway up).

 

Treats!

It rained a lot.

  

After Paris the three of us flew over to Spain to reunite with Ez. We were staying in the old part of town, the Albaycin, and wandered around the narrow Moorish crooked streets.

Sierra Nevadas

We spent a day at the Alhambra palace but not before partaking in a nice leisurely lunch and glass or two of wine. We have learned that drinking makes sightseeing significantly more fun.

View from our apartment – not too bad, right?

Lots of great intricate details and carvings.

We drank a bunch of Sangria and have since turned my dad into a wine drinker. As long as the wine is sweet, he will now drink it! Obviously the rest of us never had this problem.

 My parents had a flight south out of Malaga so we took off for a weekend by the coast. We took a boat ride that promised free sangria (would we call punch a drink?), walked thru a park listening to noisy parakeets and watched an uncomfortably close Flamenco show. Then mis padres were off – midwest bound.

The smell of orange blossoms abound.

 

Oh yes, there were more drinks.

 

After my parents left we briefly returned to Granada. We loved where we were staying, but the cell service was non-existant and we weren’t really fond of the rest of town. Ezra had a trying week or two trying to make it work but as soon as my folks left, so did we. After being further south by the water we completely shifted our focus. The “musts” on our list now resolved around the “Med”, the sun and sleepy relaxed towns. This is how our week in Nerja was born. Which gave us a dose of relaxation and a sense of calm after trying to make work, what previously just wasn’t.

We were just in time for Holy week known as Semana Santa. The music, the crowds and the penance processions were all quite moving. It was hard to see past the hoods at first (which bares no relation to the KKK) but it was hard not to be touched by the outpouring of community.

  

 

 

 

 

 

nowhere to go, nothing to do

“What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create.” – Buddha

Nowhere to go, nothing to do. This seems to sum up the pervading feeling I had the first two months into this European experiment. I found myself with a lot of time on my hands and I started analyzing my life and myself a bit more than normal – and I would venture to say a bit more than healthy. I’ve always thought of travel as my passion, not the only one of course, and chose to spend much of my free time and money on it. To a large extent I do still feel this way. There is real value in travel and I cannot begin to explain the ways in which it’s opened my eyes and heart and excited my sense of adventure. It’s given me permission to see the world and my place in it differently. I think everyone who travels probably feels this.

However, something started to shift. I can’t say exactly when, a few years ago, maybe when I first started fundraising to go to Haiti. This was not my first experience volunteering but it’s around the time I realized I wanted to spend less time focusing on myself. In fewer words, I want to do more for others. This is not to say that I’m not grateful for all that I have. I feel overwhelmed with gratitude for my life. Ezra and I say to each other once or twice a week how unbelievably lucky we are. We have many opportunities that much of the world does not have. We have our health, loving families, we’ve had wonderful experiences and maybe most importantly, we truly recognize that we’re lucky. This can all change in a second and someday it will. It’s easier to be grateful when contemplating the impermanence of life. My life may not be for everyone, but for me it’s been very very good. So with all this in mind I’ve been frustrated with myself, instead of easing into this experience, I’ve been resisting it.

I recently saw an article about a Moral Bucket list. It’s a bit catchy and flippant but it does capture the essence of what I’m feeling. I recognize I could be doing something a little more useful with my time. The more I learn about myself the crazier I think I am. In Five Element theory I’m a Water type. In Myers Briggs I’m an INFP, Kerisey says I’m a Healer. My dosha changes from a tri-doshic to just Vata. But my Vata is definitely out of whack. I’m an A Blood type.  What all of this tells me (and probably tells you more than you care to know) is that I like peace and philosophy, a strong value system, creativity and I have a rich internal world. I like community but also a good amount of solitude for a sense of well-being. I avoid conflict, I’m sensitive to criticism, an overall idealist and can be perceived as detached. I don’t always use logic or take advice. Instead I rely upon intuition and arrive at decisions sometimes not even knowing how I actually came to them. To be balanced I need routine, should lay off caffeine (one positive is I can have a glass of wine), meaningful friendships and not travel so much. So its no wonder I’m off, I’ve been neglecting major parts of what keeps my crazy self in balance. Otherwise I am prone to fear, stress and anxiety. Um okay check, check and check.

While I actually require a lot of alone time, I was feeling more isolation than balance. I’m craving yoga classes, digging in the dirt, getting acupuncture and I miss doing bodywork. I recognize these feelings aren’t actually coming just from this experience, I’d only been gone two or three months. But I’m coming off of years of traveling and nomadedness. I’m wanting (gasp) a routine and a home base. Exactly what all my doshic/ personality/blood types tell me. So why do I resist?

In order to pursue a few of these things we decided to go to Spain. My Spanish is rusty at best but I can at least communicate a little and I could focus on taking classes. It’s hard to explain why we weren’t just staying in one place.  We talked about this a lot. Some places were just expensive and I’ve already mentioned telecommunications have been an issue. We also wanted to take advantage of being in Europe and see things we hadn’t before. While I was figuring out a purpose, traveling at least gave me something to do with my time that I enjoy. I also had ample time to read, meditate, do yoga and exercise. (Yes, lets pretend I did these every day.)

So after another trip to London we flew to Barcelona for a long weekend before making our way to Granada – which is where we were planning to stay permanently (well for 2 or 3 months) if the stars aligned. I of course walked around and saw Cathedrals, the Picasso Museum and went to multiple stores looking for a SIM card and good plan for Ezra. I was not very successful. Ez and I had a fun tipsy night of Sangria drinking followed by a tired morning of Gaudi at La Sagrada Familia and Park Güell. The most memorable moment though was getting caught in a hail storm and walking through a shower of flower petals that were being shaken off the newly blooming trees. We ducked into a bar and watched this magical sight that brings me back to a feeling of gratitude.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eately + the misadventures continue

“Be where you are, not where you think you should be.”

We have a laundry list of must haves for each place we stay. This is a new experience for us. Normally when we travel we just look for the cheapest place. But here we want a kitchen, high speed internet, preferably one bedroom instead of a studio, a reliable cell connection, a workspace for Ez and a location that is desirable for me. If there is no construction going on, that is also a bonus. We had a romantic idea of moving to Umbria (the region next to Tuscany) to find some peace and quiet and just stay in one place for the next 3-4 weeks. We wanted to stay at an Agrotourismo because I thought I could take some classes or help out on a farm.

 

This sweet little notion did not come to fruition. In three weeks we ended up moving 10 times! It was like goldilocks where this house has no cell service, the next one no internet, the following one was great but was only available for 6 days and the wifi was slower than dial-up. The next one was freezing. It’s pretty funny in hindsight. We could not figure out if it was lack of infrastructure or just the old brick buildings – we’ve had better service in some developing countries. We’re considering staying in hotels again.

  

Regardless we had a wonderful few weeks driving around and soaked up the Umbrian countryside. We got a few days in Le Marche and Tuscany regions to boot. We walked through olive groves and drank a lot of great inexpensive wine. We went to the truffle capital of Norcia, drove over snow-covered mountians, saw beautiful churches and ate an obnoxious amount of pizza. And everyone was so incredibly nice.

A quick obligatory stop thru Pisa.

Then on to Cinque Terre for a week of beautiful weather, cliffs and sunsets. We stayed in the town of Manarola which had great trails for Ez to run and I walked between towns and soaked up some of the warm sun. It was starting to feel like spring!

  

A quick windy weekend in Florence impressed with incredible views of the Duomo. We were lazy tourists and didn’t want to pay for anything but did manage to get pizza in one more time, walked outside the Uffizi museum and along the river to the Ponte Vecchio bridge which is unique for not being destroyed during WWII.

I had to treat myself to gelato at least once a week. If that’s not beautiful, I don’t know what is! I’m talking about the gelato not the buildings.

A lot of great signage in Italy.

Maybe this was not quite the experience we were looking for, but a good experience found us anyway.

London – round 2

“Why not go out on a limb? That’s where the fruit is.” – Mark Twain

London was a quick trip and the highlight this time was St. Paul’s cathedral and the London museum. I forced myself up the steps to the very top (after turning back once or twice) and trying to breath thru a moment or two of a fear of height. I have discovered I am not a fan of little metal spiral staircases.

I was rewarded for my efforts with a pretty nice view of the city.

That is all until next time.

Eataly + misadventures in telecommunications

    “To make living itself an art; that is the goal.” -Henry Miller

After looking at a weather map we headed to Rome for its warmer climate, cheaper accommodation and overall Italian goodness. We decided to rent an apartment, try to get into a routine and find a little balance. If I have not mentioned this before – we are always talking about routines but very rarely follow one.

We decided to stay in the Trastevere neighborhood which was really lovely. Even though it rained I was able to get out most days to at least take a walk and Ez had a bit more space to work. We have our priorities straight and immediately went out and bought ourselves an espresso maker – I think our count is now three.

A little cheese please.

We saw sights in the evenings and weekends, although our usual style is to get out around 2:00. When glimpsing the long line at the Vatican we took a picture and immediately headed to the nearest cafe, justifying it with “it couldn’t have changed that much in the last 10 years, right?”

Espresso/vino break – when in Rome…

Here are some of the sights we did make it to.

           

After two weeks in Rome we decided to move instead of the original plan which was to stay. On my end I was actually getting into a bit of a routine doing yoga, studying a little Italian, reading books and cooking. Living a pretty good life, but I was looking to get involved in something. Ezra on the other hand was given the role as Project Manager and felt the pressure working remotely. Even with three different SIM cards and a personal modem the connection was horrible. Sometimes I’d see him huddled by the door or hanging out the window trying to get reception. This coupled with the construction going on all around us made for a stressful working condition. So we decided to spend some time in Venice before we needed to be back in London.

I’ve been to a few places that claim to be “the Venice of the East or of the North or of India.” I always kind of laughed about this, but couldn’t compare, as I’d never actually been to the real Venice. I admit sometimes I feel a bit jaded when I travel and wonder if we’ve done too much as of late. Maybe I should give it a break so I don’t feel unimpressed by really impressive things. Venice however was not one of these places. It really was a stark contrast from all the other “Venices” out there! Even with cold windy days and many mornings with flooded streets (including a drowned rat) I really liked it.

St. Mark’s Cathedral and square.

What can I say? Some people are foodies – I’m a veg and fruity.

A little Vivaldi in Venice, no big deal! 

We happened to be there the week before Valentine’s day and so everyone was out in their masquerade attire and it was fun watching tourists pose for other tourists in their fancy rags. I looked into going to one of the balls but after seeing quite a hefty price tag I contented myself with people watching.

Of course it couldn’t all be perfect and construction seemed to follow us at every turn. After waking to a bandsaw, and shouting-to-communicate lost its appeal, we changed apartments. The new digs had no cell signal so at a few desperate moments Ezra sat outside, in the rain, on the roof, taking his business meetings. Quickly trying to mute anytime a gondola went by shouting or a boat revving thru the canal. We decided once again this was not the right place to stay in our current situation. Nonetheless we had a wonderful week or two.

Religious graffiti: