NYC

 There’s no city like New York City, or at least I haven’t found it yet. There’s a sense of camaraderie, after all, New Yorkers have been through a lot. People are real and no bullshit, yet they are always kind and happy to help with directions.

For the first time, I took the NY subway by myself. It sounds like a small thing to most, but to me, it was huge. I didn’t grow up with public transportation and reading subway maps isn’t easy for me. Granted, I took the #4 train from Folsom St to 86th and back, but hey…small victories. Cool subway conductor made sure I got off at the right stop, grateful for that. It blew me away how kind people can be, maybe I’m just not used to that, living in Los Angeles so long. 

I was in NY for work, but had a day off to explore. What a joy to wander the city alone, it’s the second time I’ve ever been. This time I was on my own agenda, no lazy boyfriend to please. I walked for miles, visited the Met and the Guggenheim. Strolled Central Park, found all the great yummy places to eat. Had the best falafel at Nish Nush, really nice guy working there. It’s definitely different after Covid, but I love that vaccine records are always checked and people seem to be looking out for each other. 

The fall colors didn’t disappoint. I look forward to going back.

 

Nor did the holiday lights.

Things I want to remember

 Often, I have these little memories of the places I visited in the US and EU. I have the urge to write these things down, to keep them with me.  The little things are everything, aren’t they?

I was driving on A10 towards Paris, headed to CDG. Autumn was starting, occasionally I’d see a tree lit up like an orange flame, leaves in full change. There were vivid red and bright yellow trees too. I thought “how cool is it to experience the leaves changing in FRANCE”.  I enjoyed that little Audi rental car, a fun car to drive. I liked that in France and Greece, drivers understood that the left lane is a passing lane, the right lanes are for travel. Some states up north in the US seem to understand that as well. In California people don’t seem to know this. 

I loved getting the hang of the roundabouts in France. They didn’t have as many in Corfu.  

Driving to Aggelokastro Castle on these tiny, deserted roads in Corfu was such a joy. I sometimes had tears in my eyes - amazed to have the experience, to be driving in Greece, in a foreign country, for the very first time. 

                                                      Hike up to Aggelokastro Castle

                                             Full moon over the mountains in Paros

                                             I could see Parikia and the cliff path from my balcony

                                             Always made a point to watch the sunset 

Walking along the cliff side path in Paros, I passed a fig tree. The smell was so incredible, I could see how those trees inspired many amazing perfumes. Paros was special, but Paxos was my love. 

I think I loved the fact that Paxos was small. I loved that I could take a walk on the coast road, see a pretty little cove to swim in. I’d often have the cove to myself, it was so perfect. The water was so blue. 

                                                       Stunningly blue sea in Paxi

                                             My rental was full of windows, always something I love. 

                                              Swimming cove, my shadow

                     

The view from my place was really magnificent. It was a sweet, quiet little island. I loved that the tourists only visited for a few hours in the day, then left on boats for other islands. I felt like a local. 

Today, I was thinking about Maine, how beautiful it is. It felt wild, old, noble. 

                                              Lovely rocks on Maine coast

                                             Osprey breed on this island every year

                                             Mohegan Island 

                                             Mohegan Island, the trails were great. I can smell this photo

                                             Favorite trail near my airbnb in Maine 

I loved driving in Maine, so much to see and discover. The smell of it was so great. The place I stayed was so absolutely quiet. I love that, feeling like I’m cradled by trees.

East Atlanta Village

I was able to do the entire process of renting an apartment in Atlanta from Florence, Italy. My friend Debbie works in real estate and sent a video of a nice little garage apartment in a highly desirable area of town, East Atlanta Village, aka EAV. Cheap enough to allow me to wander, too. Still, it’s really weird for me to “land”.

I hit the ground running when I got here. Movers scheduled from Italy, all deposits paid via an app, Wi-Fi arranged. Moved all the stuff out of my storage space on November 1st, only to turn around the next day and pay someone to take it all away.

Travel changed the way I view “stuff” - and how much I want to have fewer things. When you travel, you basically have only whatever your brought with you and I got used to that. There were times that my small rolling suitcase and backpack felt like too much. When I started to unpack all the things I brought with me from California, panic set in. In this very small apartment I saw myself maniacally moving things from one place to another, it was impossible to find a place for all the STUFF. I guess you could say I had a bit of a meltdown. 

What became abundantly clear to me was the state of mind I was in when I packed my house up in Los Angeles. I could see that I didn’t trust the abundance of life. The things that I thought I needed or that meant something to me now just seemed like useless junk. I was clinging to my California life via piles of things - and it’s not the way I want to live. 

I wanted to become untethered from things. When I first started this blog, that was my goal. I asked myself with each item “what is the purpose of this?”. Things without purpose for me went into the pile and the next day, I paid to make the pile go away. I felt the guilt of filling the landfills, hoped that someone could find use for some of the items, and vowed to learn from this mistake. I could hear my mom and my dad in my head saying “don’t let these things weigh you down”. I think this hardcore purging is called Swedish Death Cleaning. The last thing I want when I leave this world is to burden my loved ones with my possessions.

In looking over the pile, I could see how so many of the things I kept were because other people expected me to. Even if it wasn’t my taste. I won’t live like this anymore. I will learn the art of gracefully saying “no, thank you” when well-wishers try to give me things. 

I don’t want WEIGHT. Friends were saying things like “you should get a cat” and I think of pets as weight. I love animals but prefer to enjoy my friend’s pets. I feel a similar way about children.

Florence

 It’s funny, I could’ve sworn I posted about Florence, an amazing jewel of a city!!! Totally remiss of me - I guess I must’ve been thinking about posting. Or maybe posting in a dream. 

                                             Ponte Vecchio

What a gorgeous city. I would’ve liked to see Rome, Venice, and Cinque Terre, but I think I made the right choice with limited time. I stayed in Florence for 5 days, and loved every moment. 

I booked a motorcycle sidecar tour I found on Airbnb. It was a great way to see the other areas of Florence - away from the crowds. I preferred the other side of the river after that tour. Gilberto showed me a great gelato place and a perfect little cafe, a hidden gem near a park. I drank great wine there one day and watched people for hours. It was perfection. I found a fabulous place for pesto pasta across the river, too. The hike up to Michelangelo Square is great, the view from there- really spectacular. 

                                                       Sidecar tour!!

                                                       I hate selfies but this view!

I ate a LOT of paninis from All’Antico Vinaio!!! I’m drooling thinking about them. They had a big selection of vegetarian options, really grateful for that. 

I didn’t stay in the Airbnb I rented more than one night. It just wasn’t my kind of place. I found Hotel Milu, on a quieter street close to the river. I loved the extremely high ceilings, the simplicity and cleanliness of the rooms, a great shower, the huge windows.  It was close to everything I wanted to see. 

I went to the Accademia Gallery, saw David and left HAHA. Too crowded. Went to Uffuzi Gallery and enjoyed seeing The Birth of Venus in person as well as the all of the incredible sculptures. I almost canceled my visit - glad I didn’t though it’s not really the kind of art I’m into. I definitely appreciated it and spent lots of time wandering the galleries and hallways. Amazing place. 

                                              The Arno

                                                       Cathédrale Santa Maria del Fiore

                                                       Needs no introduction

                                                       Drinking buddy at my favorite cafe

                                             Gilberto, my tour guide

I loved wandering around the city without any plan. The light, the colors, you really lose yourself.

Portugal, you win

I’m so grateful I decided to go to Portugal from Italy. That sentence makes me want to pinch myself, this whole experience has been a dream of mine for a LONG time. I didn’t have the money when I was in my 20s-30s (freelance makes vacations hard) and in my 40s I had a job that kept me very busy and required me to travel. Don’t get me wrong, I was so grateful for the work travel, felt so fortunate to travel and get paid for it. I knew I wanted to eventually do it on my own time, choosing places I want to see. 

So here I am in Lisbon. I really love it. 

Is it because I know it’s my last stop on this Europe trip? It makes it more poignant for sure! I couldn’t have chosen a better way to wrap up what’s been a truly remarkable experience than to come to Portugal.

The food is incredible, the people are innovative and creative. The views are astounding, I love my Airbnb at the top of a building overlooking the city. It’s lovely and bright, lots of windows, clean and simple just like I like a space to be.

I love that every walk around the city is mostly an uphill climb, it’s urban hiking at its finest. I love the pastéis de nata pastries, I’ve eaten so many I’ve lost count. I love the Time Out Market, all the amazing food and wine from some of the best chefs in the city. The Alfama is so interesting, the winding, narrow streets and tiled buildings. The river is beautiful to see from the hillsides, the whole city is vibrant and colorful - that there’s water sparkling in the distance is such a nice bonus. So gorgeous and so incredibly different, though in so many ways, there’s a lot of similarities with Los Angeles and San Francisco. It’s gritty and graffiti-filled, like LA, hilly like SF. There’s even a bridge, Ponte 25 de Abril that is a twin to the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather is very much like Southern California right now, and I have to admit, I’ve really missed that. The plants are very similar too - I always marveled over California plants and trees. 

                                             Cool street art, Alfama

                                                     Alfama

                                                       Love the tiles and the colors

I went to Sintra today, a 40 minute train ride away. It’s so incredibly beautiful- a wonderland. Forests, castles, a pretty village. Went to Quinta da Regaleira, Castelo dos Mouros, and Pena Palace. Walked down the winding staircase of the Initiation Well, such a cool experience. Most of all, I loved hiking through the forests and gardens. I spent the entire day there and didn’t really want to leave!

I bought a Lisbon pass, which is a cool thing. I can use trains, buses, and trams for free for 72 hours. It also gives me discounts to monuments and museums - some of them are free. It’s pretty great. 

Portugal has a. feeling to it I can’t seem to capture in photos. It makes me want to explore more of this country. It’s got passion and isn’t pretentious, though it has so many reasons to be. 

                                                     Initiation Well at Quinta de Regaleira

                                                                  

                                                        Quinta de Regaleira 

                                               Queen Amelia’s Gardens , Pena Palace 

                                                       The greenhouse at Pena Palace

                                                       Quinta de Regaleira 

                                                       Pena Palace Fountain of the Small Birds

Paris and the Loire Valley

10/16/21

 Paris is a magnificent city, I was so happy to be there. My stay was short and sweet, Friday evening to Sunday noon. I managed to cram in all of my favorite museums into one day - The Louvre, D’Orsay, Pompidou. There was a great Georgia O’Keefe exhibition at the Pompidou, I’m so glad I got to see it.

Unfortunately it was too easy to imagine statues taking selfies - haha. You have to laugh at how popular culture has changed us.

 It was gorgeous weather, everyone was dressed for fall. I immediately needed to buy a jacket as I somehow didn’t foresee needing one. One of the first things I did Friday when I arrived was to go to the Marais and get a falafel from L’as du Falafel. I’ve been craving it since August 2016.

It was very crowded in the 1st Arrondissement as I predicted, but I welcomed it after the isolation of Corfu. 

The kindest driver took me to and from the airport. The kindness of strangers never fails to blow me away. He took great care in making sure I knew exactly where to pick up my rental car at Orly to drive to the Loire Valley.

The Loire is astounding, and I feel incredibly fortunate to be here. I will admit in the beginning I didn’t get what the big deal was with the chateaux. After walking through the rooms, my feet on the worn places on the stone stairs, I get it 100%. History is everywhere here and although I was never great at it in school, I can definitely appreciate it here. 

My first chateau was about 200 ft away from where I’m staying, Le Chateau D’Azay le Rideau. Astounding, truly. I feel that photos and words don’t really do these places justice. 

The second, and my favorite, Chenonceau. I loved the history of it, the gallery built over the river, the gardens.

The sense of time gone by is a strange feeling to me, I almost can’t grasp how old these places are. The next was Chateau de Villandry.

I loved the gardens, took a lovely walk in the woods. 

Then, Chateau de Chambord, amazing place. 

I think my favorite part of all the chateaux are the kitchens. Not sure why, I just love them.

Next chateau was Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire. The views of the Loire!!!!!

On to Amboise to the Chateau Royal Amboise. The views from this chateau were incredible as well. 

 I also visited Chateau du Clos Lucé. Leonardo daVinci’s residence in Amboise. 

I’m staying at the Hotel de Biencourt. The owners (Bruno and Xavier) are friends of my aunt, so kind and helpful. My spoken French isn’t great, but between English and French, we communicate fine. It’s about confidence in speaking and listening, I can read and write it decently. Being here is a whole different thing with the language, it’s intimidating but I’m getting by. 

Bruno made reservations for me at the best restaurants!  First night was Le Petit Gousier, where I met the kindest woman. She went out of her way to encourage my French and find a bus route to Tours for me. The food was simple but beautifully done. The second was L’Auberge du XIIe Siècle in Saché, absolutely amazing food and service. I also went to L’Auberge Pom Poire on Bruno’s recommendation - the food here I will never forget. I was thrilled that they asked about dietary restrictions and built your 5-7 course tasting menu around your preferences. All of the restaurants really blew me away. Tonight I’m going to Cote Cour, another recommendation of Bruno’s. The food here in the Loire is some of the best I’ve had in my life. 

Azay le Rideau at night, with a little slice of 🌙 moon.

The river at Chateau D’Azay Le Rideau.

The gardens at Chateau D’Azay le Rideau

Church in Azay le Rideau.

It was in the Loire Valley that I decided to see Florence and Lisbon, then go back to the USA on Oct 28 from Lisbon. The way I booked the trip after Lisbon was chaotic and not planned well. I don’t think it’s the best way to see places - frantically zig-zagging from country to country.  I planned as if I would never be able to do this again, and I prefer to think that it’s absolutely possible to see all the places in the world I want to see - and it doesn’t have to be done all at once.