Antiparos and Paxos

I enjoyed Paros, but Antiparos was more my speed - more peaceful, slower, less crowded, fewer teenagers. You get to Antiparos via 15-20 minute boat. I love the boat rides and the buses too - it’s cool to sit and just look around. Took a bus to the caves, pretty cool. Not for the person who can’t climb a LOT of stairs or for the claustrophobic. I enjoyed seeing it, and it was a good 20 degrees cooler inside. Beautiful.

 

 Had excellent seafood at a restaurant near the port before I left. Ice cold beer, grilled sardines, and of course, a Greek salad, which I can’t seem to get enough of. I love the fava bean dip too, Greek food is really delicious. I wish I’d brought my bathing suit, the beaches are supposed to be amazing on Antiparos. I think I’d had enough beach for a few days and was content to wander around.

Greeks probably get fed up with tourists, which I get. I am not a rude, pushy tourist, I go out of my way to be polite and considerate. I’m sure a lot of people don’t. I’ve encountered some snarky Greeks but for the most part they have been kind to me.

Went to Naoussa on the last day in Paros, glad I did. I almost skipped it, feeling restless and a little insecure. Walked the cliff path and took the bus anyway, because I truly want to have no regrets - or as few as possible. Naoussa was lovely, more upscale than Parikia. I didn’t go to the beaches here either - I know, it’s kind of nuts. I was happy to eat good food and wander the streets. If I were going to Paros again, I’d stay in Naoussa. My last night in Paros was super windy, wind blowing towards the sea from the mountains. I didn’t sleep well, as I’m also always so antsy before I travel.

The trip to Paxos was interesting. I didn’t realize I could’ve taken a flight from Paros to Corfu, instead I took a four hour overcrowded ferry to the Piraeus port in Athens then an hour flight from Athens to Corfu.  It made for a long day of travel. I have to admit, because of the people I met, I’m glad I did it that way. My driver to the airport in Athens was so funny and kind, his name was Theodore. His ringtone was “Highway to Hell” and when I asked him if the tourists annoy him at times, he said that actually they were the best part of his job. He said that tourists are in a good mood, having just come from vacation or on their way to their vacation - makes total sense. So he enjoys the conversation, and I enjoyed him very much. We had a laugh about the latest antiVaxxer theory - that the vaccination implants a chip that will attract bullets to you in the next war. WOW. 

Landing in Corfu, I marveled at the huge difference - so many trees. Paros didn’t have many trees. My driver Spiros drove like a maniac but was funny and so helpful. He made calls to ask about the port in Lefkimmi for my boat the next day to Paxos. I spent one night in a dismal hotel, but the guy who checked me in was helpful as well - arranged a ride to the port for the next morning. Taxis are hard to come by in Lefkimmi. At promptly 8:45 am, I get a knock at my door and open it to this gorgeous smiling Greek woman. Julie was great - we had a great conversation, she was vibrant and cool - we exchanged numbers and will have coffee when I’m back to Corfu. 

The boat to Paxos was fun - a small ferry called Desponia. I really do love the little boat rides. The trip took an hour.

Paxos is truly AMAZING. I feel like there’s not enough adjectives to describe it. My Airbnb host Thekli kindly let me check in early. She was funny and takes such pride and care in her property. It’s worth the long trip to get here, I’d do it again in two seconds. I worry six days won’t be enough. The light in the apartment is perfection - I have such a hard time with dark rooms. Here, I surrounded by windows, each with incredible views. I feel so fortunate to be here. 

After most of the tourists left on the boats, I took a swim. It was glorious. Just me and two other Greek women had the pebbly beach all to ourselves. The water is turquoise and clear, the temperature is perfect and I happily floated for a while, so grateful to have this opportunity.

Kalimera, Greece

 

I made it to Greece. Wore a mask for over 14 hours, 100% worth it, but holy shit it’s not fun. The driver’s name was Zac. He picked me up from the Athens airport - he gave me some priceless info on a few things. Coffee, being first and foremost - had my first Greek espresso freddo - strong iced espresso -and I’m spoiled for life. Greek coffee is amazing.

My first stop after landing in Athens was the port town of Rafina. I had great eggplant and, from Zac’s suggestion, discovered Alfa beer. I am not a huge fan of beer but I really like this one. Spent the night in Rafina, wandered the streets and little beach, then hopped on an early ferry for Paros. Loved the four hour ferry ride. Now that I actually know how to get on the ferry and get off haha. 

 

Lots of kitty friends

View from my studio in Paros

Paros is lovely. I’m staying at a place called Niriides Studios, simple and sweet. I love the bright white walls, the light, the windows. Super nice owner, Angi. She picked me up from the port. Stopped at a grocery store for me. I love grocery stores in different places, even in the states I make a point to explore them a little - they are all so different. I love this little studio I’m in. The ocean lulls me to sleep at night, I keep my windows open and enjoy watching the light change when I wake up from jet lag. The gorgeous Greek salad in the photo is from Peter’s Cafe, a one minute walk from my room. They also serve drinks on the beachfront, which is where I spend a lot of time. I get my espresso freddo in the morning then switch to beer in the afternoons. 

This is the sunset view from my room. I get why people from other countries want to retire here. The pace is different. Waiters don’t hover. You take your time with your food, enjoying the view and savoring the amazing flavors. There’s a learning curve for me, always. I try not to beat myself up about it - you don’t know something until you learn it, after all. Ferries were a learning experience for me, they’re different from the ferries from Long Beach to Catalina Island. Grocery stores were different- old school getting produce weighed before you check out - we are so spoiled with cashiers weighing the stuff for us. I remember when I was a kid we had to have a clerk weigh it.

I love the cliff side walk to Parikia, Paros’ main port and town. The ocean is to your right, gorgeous clear water, and it’s rugged and wonderful. Tomorrow I’m considering taking the bus to Lefkes, quaint little village in the mountains. I’m intimidated by buses - I didn’t grow up in a place that used them, and California is absolutely useless with their public transportation. I will figure it out. Learning curve again. I remind myself the worst that could happen is that I have to wait for another bus. I will also see Naoussa, a fishing town about 8km from Krios beach, where I’m staying. Other than the cliff side trail, walking here isn’t recommended  - at least on the roads. There’s no room for it and the cars are going pretty fast. 

Loti, the woman that cleans and takes care of things here, is so nice to me. She and I bonded over an issue I had with my key. I think she likes that I made a point to remember her name and that I had to laugh at how hard it was to figure out what was up with the key. She always says hello to me, blew me kisses today which is so funny and so sweet. She feeds the kitties, big plus in my book. 

Got stung by a jellyfish along with probably every other person who went in the water yesterday and today. It hurt but I got over it. I like to swim but it’s just as nice for me to sit under a beach umbrella and read, people watch, and be mesmerized by the sound and the look of the gorgeous turquoise sea. 

Alexandria, VA, Winston-Salem, NC and the end of the US road trip (for now)

 It was an extremely long drive to Alexandria, VA from Maine. Eleven hours doesn’t seem like that much, but with all the turns, traffic, and insane drivers, I was completely exhausted. I drove through New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland before I finally reached the pretty city of Alexandria. It was interesting to see the scenery change.

Having less than two days there, I didn’t see much. Walked King Street, looked in a lot of the shops. Had a very bizarre experience with the woman who owns An American In Paris, a nice high-end clothing shop on King Street. Walked the waterfront on the Potomac River, had a great dinner, and left. I did like the city and enjoyed my brief stay. Hard to get a real sense of a city in such a short time. 

Winston-Salem I liked a lot,  but I spent even less time there. It was just a stopping point for me so I wouldn’t drive another 10+ hours. I absolutely loved the Airbnb I stayed in. So perfect - an old grocery store. The hosts had remarkable taste and I think I’d love to go back and explore the city more.

Loved the ceilings in this place. That’s the bathroom which had a gorgeous oversized claw foot tub. And the ever-present kudzu is an indication you’re back in the south. I took a nice long walk in Quarry Park, never seen a quarry before. It’s really pretty cool.

Tuesday I leave for Greece. Currently in Georgia. A little strange to be back but good. 

Vermont I didn’t forget you

I stayed in the most perfect Airbnb. Lots of jokes about the hobbit house in the shire were made. I have to say, the interior of the house wasn’t hobbit-like at all, it was beautifully done. Everything so well-appointed and not at all cluttered or overdone. Just perfection. Loved listening to the Barred Owls at night. Incredibly quiet here, a great place to come back to after exploring.

I enjoyed hiking in Vermont a lot. Went to a hike called Pine Cobble Trail which intersects with the Appalachian Trail as well as the Owl Trail on the property, which is where I took the photo below. Great mushrooms everywhere, lots of bright orange salamanders, tons of butterflies. It was so green it almost hurts your eyes. 

Vermont smells incredible. I think it’s the sugar maples? I don’t know - there’s this fresh smell I can’t describe that I smelled everywhere. Such clean air. I loved driving with my top down. I often left in the morning without a real plan, just to drive scenic Highway 7A. I love the feeling of having no plan and just happily wandering. The Green Mountains in the background, fields of yellow and purple flowers - I think I drove from Pownal to Manchester three times. Great place to have a convertible. 

Went to the Bennington Museum - they had a Grandma Moses exhibit which was really cool. Lots of other great paintings and really interesting displays - I highly recommend this museum. I found it by accident, saw it as I was driving by and decided to stop. The Early Vermont gallery was fascinating. To see things from the 1700s and 1800s created by Vermont craftsmen while actually in Vermont was quite an experience. I didn’t make it to the Robert Frost House but there was a lot about him in the Bennington Museum. 

I also went to Massachusetts MOCA, a really HUGE cool museum. A lot of the artists created the pieces on site. There was an exhibition by Blane De St. Croix that was hard to see - climate change. Also Jenny Holzer - interesting to read. 

 I liked the building itself. 

Vermont was a place I’d like to explore more. I’m not quite sure I got the full experience though I enjoyed it very much. 

Maine and Change

 I’m almost at the end of the US leg of this tour. Life is so strange now, and I’m sure I’m not the first person to say this. I can tell you that I’m genuinely happy to see people when I hike now. That was rarely the case in California, I didn’t always say hello to people I met on the trails. Sometimes I was in such a shit mood, I hoped to not see anyone else. Now I make a point to smile and say something. To connect to other human beings. This hasn’t always been my strong point. 

This is a pony who was eating apples behind the Olsen House in Cushing. This is the house that Andrew Wyeth painted - the house and the Olsens were favorite subjects. The pony and I had this funny moment - he gave me a look when I picked up one of the apples and ate it standing next to him. He wasn’t in a fence and didn’t have a halter on. I think it’s interesting - I wondered if he escaped or if people just let him wander - good way to clean up the apples on the ground, I guess. 

This is as close as I could get to the composition of Christina’s World. Andrew Wyeth was truly a genius. I went to the Farnsworth Museum - a lot of his paintings there as well as Jamie Wyeth’s and NC Wyeth’s. Amazing stuff to see. NC Wyeth was very much underrated in my opinion, in person his paintings are astounding. I spent a few hours in Portland - went to the Portland Museum of Art, which was great. They have a David Driskell exhibit - incredible. 

Reid State Park is pretty unforgettable. Loved the gray slate of the water with the moody sky. 

Monhegan Island was great. I wish I’d stayed the night. I was preoccupied with missing the boat on my hike, we arrived at 11:30a, the boat would depart for the mainland at 2:45p. I kept getting lost, which I’m not a fan of. It was so cool to be on the island, though. I went to the Fish House afterwards for fish tacos. Had some great cider there at the little place next to the dock. 

A shot of Monhegan Island trails. Lovely stuff. 

I went to a great park a couple of times called Wolfe’s Neck Woods. It’s 5 miles from where I’m staying. 

The photo below is from Chase Reserve. I love it because I can walk to it from my Airbnb. I take this trail called Jack’s Trail. Lots of diversity, the marsh below was created by a 🦫 beaver. I go here almost every day, it’s an easy 2.5 mile walk, serene and easy, sometimes routine is comforting. 

I think when I was working as a teacher and a make-up artist, I developed this character that I thought was me. Kind of like an actor does for a role. It wasn’t because I’m a faker, I’m just shy, and have always been. The fact that I was able to teach at all is amazing, and without developing this character I doubt I’d have been able to. I always genuinely cared for the students and my co-workers, but I remember going home completely exhausted, which lead to not socializing outside of work at all. I didn’t have the energy.

Because of Covid, I see more than ever that so many people are really trying as best they can to continue their lives. I see a lot of parents trying to provide their kids with a life that’s as normal and happy as possible. I think it’s got to be so hard for them, both the parents and the kids. Today, sitting outside on Maine Street in Brunswick, eating gelato (New Englanders love their ice cream, and I see why), I overheard a kid telling her parents that she didn’t have to wear a mask in the ice cream store, that they were wrong about it. The parents paused before they said “well, that’s great honey”. I mean, what else can you say? It’s already so hard on kids. 

More than ever, I just want to be kind, do no harm. I was always nice - never been rude - but now it feels so much more essential. I try to be present in the moment as much as possible. It isn’t easy - with all the time I spend alone it’s hard not to get lost in the endless what ifs. I’m always grateful and remind myself that happiness doesn’t have to depend on certain conditions being met.

Maine is gorgeous and bizarre. Not like any other place I’ve seen, really. The water is everywhere, I can’t get my bearings. The woods smell great - like mushrooms, pine needles, and something sharp and green. I love the feel of the ground beneath my feet. When I’m near the water, the smell of the ocean is raw and wild - sometimes it smells really bad but it’s so real that I like it. Sea life, seaweed, birds.  I know why so many painters live here and paint these glorious scenes.