If, as A Course in Miracles, states, "the surest signs of enlightenment are joy and laughter" then being in Greece has brought us closer to enlightenment. We are reminded by a reading for the day, that, if we cannot laugh about something, we are not yet healed from that experience. In Greece, our stories and laughter flow like Ouzo; clear, crisp, abundantly and easily. Any old wounds that we carried here must be healing.
While this post is a reflection of yesterday's events, I would be remiss to not immediately share this mornings highlight; breakfast with Rick Steves. (Well, perhaps not at the same table.) Ginny fell immediately into "groupie" fashion as she began to giggle with delight at meeting face to face one of her true "Idols," the "God" of Travel. (We are in the land of Gods.) As I pushed her gently off the setee to obtain his autograph, I noted that he held true to his book and was in fact staying at one his suggested accomodations. For a moment I exit the present and wonder, "What destination will Rick guide us to next?"
Yesterday was filled with another delightful breakfast. Clearly when your hotel feeds you so satisfyingly, why would we go anywhere else. Besides, it is difficult to journey about without a morning cup of coffee. In this case, I found out that our hotel Carbonaki serves "Turkish" coffee, and it is by far the best coffee I have ever had!
We began our day by walking through town and ventured into the "Old Venice" area, where old windmills decorate the landscape. I am mesmerized by the crashing waves against the foundations of the buildings. The practical side of my brain wonders what the maintenance must be like for one of those buildings. Ginny comments that the constant sounds would become overwhelming and exhausting. Here, the force of mother nature never sleeps.
We meander (yes, I use this word often as it accurately depicts the narrow walkways between the buildings that we follow) the walkways . Small cars come through on occassion and I am forced to watch breathlessly for fear that even my breath will cause them to shift enough to scrape the building walls. We head to the town center where we chat with the local "honey" man as we wait for a bus to take us to Ag Ioannis through the quaint little village of Ornos. I am certain that God is traveling with us, as the bus did not fall off the cliffs. It is remarkable the ease with which the drivers manage the journey.
The sea at Ioannis is crystal blue. No matter which direction you focus your eyes, natural beauty abounds. After another delicious meal, this time at Hippie Fish, the location of a movie I am told is a must see, "Shirley Valentine," and a swim, I nap drunkenly on one of the lounge chairs that scatter the beach. Ginny is forced to wake me to return to our town.
Back at the hotel, she naps while I continue to practice painting the white on white hues of the houses. This struggle might lead me to attending an art class. Depciting the multiple shades of white to distinguish the houses that fill the cliffside is easy with my eye; not so with my paintbrush.
Dinner is selected by mistake (one "K" looked like another "K" to me.) It is a result of our first retaurant choice being busy, our stomachs being loud, and a series confusing pathways. Although the setting was picturesque (a great setting for a wedding reception with its large white on white space, flowing white drapery and large beautifully shaped white tables, it was our first disappointing meal. The Baklava that I set out to find afterward, helped ease the wound of a not so good meal.
Afterward, we strolled back through Old Venice looking at store fronts, watching the sea, and listenning to the music of each passing eatery until it was "late" enough to attempt dancing at Jackie O's. Unfortunately for us, half past midnight was still not late enough to find the crowd dancing. Reluctantly, we surrendered to the demands of our bodies and returned to our rooms for rest. One minor Greek flaw is that the mattresses here are more like cots. Fortunately, I am a "back sleeper." Ginny has become a "back sleeper" after the numbness of her hip was more uncomfortable then changing sleeping positions.
If the path of enlightenment is "paved with play and celebration", we are walking in the right direction.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Athens to Mykonos...the joy is in the journey
I remind myself daily that the "joy is in the journey." When the journey is anywhere in Greece, it truly is easier to be joyful! As the day is ending, I thought that the name of the blog should be, "I wouldn't change a thing." (At least so far.)
Our days in Athens were perfect. Certainly we could have done much more: finish exploring the Ancient Agora, head to the moutaintop to see the famous "church on the hill," or dine at another restaurant on the steps. Yet, there is something satisfying about leaving a place wanting more.
We ate mindfully once again upon "our" (yes, very possessive) rooftop, again savoring the greek yogurt with drizzeled honey and fruit. Ginny wrote as I attempted my hand at my art work. I actually referred to myself as an amateur artist, thinking that this is a beginning of something more. As I try to regain the parts of my brain that have gone dormant, I explore the detail of the past months in my mind wondering why so long has past since my last attempts. All I know at this moment is that I am having difficulty painting distinguishing shades of white. (I wish Chris werer here to coach me through this stuck point.)
Our driver was prompt and we left the hotel as scheduled. (And yes, much to the surprise of those who know me at all, I too was packed and on-time.!) We headed through the busy streets of Athens, busier as a result of the metro strike. We are glad we splurged for the private taxi dirver. Our ferry was much larger than expected, but gratefully so as we hit the swelling Aegean sea waves. First stop, Syros. We arrived at Mykonos four hours after leaving Athens. The time passes quickly as you watch the changing waters and each island that you pass. We didn't even finish our game of backgammon. Thanks to Alice, I have my trusted backgammon game to carry with me. I am still waiting to find a weathered 80 year old man to play with me and tell me tales as we do.
It is easy to find a cab after departing the ferry. We settle into the Carbonaki hotel just a short while later. Our hotel is calming in its multiple shades of white with splashes of blue. It is filled with elegant seating areas that call to you to just be still. We are still, for a moment. Then llaughter fills our space and we are on to the next moment.
The white on white on white is everywhere. The streets, buildings, walkways, ceilings. There are no cars as we stroll along the narrow alley ways between the two and three story buildings with tterraces and flowers, shops and eateries. We had hoped for lunch yet dinner was the next meal since the timing of the day had past. Dinner was at the Appolosa, an excellent recommendation by Panos from the hotel. We shared feta cheese that has never tasted as good anywhere else! After dining, we met people as we strolled in the shops, filling their stores with our llaughter, as they too joined in.
The scenery of our journey will be marked by photographs; my heart will remember the journey by its laughter.
Our days in Athens were perfect. Certainly we could have done much more: finish exploring the Ancient Agora, head to the moutaintop to see the famous "church on the hill," or dine at another restaurant on the steps. Yet, there is something satisfying about leaving a place wanting more.
We ate mindfully once again upon "our" (yes, very possessive) rooftop, again savoring the greek yogurt with drizzeled honey and fruit. Ginny wrote as I attempted my hand at my art work. I actually referred to myself as an amateur artist, thinking that this is a beginning of something more. As I try to regain the parts of my brain that have gone dormant, I explore the detail of the past months in my mind wondering why so long has past since my last attempts. All I know at this moment is that I am having difficulty painting distinguishing shades of white. (I wish Chris werer here to coach me through this stuck point.)
Our driver was prompt and we left the hotel as scheduled. (And yes, much to the surprise of those who know me at all, I too was packed and on-time.!) We headed through the busy streets of Athens, busier as a result of the metro strike. We are glad we splurged for the private taxi dirver. Our ferry was much larger than expected, but gratefully so as we hit the swelling Aegean sea waves. First stop, Syros. We arrived at Mykonos four hours after leaving Athens. The time passes quickly as you watch the changing waters and each island that you pass. We didn't even finish our game of backgammon. Thanks to Alice, I have my trusted backgammon game to carry with me. I am still waiting to find a weathered 80 year old man to play with me and tell me tales as we do.
It is easy to find a cab after departing the ferry. We settle into the Carbonaki hotel just a short while later. Our hotel is calming in its multiple shades of white with splashes of blue. It is filled with elegant seating areas that call to you to just be still. We are still, for a moment. Then llaughter fills our space and we are on to the next moment.
The white on white on white is everywhere. The streets, buildings, walkways, ceilings. There are no cars as we stroll along the narrow alley ways between the two and three story buildings with tterraces and flowers, shops and eateries. We had hoped for lunch yet dinner was the next meal since the timing of the day had past. Dinner was at the Appolosa, an excellent recommendation by Panos from the hotel. We shared feta cheese that has never tasted as good anywhere else! After dining, we met people as we strolled in the shops, filling their stores with our llaughter, as they too joined in.
The scenery of our journey will be marked by photographs; my heart will remember the journey by its laughter.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Dancing Under the Parthenon After Midnight......
was the ending of a long day. Saying "yes" to all life offers is the beginning.
How many of us go through life wanting and waiting for happiness to fall upon us, as if Glinda will wave her majic wand and grant our wish. I sometimes refer to this phenomana as "living my life on pause." Sometimes pausing is a good thing; it allows our soul to rest and our spirit to gather clarity on "what next." Waiting to live life on the other hand is tragic. What if this is our last moment on earth.
For me, I ask each morning that I live my life with intention and choice, standing in my dignity and grace (which, I often fall short of). I want to live so that I allow my magnificience and "god" given gifts to bring wellness, joy and laughter into my life, my children's lives, the lives of my family, and to all others that I touch directly and indirectly. As I go through the streets of Athens, we laugh heartily as I politely say "no thank-you" to each peddlar who approaches. How can I not. I speak to the strangers who approach me as if they are offering a gift, not soliciting my wallet.
Today was another day filled with "awe" as I exhaled deep sighs at almost every turn. I shook my head in disbelief. Morning breakfast of greek yogurt and can peaches with drizzled honey touched my tastebuds as if it were my first meal. I savored it as if it might be my last. Every bite was witnessed by the greatness of the Acropolis.
We began the day walking along Adriano to enter into the path to the Acropolis. Our tour was proudly led by Ginny with her trusted companion "Rick" (as in Rick Steves). We wondered through onto Mars Hill (what has been the center of Athens since reported time - 680 BC - the buildings were constructed in 450 BC)) to walk in the footsteps of St. Paul and through the Beule Gate into the Propylae. Yes, here, the world could be ruled. As we circled around the Acropolis we learned stories of architectual genius, devotion to the Gods, the heartache of destruction that mankind can leave in its path and how one woman, Athenia, Goddess of Wisdom, could inspire a civilization. One of my favorite sites, the ladies as I refer to them as, Caryatids, stood tall and graceful and in their dedication and devotion could carry the weight of the Erechtheion. We walked and walked and laughed and laughed.
We paused for lunch upon another rooftop, dining on a traditional greek salad before transitioning from one world to the next. As we returned to the present archtecture of the Acropolis Museum, with its glass floors, that allowed us to witness the excavation that continues to uncover our past, we stood within a breaths distance from a world that I can't fully comprehend. Again I am reminded of how the conflict between men permeates all that we see. Many of the statues of the Pediment (the triangular peek of the Parthenon) had been carried away by conquerors and the greedy English. What was displayed, however, was enough to appeciate the full grandeur of a building that took less than 10 years to complete and was done by paid laborers.
At the end of this, every cell craves a cup of good greek coffee sitting on the Plaka, side by side, to people watch. After hours of strolling and shopping we return to our room. After a quick shower and change we return to the steps of the Plaka to dine on yet another rooftop just feet below the Parthenon walls. How quickly we find ourselves on "Greek" time, dining at 10pm on fried cheese and Mousaka. Our exhaustion is expressed by actually asking our waiter, "What is the name of this restaurant?" Fortunately, it actually was the Psaras, the one we set out to find.
One would think that returning to our hotel and collapsing at midnight would be in order. While Ginny fell asleep (except to be awoken by my inability to open the door), my second wind allowed me to pack (so that I could write this post), sketch, read about our next destination and say goodnight to our rooftop view. All I can say is I ended the day dancing under the light of the Parthenon after midnight.......
How many of us go through life wanting and waiting for happiness to fall upon us, as if Glinda will wave her majic wand and grant our wish. I sometimes refer to this phenomana as "living my life on pause." Sometimes pausing is a good thing; it allows our soul to rest and our spirit to gather clarity on "what next." Waiting to live life on the other hand is tragic. What if this is our last moment on earth.
For me, I ask each morning that I live my life with intention and choice, standing in my dignity and grace (which, I often fall short of). I want to live so that I allow my magnificience and "god" given gifts to bring wellness, joy and laughter into my life, my children's lives, the lives of my family, and to all others that I touch directly and indirectly. As I go through the streets of Athens, we laugh heartily as I politely say "no thank-you" to each peddlar who approaches. How can I not. I speak to the strangers who approach me as if they are offering a gift, not soliciting my wallet.
Today was another day filled with "awe" as I exhaled deep sighs at almost every turn. I shook my head in disbelief. Morning breakfast of greek yogurt and can peaches with drizzled honey touched my tastebuds as if it were my first meal. I savored it as if it might be my last. Every bite was witnessed by the greatness of the Acropolis.
We began the day walking along Adriano to enter into the path to the Acropolis. Our tour was proudly led by Ginny with her trusted companion "Rick" (as in Rick Steves). We wondered through onto Mars Hill (what has been the center of Athens since reported time - 680 BC - the buildings were constructed in 450 BC)) to walk in the footsteps of St. Paul and through the Beule Gate into the Propylae. Yes, here, the world could be ruled. As we circled around the Acropolis we learned stories of architectual genius, devotion to the Gods, the heartache of destruction that mankind can leave in its path and how one woman, Athenia, Goddess of Wisdom, could inspire a civilization. One of my favorite sites, the ladies as I refer to them as, Caryatids, stood tall and graceful and in their dedication and devotion could carry the weight of the Erechtheion. We walked and walked and laughed and laughed.
We paused for lunch upon another rooftop, dining on a traditional greek salad before transitioning from one world to the next. As we returned to the present archtecture of the Acropolis Museum, with its glass floors, that allowed us to witness the excavation that continues to uncover our past, we stood within a breaths distance from a world that I can't fully comprehend. Again I am reminded of how the conflict between men permeates all that we see. Many of the statues of the Pediment (the triangular peek of the Parthenon) had been carried away by conquerors and the greedy English. What was displayed, however, was enough to appeciate the full grandeur of a building that took less than 10 years to complete and was done by paid laborers.
At the end of this, every cell craves a cup of good greek coffee sitting on the Plaka, side by side, to people watch. After hours of strolling and shopping we return to our room. After a quick shower and change we return to the steps of the Plaka to dine on yet another rooftop just feet below the Parthenon walls. How quickly we find ourselves on "Greek" time, dining at 10pm on fried cheese and Mousaka. Our exhaustion is expressed by actually asking our waiter, "What is the name of this restaurant?" Fortunately, it actually was the Psaras, the one we set out to find.
One would think that returning to our hotel and collapsing at midnight would be in order. While Ginny fell asleep (except to be awoken by my inability to open the door), my second wind allowed me to pack (so that I could write this post), sketch, read about our next destination and say goodnight to our rooftop view. All I can say is I ended the day dancing under the light of the Parthenon after midnight.......
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Greece
There aren't words sufficient to capture the feeling, and express it clearly, of this moment.....the moment of being in Greece, sitting on a rooftop at midnight while viewing the Acropolis in what remains of its full magnificient force, which is to the front of me. To my right is the Stoa of Attalos, and to my left, Lycabettus theatre. All three are lit up, as if to shine light on my insignificance in this world, while shouting boldly that their grandeur has existed for some 3000 years. I wonder if I am moved to tears from my lack of sleep or truly from the feelings of being "in awe." Athens is everything I anticipated and so much more.
The day has been spectacular. I arrived here with my dear friend Ginny after a fitful night of attempting to sleep spread out over two seats. Our laughter has filled every space that we have occupied: from the car ride into JFK with her dedicated driver, a/k/a husband Ed; the ease of lines through the airport; the delivery of a ribbon-tied chocolate bar to "bribe" the check in host at the airport for a better seat (only to end up in the rear of the plane escaping from the single child on the plane); the airplane ride (where we had all our neighbors laughing and I incredibly met an old friend just seconds after saying, "I wonder which one of us will run into someone they know"); to the pick-up by our driver "John; and right up to this rooftop moment when I was wanting to play backgammon! We have laughed at everything, in joy and in exhaustion. Laughter is truly the best medicine of life. (Well, just after being in Greece). If one could measure days in perfection, today was perfect. (Of course my feet have yet to register their vote.)
After looking at the vastness of the area we covered by foot, I am convinced that we walked further today then I have ever done in a day before. At every turn another "ancient ruin" is before you, mixed in with the sidewalk cafes, street vendors and restaurants on the steps. This is a city that doesn't seem to stop. Unlike all that I had read about Athens, I could stay here for days just walking in wonder.
Today we used almost every moment physically possible (yes, a siesta was in order - especially when I thought I would physically tip over from exhaustion). Ginny played tour guide as we walked through the ruins of Ancient Agora, ate lunch on the walkway of Adrianou, strolled through the carless cobblestone streets that meander around the Acropolis, witnessed the gathering of a wedding and dined on the Platka.
The energy here is joyful, uplifting, and lively. People kiss each other here the same way we greet someone with a hello. I am in love.
The day has been spectacular. I arrived here with my dear friend Ginny after a fitful night of attempting to sleep spread out over two seats. Our laughter has filled every space that we have occupied: from the car ride into JFK with her dedicated driver, a/k/a husband Ed; the ease of lines through the airport; the delivery of a ribbon-tied chocolate bar to "bribe" the check in host at the airport for a better seat (only to end up in the rear of the plane escaping from the single child on the plane); the airplane ride (where we had all our neighbors laughing and I incredibly met an old friend just seconds after saying, "I wonder which one of us will run into someone they know"); to the pick-up by our driver "John; and right up to this rooftop moment when I was wanting to play backgammon! We have laughed at everything, in joy and in exhaustion. Laughter is truly the best medicine of life. (Well, just after being in Greece). If one could measure days in perfection, today was perfect. (Of course my feet have yet to register their vote.)
After looking at the vastness of the area we covered by foot, I am convinced that we walked further today then I have ever done in a day before. At every turn another "ancient ruin" is before you, mixed in with the sidewalk cafes, street vendors and restaurants on the steps. This is a city that doesn't seem to stop. Unlike all that I had read about Athens, I could stay here for days just walking in wonder.
Today we used almost every moment physically possible (yes, a siesta was in order - especially when I thought I would physically tip over from exhaustion). Ginny played tour guide as we walked through the ruins of Ancient Agora, ate lunch on the walkway of Adrianou, strolled through the carless cobblestone streets that meander around the Acropolis, witnessed the gathering of a wedding and dined on the Platka.
The energy here is joyful, uplifting, and lively. People kiss each other here the same way we greet someone with a hello. I am in love.
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