viola's people watching blog
As the summer buzz and dust are washed away by the first rains, I find myself slipping into the quiet pace and beauty of autumn…the rich hues of russet and gold of our vine leaves and the ripening of fruit, sweet and juicy…our pomegranates, apples and oranges. The skies are […]
It was a sunless autumn morning when we travelled through The Black Forest of Germany. The slopes on the right and left for miles and miles were heavily wooded with evergreens…conifers growing close together, tall and straight like sentries reaching for the sky, their conical tops piercing the clouds and […]
We needed to snatch up the lingering rays of summer and make a hasty getaway…but…we didn’t want to be the masters of our ship…no putting on our thinking caps and booking flights, hotels and renting cars and listening to muddly directions from the GPS…turn left turn right and then…silence. We […]
Oh what a fluster we were in to make preparations for the trio from Brussels. Weeks before their arrival, we went online and searched for baby furniture to prepare for Louise’s stay. I suggested to Annie over the phone that they could sleep in the guest room on the second […]
Balmy summer days conjure images of bare feet on cold marble floors indoors and in the streets, swinging, carefree, browned arms and legs in floral dresses and sandals strapped on carelessly. For the older folks like me, who want comfort but still yearning to look a little hip…some baggy Bermuda […]
When an era passes you can’t help but sift through all the memories…our common yard with the three houses once bustling with activity has gradually become very quiet. The whole thing seems rather surreal with the passing of the last family member of a bygone era. Yiannis’ mother passed away […]
So there we were, Yiannis and myself, once again, bleary eyed, hopping on the early morning flight to Athens with a hurried connection to Brussels. We were excited to see Louise…Burpy…as Annie and I have nicknamed her as she burps like a champion. She started this charming habit right from […]
It had been such a long drawn out cold winter. Our White Mountain range, running the length of Chania, appeared to be closing in on us as snow fell steadily lower and lower on its slopes, layers and layers building up… glazed and glaringly white almost blinding under a winter’s […]
I walked into Annie’s old bedroom and something caught my eye on the bedspread of faded tea coloured rosebuds, reminiscent of her adolescent years. Any other time I would have muttered in exasperation… `everything has been slept on’… But this time I simply picked up the silken threads of cream […]
We woke up at half past four to a sky that was dark and frigidly cold with Venus still hanging low with a steady glitter. It was Sunday 6 February and we were taking the early morning flight to Athens and then a connecting flight to Brussels…to meet someone very […]