My Road To Happiness

I regret that posts ended for a while.  At the end of the summer of 2009 my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.  After a few exploratory visits home, it became clear that someone had to be there to ensure that medication was administered and that my parents didn’t live in denial.

In September, I notified my employer of my intent, sold everything I could, packed a portion of it into my car and moved home.

It’s an interesting time in my life.  When I started this journey and this blog, I was in a state of limbo.  At the time I wondered why a life with a pretty straight line from where I started to where I wanted to be, had stalled so long by the side of the road.

Now, I think I understand.  If I was knee deep in my career or raising a family, I couldn’t be there for my father in the way that he’s always been there for me.

I’m not stalled.  I’m at a way station.  I will spend some time there and when my time there is done, I believe I will be better prepared for the rest of journey.

This is a post from the new Word Press app for BlackBerry. If this works my inner Geek may overwhelm me and I might have trouble calming down to do actual work the rest of the day.

Here goes nothing…

I haven’t finished writing about my trip yet but the Greek sections are more or less complete.  I read them over the other day and realized I don’t have too much more to relate in terms of events. Next project is describing my one day in Paris.

Looking back on the experience, I would go again.  I loved the walk-ability of the village.  I enjoyed a few of the residents I met greatly and would love to meet more when I return. Then of course, there’s the beach!

It was a really relaxing place and I can see going for 2 weeks and really letting all the kinks in my shoulder really work themselves out.

What to do about the tourists.  Well, I think I’ll either rent a villa with a courtyard and SkyTV or I’ll have to come up with the money to stay at the Melenos Lindos again.  That way I can spend the days pretty much as I did this year  I’d have breakfast and later a coffee at Giorgos, explore the island or lay on the beach during the day and nice dinners out,  then retire to my private apartment / hotel room and avoid the stupid twats drinking themselves off their faces.

I also think that next time I won’t rent a car for the whole time. It’s easy enough to rent cars in Lindos proper so I think I’ll explore the island next time on a day by day basis. I really should get out and see the rest of the island next time.  Alex assures me there are many other places for me to see (and eat at!) that I’d probably like better than Lindos, at night, at the height of the tourist season.

I’d love it if I could convince one of my friends to come with me but I won’t be holding my breath for that.  I really do understand all the reasons people can’t go with me.  When I was married, I was asked to kick in for a share at the Jersey shore with my single girlfriend.  I couldn’t imagine explianing to my ex that I was spending $2,500 on a share at a Jersey flop house he’d rather die than stay in.  I get that most of my friends are spending time / money on their families.  Still, I like these people and it’s a shame we can’t do everything we need to do.  If I’m going to be there for 2 weeks, maybe I’ll take the dog.  I have to weigh if that would be good for him or not.  That flight’s one heck of a long time for him to spend in a kennel.

In the end, Greece was a good experience.  I choose to cut myself a break a bit on the vague discomfort I felt while there b/c I was on my own, overseas, for the first time.  I think it’s only natural that it would seem a bit strange to me.

Perhaps what I’ll do next time is also give a few days over to exploring the other islands.  Crete is nearby.  That could be amazing.  I’d like to give it one more go before I make a final decision on whether or not Greece is for me.

I’m home sick with a lovely summer cold.  It puts me in a position to watch a little more TV than normal.  It certainly is the only reason that I’m watching Oprah.

Ruby - Worth it Reality TV

She’s interviewing reality TV stars, in particular, “Ruby” from the Style network.  It’s the diary of a 500 lb woman and her journey to loose 300 lbs and save her own life.

I watched all the episodes of Season 1 last year.  I was capitvated by her spirit and by her attempts to peel away the layers of her own past to uncover hope for her future.

New episodes start tonight at 5 and 5:30 pm on Style.

I’ve had a nice amount of time to unwind the last few days.  Again, I find it interesting that out of work I have no trouble with eating.  I’m not that hungry and when I do eat, it’s easy to cook healthy choices for myself.   I’m satisfied with what I’m eating and don’t have a craving for fat, salt or sugar.  Well, ok. I still crave salt.

Anyway, I thought I’d post a little update and encourage anyone of you reading this, challenged by middle aged spread, to tune into season 2 of Ruby this weekend.  She’s so gracious about her situation that it is a good reminder that we don’t have so far to go in our own lives.

Best of luck, Ruby

As mentioned in a previous post, Dusty and I plan to cook our way through her regional Spanish cookbook as a way to both prepare for and quench our desire to travel to Spain.  The first attempt was really successful, if I do say so myself.

She prepared a nice fresh little Gazpacho (though we both agreed we may have to wait until late July or early August for the best tomatoes) and marinated the Amish raised chicken a day ahead of time.  When she arrived late in the afternoon on Saturday it was just right and ready to go.

Spanish chicken stage 1

The chicken is officially “Chicken on a Spit” or “Frango no Espeto”. We didn’t prepare it in the traditional method, on a spit, but that didn’t effect how good it was.  The Marinade is called Piri-Piri, essentially an oil/red hot chilli pepper mix.  The name comes from the region of Portugal that the peppers traditionally used, come from.  That makes sense because the entire recipe is from the Extremadura region of Spain, on the south east corner, near the Portugal-Spanish border.  Here’s a link to an inexpensive restaurant called Bonjardim where the NYT suggested you order this dish (the house specialty) when you are visiting the Lisbon area.

Spanish Chicken almost done

For my part, I put together the sides.  They were from Weight Watchers new “Hit the Spot” cookbook.  I highly recommend getting it even if you’re not on the program.  The food is restaurant quality inventive and chic while being short on required ingredients and cook time.

1. Cumin scented sweet potato fries (baked of course)
2. Snap Pea & Radishes with Goat Cheese
3. Fresh Corn Salad with Heirloom Tomato and Lime
4. Almost Instant Apple Crumble a la Mode

I have very few pictures to share with you because we ate the whole lot up before I could take any snaps.  What pictures you do see here are from a) the remaining raw chicken I grilled Monday night and b) the left over salad.

The hands-down favorite was the Apple Crumble. Not just for taste but simplicity and quickness.  Here’s what you do:  Peel and core two Granny Smith Apples. Slice them, put them in a microwave safe bowl and sprinkle on Apple Pie Spice (cinnamon/all spice/ground cloves).  Losely cover with platic wrap and leave one corner open to vent.  Cook on high for 3 minutes (stirring half way through) and then remove the plastic wrap and cook another minute.

Meanwhile crumble a fat-free oatmeal raisen cookie and take out your fat free, frozen vanilla yogurt.  When the apples are done, spoon them evenly between two serving dishes. Sprinkle the evenly divided cookie over the apples and top with a dollup of yogurt.  Finally, for looks and flair, stick a cinnamon stick into the whole lot, leaning a bit for effect.  It’s so good and easy you feel like you just punched Martha Stewart in the gut.

Running a close second, the Fresh Corn Salad.  Corn is *just right* this month so the taste was amazing.  I added some cut up avocado the next day and it was even MORE delicious. The recipie includes one diced jalepeno and the addition of the avocado really mellows that out and makes it a more well rounded salad.

Cumin scented snap peas and radishes

The cumin scented snap peas were not my favorite when I served it.  I thought it might have needed to sit a bit longer to absorb the flavor but sitting 2 days in the fridge didn’t help, it just made the radish soggy.  I think it would have helped to add more goat cheese.  I was trying to be conservative with the calories but you really need the tart cheese to act in concert with the sweet of the peas and the spicy of the radish.

The Sweet Potato Fries were good, but a little uneven as I seem to be unable to cut consistently sized wedges. If anyone out there has a trick to cutting potato wedges, I welcome your input.  Also I would add more salt to both the fries and the snap pea salad.

Finally, I shared a hidden film gem and Dusty loved it as much as I did. If you’ve never seen “Larger than Life” and you love Bill Murray movies, rent it. Rent it, now.  This came out after he did a few “serious” films but before his success in “Lost in Translation”.  I think it was an attempt to return to form of the more successful formula films he’s known for.  It didn’t get much support from the studio and I don’t even remember when it was in theaters. Watch it for the run away truck scene alone.  It had the two of us screaming with laughter and I’d already scene it twice!

This Fourth of July there were no exciting trips to a seaside resort or big neighborhood BBQ parties or impressive fireworks shows.  I was happier this holiday than any I can remember in the last few years.  There was simple friendship, wonderful food and laughter.  You can’t buy that.

Yeah. Not really sure what happened here.  This appears to be the day I “lost” while in Lindos.  Here’s what I do know:

1. I spent the previous night in the apartment on Mt. Everest.
2. I met Vanessa’s father (Spa Lindos) and committed to staying 2 nights in one of the Tsambika’s Studio Apartments he owns just below the Acropolis (and across the alley from the Melenos Lindos Hotel).
3. I twisted my ankle when I failed to see that the extensive private balcony in my new apartment has a step down right in the middle.  Typical.
4. I tried to ignore that I twisted my ankle and walked around on it all day. Ouch.
5. I went back to Rhodes, packing everything I owned and checked out hastily, with my heart beating double time from excitement, like I was going on the lam.  I think that’s because it was so spontaneous and I was going “off plan” with no idea how it would all turn out. Cool.
6. I nearly tipped over the Toyota Yaris (twice!) as I attempted to get down to and back from the parking lot at the the main beach in Lindos.  Totally scary.
7. I hauled not only my belongings from the car (1 rolling duffle, one large duffle strapped on top) but the items still waiting in Mt. Everest (big satchel and many plastic bags) from one end of the village to the other where the new apartment was.
8. I had another unremarkable dinner at another large, empty restaurant called Symposio.  At least the waiter was a cutie.
9. I collapsed in a heap at the end of the night in my new apartment.

During this day I’m fairly confident that I spent yet another idyllic afternoon at Giorgo’s.  Since I was there at least 2 x a day, every day since Monday, I think that’s a safe bet.  I was writing my heart out under the shade of the trellis in a rare state of contentment.  This may have also been the night I closed the place down by camping out until 1:00 am. Again, writing.

Wednesday's Dinner

At this point I’ve been in Greece long enough to form some opinions of my own as I compare the experience to other places I’ve been.  For your reference, I’ve been to Europe many times (England, Scotland, France, etc.) and spent two weeks traveling all over Israel and Egypt.  I begin to see that this place has very little in common with anywhere else I’ve been.

I wondered what I would feel like during this trip, being on my own and all. I wasn’t worried about missing the company of others.  I’m pretty self-contained and spend a good deal of time with myself and my own thoughts.  I wasn’t concerned about my safety b/c I travel alone for work at least twice a month, all over the United States.  I’ve become comfortable with that.  I took great pains to research this trip, get organized and stack the deck in my favor as much as possible.  Still, I felt some discomfort and I couldn’t quite identify what it was.

Sitting in Giorgos over the next few days I began to put my finger on it.  Greece (to me) has little connection to the culture of Europe and it’s little sister, America.  This probably makes me sound a little simple.  Of course I know it’s located in a completely different part of the world, it’s culture is older and the language - unfamiliar.  I guess I was operating on a subconscious idea that since so much of European and subsequently, American culture can trace it’s origins to Greece - it would be a similar experience.   Not so. Not for me.

Terrace at Tsambika's Apt.

This idea really solidified a few days later at the cafe Les Deux Magots in Paris.  I’ll just mention briefly the sense of relief I felt the minute I was in a cab headed from Charles de Gaul airport to Paris.  In that moment I realized how uncomfortable I’d been (even while enjoying myself) in Greece.  From the cab’s back seat I thought, “I understand THIS.  I know how this place works.  It looks/feels exactly like New York.” Shoulders relax, contended sigh.

I am surprised and little disappointed with myself that I’m less open and adventurous than I thought.  It’s fair, as by comparison to many people, I am.  The unfamiliar surroundings of Greece must have set me a little on edge and that is all on me.  Sipping my coffee in Paris, I realized that I could sit here all day and not be noticed.  In fact, as I looked around the cafe, there were several women sitting alone.  They were reading, chatting on their cell, whatever.  In Greece, I just didn’t see that happen.  Keep in mind, I’m talking about a small village here.  In Athens, that might be perfectly acceptable.  But, here in Lindos, you do not go about unnoticed as a woman on her own.  In fact, I can’t think of another woman traveling solo I saw the whole time.

Inside Wednesday Night's Apt.

“Greece is for Lovers” or so the t-shirt says and that’s pretty much it.  There are families for whom Lindos is a long-held holiday tradition and they arrive en mass. There are large gangs of young people on a “spring break” style drinking / hook-up spree and affectionate couples in every other place you go.  I think it made me a bit of a curiosity.  Greece has a bigger sense of community than any other place I’ve been and the best description of their attitude toward me is one of gentle concern.  “Is she alright?” “What’s she doing here by herself?” “Maybe she needs help.” It’s kind of cool, but also kind of uncomfortable for me as I really do like to fade into the background and that isn’t as easy for me in Lindos.

That’s about all I can remember.  I must have gone back to the apartment and fallen asleep.

vitamin-b

Oy!

Just returned from Giant Eagle where I followed my list exactly and still spent over $100.00. It’s all about the allergy meds (Zyrtec) and Vitamin B (happy pill) and Vitamin D (happy pill two) for the lack of sun in Cleveland.

Even with my discount and coupons that put another $50 on the bill.

Geeze staying upright and in the right frame of mind sure costs a lot these days.

Tuesday morning I get myself up early and back to Lindos in time to meet Becca at the beach.  I pack a bag that contains what I need for the beach and for a possible overnight stay.  Once I saw how easy it was to find a room just by walking into a shop with a “room to let” sign over the door, I began toying with the idea of abandoning my “craptastic” apartment in Rhodes for the rest of my stay on the island.

Craptastic Apt in Rhodes town

There are 2 beaches. The “main beach” that you see on your drive in and the one that is just over the hill, behind the Acropolis.  The beach at St. Paul’s Bay is nearly deserted and Becca tells me that she and Nathan have had this spot all to themselves for weeks.

Today there are a few people coming down with their kids so we make our way to the other end of the beach nearer the small restaurant.  It’s wonderfully warm (though the water’s still cold) and I lay down and let the sun do it’s work on my frame.  You know how you feel the sun start on the outer layer of your skin?  Slowly it seeps into your muscles and they start to lengthen and let go of any residual tension.  You feel a sleepy and it’s hard to keep your eyes open.  If you let yourself go, the last thing you’ll feel is the warmth make it’s way all the way to your interior, down into your bones and you feel “well”.

A while later we head into the ocean.  It’s so clear it’s like standing in a glass of tap water.  I wish it was a little warmer but I know that would be a trade off.  Warmer means later in the season, more people, more annoyance.

Day at St. Paul's Bay

Becca and I go back to the same shopkeeper who turned her down for a month to month rental.  She’s happy to accommodate my one night request.  The room is immaculate and really, really cheap. Thirty (30) euro a night! Holy crapoly.  Now, of course it is at the very TOP of Lindos.  It’s like climbing Mt. Everest to get there.  By the time we arrive at the top I’m red faced and sweaty.  I still agree to rent it knowing I have to climb it at least two more times.  First just to check it out, for safety and cleanliness.  Then to go back and get my bags from the car and Sherpa them up the nearly vertical grade to my new room.

Thank heavens the air conditioning is working and I head right to the bathroom for a much needed shower.  The facilities really crack me up.  Essentially it’s a large, rectangular room that’s tiled floor to ceiling.  You enter at the far right of the room and in front of the door is the sink.  Midway down the room is a shower head sticking out of the wall just above a drain in the floor.  If you continue down the room, at the end, in the corner on the right is the toilet.  You could do your business naked, move to the shower next and finish by brushing your teeth.  All in one nearly contiguous movement.  I’m not saying I did that. Just that you could if you wanted to.

Spa Lindos

Now it’s off to Spa Lindos, where I booked an appointment for a massage and pedicure the day before.  It’s owned by Vanessa, an American-Greek who moved here and opened the business after she was married and emigrated to Rhodes.  The facility is gorgeous and they have a stylish clothing boutique on the main floor.  Her family owns several other popular Lindian businesses. Visit them all at Lindos Treasures.

I’m wisked through the store and into the courtyard around which the facility is built.  Instructed to climb some VERY steep wooden stairs to the rooms above the shop I wonder if they make the old people getting treatments here perform this daring acrobatic feat.  Once inside the room is dark and cool compared to the heat and humidity outside. It’s not airconditioned but the thick stucco walls and wooden shutters keep the heat out and the air flowing in and out.  It’s an ancient system and it works.

My massage is handled competently and it’s badly needed. Hauling my stuff all over the island has taken it’s toll on my shoulders.

Now off to get a much needed pedicure.  I climb down the stairs again, cross the courtyard and enter a separate building where they handle the feet and hands.

I feel a 100% more human after a shower, massage and pedi.  I head back to Mt. Everest, put on some cute clothes and make my way out to dinner.  Now, don’t laugh.  I decided to have dinner at a Mexican restaurant.  In Greece.  Yeah, yeah, I know.  I’m an ass.  I’m perversely curious and can’t help wondering what Mexican food in Greece will be like.

Lolos the Mexican Restaurant

“Lolos, the Mexican Restaurant” is right next to Alex’s where I ate the first day I visited the village.  The rhythm of the village still eludes me.  It’s 7:30p and there’s hardly anyone out and about and eating.  I am the ONLY customer in the Mexican place that’s not a relative.  I break my own NY’er rule to never eat at a place that isn’t packed with people.  I consider that it’s early in the season and a slow tourist season because the economy sucks and take the plunge anyway.  That’s where I meet, Mike Savvaidis, owner and budding internet geek.

Mike grew up in Lindos too and we talk a little about the Turkish Yogurt lady who lived in the hills and the other characters in the Manus book.   Mike’s interested in upping his profile by creating a Facebook presence for the restaurant.  I agree to give him a hand and as usual these things never go smoothly as you hope.  I few margarita’s and fajita’s later we’ve put together a Fan Group for the restaurant and updated his personal profile.

I express my surprise that Lindos is so hooked up.  Everywhere you go has free wireless internet for customers.  He tells me the village is really committed to that and will be removing all the wires that currently connect the restaurants and shops this year.  The city has passed an initiative to make wireless a Village-wide affair.  Instead of each proprietor paying for access and then providing customers access via their own (often unstable) wireless router, access will be fed from a central village source and blanket the entire place.  Lindos will look even more authentic and lovely when the black wires snaking across the rooftops are gone.  I think that’s brilliant.

Mike’s pages are updated and ready to make new friends so I wander around a bit more but it’s late and by now I’m pretty tired.  I start back up the hills to Mt. Everest and sleep.

Just a quick note that I updated many of my previous posts on my trip to Greece with new photographs.

Check it out here: http://myroadtohappieness.com/blog/?tag=greece

Spanish Dancing couple by Smaddy

My friend Dusty and I want to go to Spain.

It’s next on the list of places for me and she is seriously considering retiring there.  It will be at least a year before we can go (as things seem now) and so we’ve decided to get in the right frame of mind by cooking our way through her 2 Spanish cookbooks.

Over the next year or so I’ll be reporting live from my kitchen and my stomach letting you know what it’s like to visit a country first through it’s cusine.

First up, Gazpacho next weekend on the Fourth of July.