Keeping my promise, I left The frozen Netherlands some days before Christmas and went looking for better-than-shoes experiences in the warm south... Not without problems was my departure... Though I guess I was the lucky one who's flight was not canceled on the 20th of December (those of you leaving near by already know what that day was for air and land transportation means... they were all white... and immobile!!) but we actually managed to take off in that small moment the snow storm subsided, only with a couple of hours delay. The horror stories I heard from people traveling that day... brrrrr yeah, I was lucky! And leaving the winter behind I arrived in the spring!
Indeed, it is not about where I arrived, but mostly when I arrived! And I arrive at that time of the year when the temperature is 21 degrees, the sun shines and one can enjoy a cold coffee outside without needing a coat or jacket! No lie, that was Christmas season for me: spring!
Though I can understand the complaints of the indigenous people who, perhaps rightfully so, think that this is no Christmas weather and they wished for a snow that was falling very far away, I have to say that I loved it!
And I was out a lot and met family and friends and... baked traditional Christmas cookies with my cousin and niece!! I call them cookies but they are really special, delicious (well, if you get to do them right that is...) and covered with sugar! Every house in Greece has them at this time of the year! Never did it before as an adult, neither did my cousin on her own, so I guess it's good we had my 7-year-old niece to help us... the laughs, the jokes, the fun we had was unprecedented!! We kinda followed a recipe, we kinda improvised, we kinda forgot to turn on the oven at some point... yep, essential if you actually want to bake the little rascals, but at the end we made the best cookies ever!!!! Ok, perhaps not the best ones ever but surely the best for us three! And in the process we did have a better-than-shoes time!!! Totally! Experiences like this are priceless and they will always be in our memories... while that pair of snake skin Jimmy Choo sandals will fade...
PS. Happy New Year!!! May this one be the best of the ones past and the worst of the ones to follow!!
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Friday, 18 December 2009
Snow!!!
I grew up in the south of Greece... hot summers, mild winters, not a lot of rain (when I was at Uni, I would not bother to go to classes when it was raining... still managed to pass the exams as my absences were not that many... go figure how often did it rain!) and snow would come once in ever 5 years perhaps... And even then, it would only be for a few hours in the morning usually and then it would just melt leaving me an my brother so sad... We just loved it and still do! For me it also has a more special meaning as I remember the day my brother was born as the first time I saw snow! Tiny flakes falling by my feet! No, wasn't much, but still it was one of those rare times and the first for the 3 (and a half) year-old me!
Sometimes, when we were children, our parents would even take us to short day trips only to be up on the mountains and enjoy a snow fight or two! And we still smile when we see the pictures of us in the early 80's when lots of snow came down from the sky for the first time in our little town and we, small and colourful in our jackets and boots and cloves, had made a snowman in my grand mother's back yard! Ah, that feeling! And the stories to share with our friends for whom, them living in the same area, snow was also a rare and beloved treat!
I still feel this way about snow! And two days ago, I pulled the curtains in my bedroom and I saw the neighborhood all white! The view from the 12th floor was spectacular! The small park next to my building was all covered by a white sheet and the kids crossing it to go to the nearby school would leave their tiny marks on the whiteness... so pretty! So calm! Surely I had to drive to work and run errands afterwards but that did not spoil my mood... ok, I was a bit frightened about driving but it proved to be easier than I thought :)
So, yes, there's no doubt that a white snow-y scenery gives me a feeling better than shoes! And it is true that snow combines very well with shoes too as it is the best reason to go and get provided with a pair of stylish moon boots (Mark Jacobs perhaps?...) but even without them... it still feels grrrrreat!!
PS. Happy Holidays to everyone, I will be resting and (hopefully) enjoying "better than shoes" experiences for the coming two weeks so, see you all back here in the New Year!
Sometimes, when we were children, our parents would even take us to short day trips only to be up on the mountains and enjoy a snow fight or two! And we still smile when we see the pictures of us in the early 80's when lots of snow came down from the sky for the first time in our little town and we, small and colourful in our jackets and boots and cloves, had made a snowman in my grand mother's back yard! Ah, that feeling! And the stories to share with our friends for whom, them living in the same area, snow was also a rare and beloved treat!
I still feel this way about snow! And two days ago, I pulled the curtains in my bedroom and I saw the neighborhood all white! The view from the 12th floor was spectacular! The small park next to my building was all covered by a white sheet and the kids crossing it to go to the nearby school would leave their tiny marks on the whiteness... so pretty! So calm! Surely I had to drive to work and run errands afterwards but that did not spoil my mood... ok, I was a bit frightened about driving but it proved to be easier than I thought :)
So, yes, there's no doubt that a white snow-y scenery gives me a feeling better than shoes! And it is true that snow combines very well with shoes too as it is the best reason to go and get provided with a pair of stylish moon boots (Mark Jacobs perhaps?...) but even without them... it still feels grrrrreat!!
PS. Happy Holidays to everyone, I will be resting and (hopefully) enjoying "better than shoes" experiences for the coming two weeks so, see you all back here in the New Year!
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Achievements!
...No, I'm not talking about great achievements! Obviously discovering the cure for cancer would be better than shoes in anyone's book and it would be pretty predictable (borderline boring even...) for me to write about... So, no, I'm not referring to achievements of this caliber... I'm talking about smaller, much smaller things, that one sees through successfully and make one (the same one usually...) feel a sense of accomplishment and joy for having done things properly! And it is that feeling of success that I had recently and, in comparison, felt better than a new pair of gray Miu Miu pumps (that I also got recently ;)
I was entrusted with the task to organize, together with a colleague of mine, the most important social event of my directorate (and, no, I will not waste your precious time explaining the organizational details of the organization where I'm employed, you would really be bored to oblivion... just keep in mind that I am part of a directorate of about 25 people and these are my immediate work colleagues). It was the third time that we were, the two of us, responsible for the event and I would not be far off if I were to say that it was the best one we organized! (some people also said it was the best ever but, hey, don't need to brag... ). And yes, the preparations were a big part of the fun! We got to try different restaurants, along with a small but international group of colleagues, try and chose the wine, set the menu, prepare greeting cards and little presents and see that everything was done as best as possible! And on the day, last Friday, it was a success!
To me, the best thing of all was not to receive all the compliments and "thank you's" that I did receive (and that does not mean that I did not appreciate them, not at all) and not even the flowers that they were so kind to offer me but the smiles on everyone's faces! Smiles that appeared around noon, when everybody entered the restaurant, and lasted at least until 8 in the evening when I left leaving still a big group of people in the restaurant! And, from what I hear, long after! Everyone was having a good time and though I do believe that the consumption of the marvelous champagne we started with and the wines that followed did have a lot to do with the mood of the people, I also believe that it was the fact that the lunch (if one can call an 8-hours feast "lunch"...) was really a pleasant and successful one! And that was partly because of me!
Small achievement... yes, indeed. But and achievement nonetheless! And it gave me great pleasure to know that I had done my part well! Certainly not a one-man-show, a team work that went really well! Us, the organizers, the chef, the service, everything so much more than just ok! And at the end of the day everybody had had a good time and they will remember it dearly! And this is better than shoes! For me at least...
I was entrusted with the task to organize, together with a colleague of mine, the most important social event of my directorate (and, no, I will not waste your precious time explaining the organizational details of the organization where I'm employed, you would really be bored to oblivion... just keep in mind that I am part of a directorate of about 25 people and these are my immediate work colleagues). It was the third time that we were, the two of us, responsible for the event and I would not be far off if I were to say that it was the best one we organized! (some people also said it was the best ever but, hey, don't need to brag... ). And yes, the preparations were a big part of the fun! We got to try different restaurants, along with a small but international group of colleagues, try and chose the wine, set the menu, prepare greeting cards and little presents and see that everything was done as best as possible! And on the day, last Friday, it was a success!
To me, the best thing of all was not to receive all the compliments and "thank you's" that I did receive (and that does not mean that I did not appreciate them, not at all) and not even the flowers that they were so kind to offer me but the smiles on everyone's faces! Smiles that appeared around noon, when everybody entered the restaurant, and lasted at least until 8 in the evening when I left leaving still a big group of people in the restaurant! And, from what I hear, long after! Everyone was having a good time and though I do believe that the consumption of the marvelous champagne we started with and the wines that followed did have a lot to do with the mood of the people, I also believe that it was the fact that the lunch (if one can call an 8-hours feast "lunch"...) was really a pleasant and successful one! And that was partly because of me!
Small achievement... yes, indeed. But and achievement nonetheless! And it gave me great pleasure to know that I had done my part well! Certainly not a one-man-show, a team work that went really well! Us, the organizers, the chef, the service, everything so much more than just ok! And at the end of the day everybody had had a good time and they will remember it dearly! And this is better than shoes! For me at least...
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