Magical Island of Mauritius

As usual I am writing the monthly blog... however unusually I am at present in Mauritius celebrating the wonderful year of 2013. We are staying in Trou aux Biches in the north west corner of this paradise island. Last time we were here we stayed in the south west and explored everywhere... from mountains to forests to beaches and all the restaurants in between. Kenneth, our elder son, was working here at the time and wanted us to experience the real island not the tourist "trap". This time, we are returning to further our acqaintance with the beautiful island and many of its inhabitants and no doubt enjoy whatever the tourist trap has to offer...

I decided that 2013 was to be the year of enjoying whatever life has to offer. The sun in the south Indian ocean, the smirr in the west coast of Scotland, the friends and family that we know and love whatever the weather...

On Fire!

Remember way back in May, check out May's blog!... the plan was to have a log burning stove in the den, otherwise known as the office, by Christmas. Well we made it, just. There were so many delays... delay in delivery of the fire, delay in the delivery of the hearth and even a delay in the builder's availability... so what is this telling me. Well, I believe that "Time" is elastic. I usually use the phrase to mean that I can fit mega stuff into a day however this time the elastic was more to do with a stretching response in my patience...

"Now" is the only way to deal with time... and then time will look kindly on us! Let's all of us have a great time this month... let's make time for others and let us really enjoy stretching the elastic!

We are not entitled to a through train in life!

When were you last on a train? Perhaps you are a frequent traveller... if that is the case, you will be aware of how little control you have of your journey time and in some cases even your destination. I travelled by train from Aviemore to Largs on Sunday last, and found out that I am not really entitled to a through train! which got me reflecting on my life's journey... and as I work with metaphors, querying why I expect to have a "through train" in my life! You know the train (life) that takes you from the starting point to the destination with no hiccups, derailments, leaves on the line and leaves on time with no changes in platforms or stations!

My journey started in Aviemore at 10.00am and finished in Largs at 5.30pm. A journey of 7 and a half hours that took less that 4 hours by car the previous day. As I pondered the various interruptions in travel and the many inconveniences of delays and changes in stations, I embarked on changing my state which was escalating into impatience, into a more benign feeling of acceptance. A feeling of "It is what it is!" After all I had a great book to keep me company and many travelling companions to study and there was no getting away from the fact that I had no personal control of the train or train times ... the only aspect of my life that was open to my control was my attitude.
So 10.00am left hotel, feeling - anticipation, first long train journey in a while.
11.20am train left Aviemore, feeling - cramped, no seat available on own!
1.00pm change trains at Perth, feeling - apprehensive, unfamiliar territory.
1.45 embark on delayed arrival of train in Perth, feeling - grateful, but surrounded by disappointed travellers
3.30 arrive in Queen St Station, Glasgow, feeling - happy, nearly home
bus to Central Station, Glasgow...
3.40 only just caught the train to Largs... but no through train, so we change at Paisley and then after a one and a half hour bus journey later, arrive at Kilwinning, to await a train home to Largs.
feeling - delighted! and inspired as this day has shown me ... as my strap line says "Life's a journey - enjoy!"
Has this experience put me off travelling by train. Certainly not. In fact far from it. I am really looking forward to what experiences show up when I travel on the Orient Express.

Rainy Days and Holidays

 The above photo shows the sun setting over the industrial side of the Veneto. What very different memories I have of Venice! Such as the sunset making beauty of the view and then the photo which shows the modern side of the Gondoliere. Where are we without our mobiles? The contrasts are almost too hard to take in. We imagine that history should stay in its place and progress shouldn't impinge on our touristy views and yet as in the sunset... how wonderful to know that there is also permanence in the nature of things and how beauty can transform even the most resistant of places.
Our gondola tour included looking up at a hotel that was once the home of Casanova and our gondolier didn't once check his phone but spoke perfect English as he shared his love of Venice. He was able to share facts that weren't in any guide book as he worked at manoeuvering us around the canals... seemingly effortlessly! We experienced a little of history while history itself was being made out in the busy, busy Grand Canal.

And what do you think of these two  rain-drenched friends? We are having such fun. Yep that's right, such fun! The heavens opened while we were in St Mark's Square and we dived into a little bar for an alcoholic beverage, as you do, to while away some time until the rain stopped. Well it didn't. It rained and rained and so we decided to make our way through the raindrops to our hotel and lo and behold there appeared vendors with rainmacs especially just for us. One size fits all, the short and the tall. We are crossing the Rialto Bridge and enjoying every splish and splash, puddle and dribble knowing that we too are part of history in the making.







Talking about crossing bridges, the famous Bridge of Sighs is just as it is in this photo! This is the bridge that prisoners crossed on the way to their incarceration having been judged for their crimes. A beautiful bridge on the outside holding an ugly truth on the inside. We visited the cells during our visit to the Doge's Palace and were informed that one of the prisoners had been Casanova. It was hard to imagine anyone surviving such hardship, never mind managing to escape, as it seems that the bold boy, Casanova did. Venice was everything we expected and more. From the grandeur of the architecture to the rabbit warren of streets where being lost over and over again was part of the charm of this city of contradictions... with its obvious beauty, its unbelievable history and its precarious future...

... and yes we enjoyed the city's unique ambience and the fabulous views around every corner... such as the Doge's Palace from the Grand Canal, see below. However what I treasure the most, is the memory of a city being built on the flimsiest of physical structures and yet still managed to flourish throughout all the vagaries of war until ultimately it became the present day's magnetic city with its' very own unique identity. It draws every nationality to come, explore and experience its' perfect elegant style of living. Thank you Venice and the Veneto for all the memories. I will be back...

Window of Opportunity

This is the view from my window in Capraia, in the Garfagnana Valley, north Tuscany! How lucky am I!
I was given the gift of a few days at this wonderful villa overlooking the mountains as a trial for taking yoga students next year... and the answer is yes! what a beautiful place. We really must make this happen for people to experience both the peace and inspiration of this magical place. Meryl, the lady who owns the place has taken seven years to restore this neglected building...  and has made it the most beautiful place to be... and as you know practising Living It Yoga is all about being..... this window of opportunity is just too good to miss!

Journey around Elba!

 Summer flowers shining, reflecting the sunny climes of Elba. I couldn't resist these photos as they completely reflected my own happy mood. Having arrived on this wonderful island, I felt totally blessed and full of wonder at an island so far from home, feeling so much like home. People were friendly and supportive of my attempts to speak their language and as the time passed I felt much more confident at communicating with strangers. The island is an amazing repository of a wide range of crystals and a glorious garden of flowers such as those above... not forgetting the inspiring inhabitants ...

 ...or the inspiring views. This photo on the right was taken on a day that Debora, one of my teachers, and myself got slightly lost from the others and got to know each other better. Thank you so much Debora for the fun and laughter that we enjoyed that day and what about this view... was it worth it? Of course! The island showed its full range of colours for us and the sun lit up the contours and Debora drove the roads' '"contours" with a skill and speed that was breathtaking. In fact the whole day was wonderfully breathtaking. Views, food, driving, friendship... especially the last one. It is a privilege to experience a friendship with someone in a completely different language. This last photo is of the teachers and other students in our "classroom"... the best way to learn.

Progress

As I love cooking it was a thrill for me to get a cooking lesson included in the Italian language course I attended recently in Italy. On the island of Elba to be precise! What an adventure I had from start to finish.

Flew to Pisa - on my own. Drove to Piombino - on my own! Travelled by ferry to Porto Ferraio - on my own! Well I suppose there were other people on the plane and other people on the road and there were loads of people on the ferry. It felt very grown up to be travelling to this unknown to me, part of Italy and although unbeknownst to me - it soon became my home.

Having arrived at the school in Porto Azzurro on the east of the island and been shown my apartment, I went shopping and bought loads of wonderful fresh groceries as I was self-catering. Put the shopping in the boot, shut the boot, and found out that I had locked the keys in the car. What a start to my independent living experience. It was late Saturday evening, so no mechanics to be had. However I found two angels in the supermarket - who phoned their mechanic friend - who broke into the hired car... and I paid him 100 euro for the privilege.

My feelings were... thank god there was no frozen food in the car as I had a two-hour wait before the mechanic arrived. Well, it was Saturday and there was a festa happening in the town. It is only the first day and already I am in Italian mode.

We started the course on the Monday morning with a written exam, followed by an oral one. Met the teachers and was introduced to my fellow students who I would be sharing the next two weeks with. Both German, so the only English I spoke was to myself and to my husband Andy in two brief phone calls. Talk about immersing yourself in the language ... it was braw or should I say "era bravissima!". The teachers were wonderful. They imparted their knowledge graciously and helped us through the exciting grammar and delightful phonetics of the Italian language! Grazie mille Debora and Christina...

There were tons of adventures throughout the time in Elba. Driving round the island was an adventure! I find my driving is always an adventure in Italy. Long walks up mountain sides were adventures! The island was so beautiful, with many sandy beaches; sheer cliff faces; winding, windy roads. I am sure you get the picture. I loved it so much I intend to return next year.

I left the island a day earlier than intended as the wind picked up and swirled around the island causing disruption of the ferries, and I enjoyed an exciting ferry trip to the mainland as the waves tossed the massive ferry as if it was a light canoe. Arriving late on Friday evening in Pisa I found that there was no room to be had anywhere until a kindly receptionist took pity on me and phoned around until he got me a room on the other side of town. A very posh hotel with a very posh price, but there was a bed and a very welcome shower. The receptionist as luck would have it, has a villa on Elba and was very interested in my time at school. Small world...

I returned home to find that my garden room project had gone on hold while I was away. The workmen had obviously heard about Italian time and I was so relaxed after my time away that I didn't even feel vexed. Go figure!

There were loads of other blips and slips and I will continue with the saga in more depth next week and combine them with some beautiful photos of the beautiful island of Elba.
Ciao for now!
Eileen