July 28, 2011

Finding Inspiration.....mind, body, soul

The past two mornings on the drive into work, Deadmau5 has come onto the radio. Yes, I love house music. So sorry to those that don’t fist pump, but that’s just who I am. And no I’m not into fried pickles, but I swear I won’t judge you if you do.

Anyways, the pounding base took me back to a vacation I took to the Cyclades in Greece many many many many years ago when I was a MUCH younger self. A single self. Do you remember your early 20’s? My early twenties were spent traveling various corners of the world, Greece, being my first victim. It was a trip of a lifetime and I feel as if a part of that trip has always stayed with me.

If you have ever been lucky enough to visit Greece, most especially this group of islands you know what I’m talking about. There is something magical about these islands that inhibit the mind, body and soul in every way imaginable. We watched the sunset in Oia on Santorini while listening to Enya. Dancing the night away at an outdoor disco on Ios. Sipping espresso at an outdoor café on Naxos. Those are all memories that I will take with me forever, and I can’t help but want to duplicate the feeling of these islands.

The first island we visited was Santorini. My girlfriend Lina and I arrived very late at night on a prop plane from Athens, and it was already dark outside. The taxi dropped us off at the end of town, Fira, and told us that we had the walk the rest of the way. My first thought was YOU HAVE NO FREAKIN CLUE WHAT’S IN THIS BACKPACK DUDE but I figured I guess I had no choice. We walked into town, and were immediately taken by the beauty of Fira. Sure it was late at night, almost midnight, yet there was this vibe that you felt as deep as your bones. And NO, I hadn’t had a shot of Ouzo yet.

We were booked into the Loucas Hotel, a recommendation from a co-worker, and we were not disappointed. Thankfully the inn-keeper was still there to check-us in. We walked down about a million steps to get to our room, dropped our bags, and crashed. The next morning, we woke up rather early, wanting to get a head start on the day. We opened our shutters, and this is what we saw.



We were in absolute AWE. I had never seen or experienced anything like it in my lifetime, I was almost in tears. We sat there and just stared out at the sea for a couple hours just to take it all in.

That is just one of the amazing experiences I had on that trip to Greece, but because of that experience, and all the others, how happy and peaceful this trip made me feel, I’m seriously considering bringing in some Mediterranean and/or Greek elements into our home. I’m not quite sure how, or what yet, due to limited expenses, but I’ve started to collect some ideas, and inspiration as to how I’d go about doing this.

Here are a couple of examples of various room-types that have been inspired by Grecian or Mediterranean décor. I’ve been saving these up for a rainy day.





Almost ever trip i've been on, no matter the country, I take away a small piece of that country home with me in my heart, and sometimes my living room!

Have a great day everyone.

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