Thanks and Gratitude

Nearly 3 weeks in the UK has flown by ... or has it?  So many wonderful adventures from juicing and raw food and interesting conversation and touring round the lochs with Lilian in Lochwinnoch/Glasgow (thanks for hot water bottles and wooly jumpers).  Then a long, sunny train journey to York where Hilary arranged a homey Bed and Breakfast just outside the gates of the lovely walled city of York.  Many thanks to Hilary for such a warm, kind gesture.  Spending nearly a week with Hilary in the lovely Minster City of Beverley and touring round the Yorkshire Dales was a treat.  Thanks to all the kindness of strangers in Beverley from the tourist information lady to the coffee gals who chatted with me about the beauty of Canada and my lovely soft accent (they oohed and ahhed, so sweet).  Off for another train journey on a glorious sunny day (the sun always shone when I was on a train trip, every single time, in between it rained a lot, o well, we don't come to the UK for the weather, now do we?), this time down to Bath Spa for the weekend.  I have always said, going back to the days when I lived in the UK, that there is no more beautiful countryside than that country when the sun comes out and I was truly blessed with sunny train trips to enjoy it, thank you!  Bath Spa proved to be one of the many highlights of my journey to date - I love the City.  I managed to have a lovely room in a spacious flat owned by a friend of a friend (the very special Barbara whom I have known for many years since my days of living in the UK).  What an incredible location overlooking a huge park with the trees still in their many fall colours.  I walked down to Bath each day and enjoyed the little alleys and shops and the newly renovated Spa with the healing waters of ancient Roman times.  The food and the people were welcoming and kind in Bath Spa ... I cannot wait to visit again.  Over the last few days I have been in Somerset visiting the lovely and very special, Barbara and hubby Phil.  All my friends here have been super special and I am so grateful to all of you/them.  We reconnected after many years ... it was just like I had only been away for a short time, relaxed conversation and laughter!  Phil is an accomplished chef and provided us with a delicious pasta/veggie dish ... thanks to Phil for a veggie delight.  Now I'm here at the Airport Sofitel Hotel ready to tuck into a selection of salads picked up at M&S at the airport ... fresh and delicious ... M&S has come a long way from underpants ladies!  I'm so excited about my flight to Trivandrum tomorrow and know I will have a great sleep tonite.  Hi to all my friends near and far and I will try to be more frequent with my posts ... my phone has not cooperated well in the UK ... we'll see how I manage in India.

Many months later ...

I have felt compelled recently to resurrect the "Gypsy at 60" blog - even though now I am 61! It has been six months since I returned from my wonderful, quite life-changing journey - my soul feels fuller and much richer and more authentic than I have ever felt before. The last 6 months back in Kingston has allowed me the opportunity to reflect within on who I am, where I am, what I want in my life and how I am going to move forward into this next age and stage . I have taken the time to not only reflect internally, but also to clean house - literally - I have cleaned, cleared and purged much "stuff" in my home and taken the time to reflect carefully on what I need now versus what is not serving me well to hold on to. So liberating! I feel lighter in my being as a result - fresh space for the energy to move into. And just the other day I transformed my living space - the kitchen and living room - by having it painted a new colour, a lovely creamy and warm glowing yellow. Fresh and glowing - a reflection of my inner being. I am pursuing some very new and oftentimes challenging goals in my life now - entrepreneurship - as a holistic life coach for women in midlife. I will be utilizing all my personal and professional tools as I assist women to vision their lives and set goals to help them move toward whatever is deeply, intuitively speaking to their hearts. I feel called to offer this service and over the next month will reflect on identifying the various business steps as I develop my Business Plan. O, yes, life is a great gift and I'm taking a big bite of it.

Photos you may enjoy - Greece

Try clicking on each photo to enlarge ... enjoy!

Back in Canada ... Reflections

It has been 10 days since I returned to Kingston - it seems that nothing much has changed here but I feel that I have! The dust began to settle after one week back home - the jet lag was not nice. I have been reflecting on my journey ... the places I have seen, all the experiences I have had, the beautiful museums and architecture I have seen, the tasty food I have eaten (and prepared at Yoga Plus) and the internal journey that one takes whenever one travels. It doesn't really matter if it is far afield or an experience in one's own town or country ... there is something about stretching outside of one's comfort zone, taking a risk, accepting the challenge ... that changes one's perspective on oneself and the world we live in.

As I reflect on the journey I have just returned from, I would have to say that the most memorable moments were spent meeting new people - that has always been my passion and reason for my journey - meeting others and enjoying the interaction. From the Europeans - many of them fellow Yogis - at Yoga Plus, to other travellers at hotels, restaurants and in various modes of transportation, to residents especially in Turkey and Greece, who made me feel so welcome and enjoyed sharing their recipes, jokes, language tips and tricks and in many cases, offered rooms in their small pensions and hotels with great pride. These are my most vivid memories along with the scenery of Greece and Turkey ... so mountainous, usually quite close to water ... the roads at times trecherous ... and the olive groves, cacti and bougainvalia (bright pink and purple) as well as household geraniums everywhere. And the sounds of the animals in the country hills, muezzin calling Muslims to prayer, roar of the diesel engines of cars and buses (NOT nice) and vendors attempting to sell us something - anything - (as one clever vender in the covered market in Istanbul said "let me sell you something you don't need; I'm very good at it!).

This is just the tip of the iceberg for my memories ... more to follow.

Visiting Berlin

Berlin has been everything I had dreamed it would be ... the last two days have been spent exploring, talking with people here about the life especially since the Wall came down ... took a one hour boat trip along the River Spree yesterday which pointed all the main sights ... food has been incredible especially the simplicity and at times downright meat laden meals of Ukraine and Poland ... a great variety of delcious food here. I love the architecture and the history of this city and I have been enjoying the cleanliness, designs and everything working aspect of life here ... after Turkey and Greece and Eastern Europe it is a welcome change. Those fine details begin to make a difference after many days on the road! After the diesel fumes and insanity of the roads in the above countries, Berlin is a dream ... the fumes are much less because there are exhaust restrictions throughout the main areas and believe it or not, jay walkers are fined just like they are driving their own cars ... hence no one walks on a red light! Thez can lose their driving license if they abuse the law too manz times. This really shocked us after the free for all in Turkey and Greece ... where absolutely anything goes! And pedestrians have no rights ... it is nerve racking at the verz least.

By this time however I am pretty ready to return home ... was not sure I would say that toward the end of this exceptional journey but it is time ... I am weary of dragging my suitcase, looking for and settling into different hotels ... looking for modest and nutritious food etc etc. I need to recharge my batteries at home ... So this afternoon off to London Gatwick, overnite in a Yotel room at Gatwick and then back to Canada tomorrow. Lucky me that my all grown up son will pick us up ... More to follow ...

Updates on the travelling road show ...

Thats what it is at this point ... Ukraine was a mix of old and new and grey and dilapitated ... then Poland proved to be even more eclectic. The transfer between the Ukraine and Poland ... by ancient, rickety bus was ... how can I describe it ... it was so sad and complicated and anger provoking that it ultimately became laughable. We spent two days in each place ... Lviv in Ukraine and Premsyl, Poland in fertive attempts to track down Wallys paternal roots ... finding this was apropos to a needle in a haystack ... however Wally did get some sense of gratification when he noticed some familiar looking buildings near a graveyard where Wallys grandfather is possibly laid to rest.

I found it incredibly stressful throughout the 4 to 5 days in these two countries ... the weather, the cold and rain, the grey days, the lack of openness and excitement on the part of the people ... they were kind but it was hard to communicate with anyone because of so little English. Wally, thank goodness, fumbled around with his Ukranian and we somehow managed ... but it was often pretty funny to say the least ... asking for honey for our tea by extending our arms and buzzing like bees for example. Funny memories.

Finally yesterday, just in time for both of us to leave Poland ... we attempted to catch a 12 hour train journey through Poland into Germany, to Berlin ... which ended up through again a comedy of errors in Poland, to be an all night, slow train which ended in Berlin this morning after nearly 24 hours of listening to the noisy drunken Poles and the wind whistling through the cracks in the train. Arriving in Berlin was like stepping into another world ... we felt like we had just got off the boat! A couple of country bumpkins but still speaking .. sort of. Then we realized the hotel we had booked from Poland and then cancelled from Warsaw ... had indeed been charged to our card ... so we had approximatelz 4 hours in this lovely hotel room ... with breakfast ... approx Euros 100or US $ 140 ... hmmm ... worth every Polish zlotty.

We have another hotel room now ... near this one ... for the next two nites and then on to London ... on Monday to fly back to Toronto on Tues am.

More news as it happens, love to all, look forward to seeing you soon.

One more day in Turkey ...

Our flight to Lviv, Ukraine was cancelled unexpectedly by Turkish Airlines this morning so we have another day at an airport hotel, the Marriott, very posh by comparison to previous lodgings. Just had some tea and backlava (yummy Turkish dessert laden with honey) ... as well as a relaxing sauna and swim. Speaking of relaxing water experiences, I have had two visits to the hamam ... Turkish Baths ... where I have been pummelled by large men and women, usually three massages and lots of hot hot water, even a very luxurious shampoo by one attendant in Istanbul. Also visited a hot spring water pool near Izmir ... place called Cesme on the Aegean Sea ... had the best massage there and lovely Turkish tea afterward. The food and drinks have been wonderful here ... there is always a lovely cup of chai/Turkish tea wherever we go ... as well as very strong coffee. I am wondering what the food in Ukraine will be like because I have heard it is primarily meat based ... hmmm. I'm getting excited about Lviv because it is a designated UNESCO world heritage city and promises to be very beautiful and quaint, we are staying right near the centre. More news soon, happy fall and early winter to all!