U is for…

Upper Broadheath

This little hamlet is the birthplace of one of Britain’s most famous composers: Edward Elgar. Everyone knows Pomp and Circumstance, which is played at nearly every graduation in the world, but he was an amazing composer well beyond that lovely piece of music.

The cozy little cottage where Edward Elgar was born

Elgar was born in a tiny brick house in 1857. Being one of my husbands favorite composers, we made the trip to Upper Broadheath to see the house and the small museum erected nearby. It was a lovely little spot–the house small but cozy, the garden lovely with fall flowers and apples trees heavy with fruit. The museum was well put together and had interesting displays, artifacts, and of course, listening stations to hear his music.

And the gardens in their fall splendor

T is for…

Thermopylae

Everyone who has seen the movie 300 knows about the last stand of the Spartans against the massive Persian army. My husband, being Greek and constantly reading books on Ancient Greek history. By proxy, I learned quite a bit about the Persian wars fought between the united Greeks and the invading hordes.

Where the last of the 300 Spartans died.

Thermopylae is the place where the 300 died fighting, losing the Spartan king, Leonidas. It’s not much to look at today, but there is a lovely little memorial at the top of the small hill where the last of them lost their lives. But they fought like motherfuckers and held off the Persians long enough so the Athenians could regroup and defend the city of Athens. It was a turning point in history, for sure. If the Spartans hadn’t given their all I believe the world would have been a much different place today. They saved the western world and preserved their culture. Which is the foundation of our democracy, philosophy, art, mathematics, drama, and so many other things we still appreciate today.

Leonidas, King of the Spartans

Leonidas, King of the Spartans was told by the Persians to surrender his weapons. He replied, “Come and take them,” knowing it would mean certain death. Our action heroes of the silver screen have nothing on him. He was the real deal.

S is for…

St. Hilaire Abbey

In Provence there is a 13th century convent tucked into the fold of the hills of the Vaucluse. St. Hilaire is my happy place. When I meditate that is where I picture myself, sitting on the grass in the courtyard in back, watching the poplar trees across the valley sway in the breeze. We sat there for a long time, Kosta and I, just drinking in the peace infused in the very stones of the place. We didn’t speak, we just sat and watched the sky, the trees, and felt the breeze wash over us, content to just be. Even if I never return (and I sorely hope that is not the case) I will never forget the way that place made me feel.

The front entrance of the abbey.

Set in stone.

My Happy Place

R is for…

Roman Forum

I have visited twice —  the first was my study abroad tour in 1995, the second was another study abroad tour to Italy in 1996. I spent three weeks visiting Florence, Siena, Assisi, San Gimignano, Rome, Ravenna and Venice.  I sorely wanted to write about Ravenna and its amazing mosaic-filled churches, but my photos did not turn out well at all. This was back in the age when you actually had film in your camera and had no idea whether your pictures turned out until you developed them.

Instead, I got some breathtaking photos of the Roman forum. Walking through the ruins is an interesting experience. Everything is skeletal and it is hard to picture what these broken teeth of columns and foundations of buildings must have been like in the glory of their construction. But here and there are bits of unexpected beauty that have lasted through the centuries.

A vestal virgin

A pile of toppled columns

Q is for…

Quinto Books

In London there is an area around Charing Cross Road that is loaded with used bookstores. It’s not as packed as it was when I first visited in 1995, but there are still a fair amount still around. Quinto Books is one of them.

Quinto Books

I don’t mind mentioning that we came home from this vacation barely making our luggage weight because of all the books we bought. Not only did we spend a serious amount of hours in Blackwell in Oxford, we also spent the better part of a day knocking around Quinto’s and others like it on Charing Cross. Kosta was looking for history (Ancient Greek or WWII) and music books, while I was intent upon handsome old volumes of fiction and life in Tudor England. We each came away happy, as you can see.

Heaven!

Heaven part 2!

O is for…

Oxford

I’ve spent a little time in this achingly beautiful town. In 1995 I did a study abroad tour called Eurospring where a group of us studied at Oxford for five weeks and then had a three-week bus tour of the Continent. It was the best thing I had ever done in my young life and the travel bug bit me hard.

Theology school from the 12th century. (Also, for you Harry Potter nerds, the hospital wing at Hogwarts.)

I’ve been back twice since: once with my mother in 1997 and once in 2012 with my husband. If you’ve been reading my posts this month you’ll already know I studied Gothic architecture in college, and this town is chock-a-block with it. It’s heaven for someone like me to just wander the streets and look up at all the beautiful buildings.

Wandering the streets.

I can’t believe though, that it took me until 2012 to take a tour of the Bodleian Library. Kosta and I both positively went weak at the knees when we were led up to the stacks on the second floor. Oh, but could we have touched those books. Just one little fingertip on a spine.

Bodleian Library…Don’t you just want to take a peek?

Yes, I know I’m a nerd. Proud of it too.

M is for…

Mesa Verde

At the southern edge of Colorado is a National Park that tugs at me. Mesa Verde is home to a series of cliff dwellings made by the Anasazi, or Ancient Ones. Their heyday was about 800 years ago, and the stone and wood structures they created on the cliff sides still remain in remarkably good condition.

Cliff Palace–the largest of the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde.

In 2007 Kosta and I took our first vacation together and learned just how well-matched we are as a traveling team. We both dig the same things: history, archaeology, and the glorious beauty of the great outdoors. We had both been there as children and had a marvelous time rediscovering the place together. My favorite dwelling was  Balcony House, which is only accessible by climbing a 32 foot ladder and then crawling through a tunnel to get out.

Going up the ladder at Balcony House.

I find it truly remarkable that these people used to live on the side of the cliff and with the skeletal remains they have found, there has been no evidence anyone fell to their death.

The view of mesa country from Balcony House.

L is for…

Lourmarin

Lourmarin is a beautiful village in the hills of Provence. We visited in 2013 and were infinitely lucky we turned up on market day. You would not believe the markets in France, they are the best and most wonderful in the world, in my humble opinion. That day we bought fresh goat cheeses, tapenade, olives, crusty bread, and wine. There were also Provencal soaps, lavender, scarves, lace, olive wood bowls and spoons, herbs, and all sorts of gorgeous goods all heaped together.

Olives, olives, olives!

Kosta in the thick of things.

After we wandered the stalls we sat at an outdoor cafe and had a drink while we watched people. There was a crazy bald man with an accordion busking for change and making us all laugh with his songs and dancing. My husband, who is a huge fan of Peter Mayle, noticed later that his author photo on his books was taken at the very same cafe where we sat. Sadly, we did not see him, otherwise we may have had to gush.

Cheese!

Highly entertaining kook with an accordion.

K is for…

Karnezaika

My husband is 100% Greek extraction. His mother’s maiden name is Karnegis, and there is actually a town on the Peloponnese named for that family. His aunt Froso (see Irea post from April 11) has a house there and we got to stay for a few days 2011. There are perhaps 10-12 houses, but they have their own church and it is painted beautifully inside over every surface with icons of saints and angels. It really took my breath away and I wish I could show you but it is not polite to take pictures inside churches in Greece.

Karnezaika–the road in town.

The town has one shop, used to have a gas station, and just about everyone is related.  The cemetery that clings to the side of the church at the top of the hill is filled with my husband’s relatives and ancestors. The house where Froso grew up now houses her niece and family. In fact, the Germans occupied that very house during World War II. Karnezaika is quiet, dusty, hot, and completely wonderful.

Kosta and Froso.

The cemetery next to the church–full of Kosta’s ancestors.

Beauty everywhere you look.

April A to Z Challenge

I am taking the A to Z Blog Challenge in April. Every day I will take a letter of the alphabet and find a corresponding subject on which to write.

I have chosen a theme: A Place in the World. Each day I will describe a place or an object I have visited in my travels. So every day for the month of April, except for Sundays, tune in to see where I head next. I hope you enjoy hopping around the world with me. Next to writing, travel is the thing I love to do best. The best memories I have from my life have been seeing new places in far off lands where I don’t speak the language and the history is so tremendously vast.

So come back April 1, 2016 for A. Will it be Athens?  Assisi? Aix-en-Provence? Avignon? Or somewhere else? Stay tuned to find out.