Home Away From Home

I am on Day 4 in the Maldives. It is still morning time and I can feel myself getting restless. I feel like I slept, ate and was healthy for the first 3 days and those were important priorities. Me and B are spending time together and enjoying having the time and facing tough choices like going to the Beach or the Water Villa, joining a yoga class or going to the spa.  I decided to finish my book today, The Happiness Trap. It may not be the book of my life (How google Works gets me way more excited, given I started it after this book and finished 2 weeks ago) but it is the book that helps me change my life. Unlike any other self help book it is not all about being positive embracing life, keeping happy. It is preciselly about how this chase of happiness leads you to a trap to then be dissatisfied whenever you are any less than perfectly happy. I had stopped the book as I could not get one of the tasks completed but now decided I had to reas through the end, as it was probably not r...

This time we are flying Qatar. I admit they have the best safety video ever, all stars Barcelona players. But other than that, once you fly Emirates, your expectations are immediately ruined for the near future. It is like the honey moon in the Maldives. Once you go there then you spend every anniversary wondering when it is reasonable to come come back. You go to the Caribbean and you compare all the things you liked better in the Maldives. And no arrogance (as you are obviously not making it your regular holiday resort), just pure nostalgy of such impressive standards.  So now we are in Qatar and I wish I was Emirates, even though I am sort of pleased to get some miles into my BA account. The series selection is poor, I don't recognisd any name on the list. I can't do movies as this is a 6 hours flight and I am too tired not to sleep. So I go for music. Nothing compares with the hits year by year that the Emirates offers. But then something calls my attention. Celine Dion, th...

What a wonderful day. I am grateful for this newly found ability to enjoy my surroundings. As this was the second weekend in a roll that we were in Lisbon, the should word was quieter than usual and B triggered the crazy thought. Let's just stay home and do nothing! Wow - can we do that, are we allowed? More than allowed, we do that in London all the time and it is possibly one of my few fears if I ever move here - the inability to do what we want over what others want.  We gave it a go and i indulged into cooking us a proper lunch. As we sat  to do nothing after lunch I commented 'what a luxury'. I truly was not familiar with the concept. And even better family came to visit so we had the combination of both worlds. I ended a day with a friend over for dinner over a bottle of wine. I am grateful for all the little moments that filled my day. I am grateful I did so many things I love in a single day, without even expecting. Thank you.

Standing up at Paddington with no rush to depart. I am the odd one out. I stand enjoying my first real moment of peace today, listening to the singer trying to make a life cheering people up with his music. Hold up the river. Can you really hold up a river? Feels like I am standing here in the middle of this flow and I could not hold up anything if I wanted. People run to trains in a rush to get home and I wondered if any of us has ever wondered if we just take the next train. The benefit of enjoying what is around us along the way rather than only what is on the other side.  And then reality hits. B rushes me into a train just because it is there and departing in 1 minute. It is packed and I cant walk. This is not what I want. I want to enjoy the ride there with C. It's her first time on the heathrow express. I fail, he gets in and I limp behind. I hold back the tears. The 17.55 was just as good as the 17.40. I wish I had been a few minutes late so there was at least no ...

We decided to vary from English countryside and try the English seaside instead. The prospects were not good. This week it snowed in London, the week was grey and cold, we were exhausted from a nasty week at work. For the first time in years we did not go in search of guaranteed warm sun as we always do in the first May Bank Holiday. Initially planned as a Cornwall trip, our weekend turned to the Isle of Wight, also unknown to us.  Isle of Wight is not disappointing so far. The classic English manor house at the Priory Bay Hotel offered us a superb room with a view overlooking the estate and the sea. The friendly staff are welcoming of our unstoppable toddler though we are surprised to see almost no guests (after the website said they were full and we called just to give it a try). The estate also give us direct access to a large sandy beach (from where I started this blog) where we spent a long lazy time watching the sea, collecting stones and throwing up them back at the water. T...