I love Rome for all its historical significance: the Colosseum, the Vatican, the Palatine Hill, the Trevi Fountain, St Peter’s Basilica and so many more.
But I also love Rome for its significance is some of my favourite feature films.
I have pondered investing in a “real” desk instead of the lap desk I currently use.
But why should it matter where I sit to write, doodle, sort through photographs, etc. Will the desk help inspire me? Flashes of inspiration come to me from books, photos , my cherished travels and these days my kitchen experiments.
Today, I am asking you dear reader to contribute to my inspiration. What should be my next subject?
What does the word HOME evoke for you when you hear it? Does an image pop into your head and a smile grace your face?
I have 4 homes and at times, more.
I was born in Lebanon and sadly left when I was very young. Not old enough to have been marked by memories of war but old enough to remember my grandmother’s garden with its lavender bush and grapes draped over the trellis in the back of the house. Old enough to remember her jam cake and the fact that she was always well put together (every hair in place and always wearing lipstick). I also remember the innumerable summers spent in her home with my brother and sister and the cousins. Her home was my home.
Greece became the shelter from the civil war brewing in Lebanon and our “temporary” home. I say temporary because mom and dad used to say “it is only for one year”. Eleven years later, Athens had become home. It was the place I met my best friend at the age of 6 and some 35 years later is still my best friend. The place where I developed my first crush on the wrong boy. The place that I return to years later because it has a string attached to my heart.
Toronto is home now. I have lived here the majority of my life, that is if you count the number of years, it is the longest I have been somewhere. I appreciate the opportunities that this home has afforded me: family, friends, the ability to travel and experience different cultures, a fantastic restaurant scene and so much more.
As I look to the future, I know that I will make Paris my next home. I am drawn to everything that city has to offer and the way I feel when I am there.
I have never sat down and put some thought into why I write.
Until recently I was writing mostly for work. Communications, training materials, memos, etc. Now I write as a tool to express feelings and share images that have marked me in some way. Call it a creative outlet to bring some pleasure and push away the daily grind.
When I first moved to Canada from Greece (before the internet and email), I used to write long letters to childhood friends. Letters filled with the trials and tribulations of my teen years and the adjustment to a new country, language and culture.
Back then, I wrote to relieve my stress and anxiety. Now, I write to bring inspiration and creativity back into my world.
Venice: the first stop in a two-week Italian vacation and the spot where my camera fell to its death!
Some people have called Venice kitschy, beautiful and a number of adjectives in between. At first site, I was fascinated by this floating city with its bridges, waterways and colourful buildings.
I love to travel and experience new places, including the culture and food of each new location. The number one restaurant in Venice (as per TripAdvisor) was a little place called Alfredo’s. Fresh pasta in little take away Chinese containers made daily. I watched the owner make the spaghetti and thought what a great photograph it would make.
I asked if I could get closer to take a photo and was allowed behind the counter to snap away. I am not quite sure what happened next or how it happened, but my camera took a dive and landed lens first on the floor. Needless to say, I was horrified as I had not packed a back-up as I usually do. My only resource now, was my phone. I am pleased to say, that my HTC rose to the challenge.
Here are some of the photographs taken with said phone.
gypsyreverie 