On another adventure

Once again, I begin a blog post with guilt for not having found the time to write, but this time I combat that feeling with a powerful sense of self awareness that assuages that criticism:  I have been insanely busy.  In the last year, I have opened and closed a café (fun, but never again), moved my entire operation to a space 3+ times the space, moved in with a man (whom I love dearly, but it is kind of a lot), and got a puppy.  I am going to forgive myself for the lapse in writing and move on to just doing it.  There is no better occasion for that than a trip to a fabulous land full of food and wine and cultural experience about which I have dreamt for a long time:  I am gong to Greece! This trip was prompted by a good friend, who is from Athens and who happened to be traveling home for personal and professional reasons.  She encouraged me to join, and naturally, I said "no, thank you" followed by, " I couldn't possibly," knowing full well it is in the midst of the busy season of Newport retail in a new location, with new staff.  (You see where this is going...) After roughly, thirty seven days in a row of cooking, ordering, and just generally running two retail shops, I walked over to my computer, and after 3 or 4 simple clicks of my mouse, I had a ticket to Athens--grossly irresponsible, but it felt so good.  Running these shops is my life, and I love it.  I love finding a new wine, making something delicious to share with my customers, who are more like family and friends than customers, and finding great staff to make things more efficient, more abundant, just more...I want to do this without error or flaw, though I fail on occasion.  I love it, but sometimes I hit the wall: just bushed, and  I need to reset, find inspiration, and come back to share it with everyone.

What better place than what I see as the source of all of our cultural beauty--aesthetic, gastronomic, literary, and philosophical.  I am excited to see the landscape, to taste the wine, to eat fresh octopus, to swim in the azure waters, to hike the rocky coasts, and to sleep on the plane!  I promise I will write daily and share with you the delights I find...please follow along and let me know where you think I should go while I am here!

time to board!!! :)

cheers, Maria