I've been away...

Spending time away from blogging...been doing a lot of reading and starting to work again on a new writing project. Sometimes we need time away from social media to reset our thoughts and priorities in life. 

Just curious...has anyone else taken a blog break or time away from social media? How did it feel? Was it relaxing, or did you feel anxious to be unplugged?

Postcards from the Underworld: Meditations on a Roman Amphitheater

Dreaming of what the ancients must have witnessed from this vantage point...

Roman Amphitheater

Pula, Istria

Croatia 

100 Places in Greece Every Woman Should Go: Fish Pedicure

Chapter 69: Places to Get Pampered in Athens

The first time I walked by this place, I was surprised to see women lined up against the walls, traditional beauty shop style, but there were no hairdryers over their heads... instead, their feet were plunged into what looked like fish aquariums! Welcome to Doctor Fish, located in the Plaka district of Athens, where a breed of tiny carp nibbles away at patron's toes, giving them an unusual fish pedicure. Just the tiniest bit gross? Maybe. But if you've got tired feet after spent an entire day wandering around this ancient city, and you're the kind who wants to knock another to-do item off your bucket list, an Athenian fish pedicure might just be the thing for you! 

Postcards from the Underworld: Sign of the Times

Peace sign riddled with bullet holes
Lago Maggiore
Stresa, Italy

100 Places in Greece Every Woman Should Go: Kandylakia

Chapter 99: Roadside Shrines and the Goddesses Who Tend Them

As you wend your way along the often steep and cliff hanging roads that hug the Greek coastline, you will surely notice myriad tiny shrines, known as kandylakia, that dot the way. These shrines are usually erected at the site where someone died in a car or motorcycle accident, a chilling reminder to drive carefully. 

They can be dedicated to saints, such as Saint Theodosios,

or Saint Ephraim, among many others.

I've always been fascinated by what people leave inside these mini chapels and wondered who - if anyone - tends to them. In the past, I've found packs of cigarettes and bottles of ouzo - for what reason I'm not sure! But usually you will find a lit candle, along with a bottle of oil, icons and portraits of favorite saints

such as Nicholas, Constantine and Helen.

Most of all, I marvel at the beauty these kandylakia overlook, 

 

and once was fortunate enough to - finally - capture

a woman lovingly tending to her personal roadside shrine.