FREE, FRESH, FABULOUS, FALL

Dear Fall,

First and foremost welcome; it’s been quite a long time since we’ve sensed you and truly, you have been missed. The heat this year was at its peak and our skin still feels the scorching of it.

Summer was good (for most of us at least); but as soon as you came along, despite the relief we felt when we the breeze started caressing our hair, some of us seems to have met with our melancholic ego. We had forgotten the taxes, economic difficulties, financial crisis and what not’s that were around us all of last year.

This is why, dearest fall, you have to persuade us that things are not that bad and that all of it is just an unpleasant phase we are going through. I know you are not Santa and writing you a letter is not so effective, but I am asking you either way to try and keep all these happy, refreshed, relaxed people smiling even when routine takes over their lives once again.

They say that winter is going to be hard on us this year but I am sure it’s just those damn politicians and journalists terrifying us. Everything will be just fine and all of us will have food, shelter, friends and family around us which at the end of the day, is what matters.

You should know that I like you a lot. Actually, I love you more than any other season. You include my birthday, my best friends' birthday, my adventures-to-tell after summer, a shopping spree bringing along new clothes; you motivate me to be induced into new activities, hobbies and to renew my membership at the gym. Basically, you do things that no man or family member could ever do. You are unique.

so here I am on my desk looking through the window and contemplating your beauty: the red – brown leaves dancing to the sound and movements of the wind, slowly falling off the trees, an indecisive sky turning from sunny to cloudy within minutes and finally, the people walking on the streets: few of them are lightly dressed and cold whereas others are warmly dressed and hot.

My only concern in this life when you come along is when it will be a good day to wash my car. Your rain is unpredictable and very muddy. But I empathize with this condition as you are summer’s washing machine.

I hereby end this letter dedicating you to all my friends and family and letting them know that this year will be better than the one before and worse than the one to come as long as we remain positive, hopeful and true to ourselves.

I virtually hug you and thank you for coming for the 26^th time into my life.

Love,

Tamara

   

AMOUREUSE DE CHARLOTTE

Charlotte Olympia and her shoes

She’s been on the market since 2006 but I haven’t really taken her very seriously until last season. This fall, I want to buy everything she has thought of, designed, displayed. Every single pair of what she has done is an exclusive. It is an expensive buy but I would spend a little extra money for it: It will be the disco ball of your wardrobe! She is well known for the shoes but I wouldn’t mind carrying a Matrioshka clutch or a purse in 

the shape of lips. 

                      

As worn by the famous

HASTA LUEGO SEVILLA...

Seville is a lovely city. Waking up early in the morning, enjoying a rich breakfast at the Palacio de Villapanes Hotel and sipping my (finally) perfectly prepared Cappuccino is exactly what I was looking for after my previous weekend in Mykonos.

The Hotel's lobby: my morning coffee place

Still, the schedule was a little bit hectic; as soon as the last drop of my (again) perfectly prepared Cappuccino was gone, we had to rush into the bus and go to the renowned sites of the city like Alcazar, the Mesquita and the cathedral of Santa Maria Sede. Not that I dislike History, but I’d rather spare my readers of the historical-all-that-jazz part. BUT, just because I am a proud Arab (at that time the Arabs were super amazing smart people who helped Spain obtain the civilized and artistic touch it has today), I would like to point out few historical points:

• Hercules was the one who marked with six columns the place where the great Julius Caesar later on built the Seville which was then called Iulia Romula Hispalis (206 B.C)
• 527 was the year where the Visigoths established themselves and promoted Catholicism through King Recared.
• In the year 712, the Arabs (called the Moors at that time) settled in Seville for quite a long time (around 536 years!); a period long enough to influence the arts, religion and the language.
• In 1248, Fernando III brought back the power of Christianity and put an end to the Moors’ power.
• In 1492 many things occurred that altered the history of Spain and the world in general: the Moors were completely thrown out from Seville, Spain was unified under one crown and Christopher Columbus discovered the “New World” which made Seville the intermediate route between Europe and America.
• The first economical and artistic decline hit the city in the sixteenth century mostly due to the Plague, the floods, etc.
• Thanks to its river, Guadalquivir (the Grand Valley in Arabic), Seville was since the ninth century both a river port and a bridge between the Atlantic ocean and the hinterland of Andalusia.

Seville’s small alleys and terracotta walls made me travel in a time where people moved with carriages and horses, where children would safely play on the streets and where women would sing opera songs from the play “Carmen” while drying their laundry on the balcony; basically, where all was simpler. After the appreciation I had for all these rural details, I concluded that Seville is one of the best cities in Spain in terms of beauty and history (again, my Arab origins come into play in this bias statement).

Wall of  the Royal Palace of Alcazar (originally a Moorish fort)

the Royal Palace of Alcazar

Garden of the Royal Palace of Alcazar

the Mesquita, Cordoba: Islamic architecture's perfection

One big, big, BIG disadvantage in Seville is the food. Paella? No way; I didn’t like it at all (just by looking at the picture tell me frankly, would you eat it?); Tapas? Most of them looked odd and are either way not sufficient for my metabolism. Also, this thing that they have with the damned “jamon” is ridiculous: everything has ham in it, even a green salad! Thus, I spent the weekend eating bread and some “safe” appetizers. So if you go to Spain, you probably should pack several cans of Tuna and a big bag of Spaghetti. 

Traditional sea-food-based Paella (pity the flies wandering around don't show on the picture)

Another great experience was spending the day at a Spaniard farm located in a far away place in the mountains where all appeared to me as if I was leaving in another era. I had a great time exploring the area and a lot of fun riding the “horsey”.  The people owning the farm as well as (I guess) their relatives were very hospitable serving us water, sangria, wine and tapas over and over again. They were all dressed in flamenco dresses and flowers in their heads, dancing to the guitar which made me understand and appreciate the beauties of the Spanish folklore.

How cute?

Break in the mountain with a lot of Folklore

MYKONOS GETAWAY

View of Mykonos and its windmills 

It is astonishing how positive such a small piece of land can be.  I was in Mykonos for four days and now back in Athens, I need a whole week to realize that my glamorous getaway has actually ended. As soon as I got out the plane on the island, the strong wind felt like an overture to freedom; the heat, the pollution and the grumpy Athenian crowd is now a trillion miles away.

Mykonos is the number-one-Tamara’s-favorite island as there is nothing missing on it (except maybe some vegetation).  There is a lot of ways to live the wonders of it. If you are super crazy, you wake up every morning at ten, go to one of the many beaches it has to offer, fall asleep while being bronzed by the sun, get up while the sun sets, go eat (the best restaurants in the Cyclades are few meters a way), go to an afternoon bar-dancing session, rest for half an hour and then get into an island-sexy clothing and go down town to party all night and probably steal some time from the early morning too.

Psarou Beach Party

One of my favourite spots is Psarou beach. It gives you everything you need for living the Mykonian experience: huge mattresses where you can cuddle with your boyfriend (or with your crazy girlfriend who is very excited to be on holidays), sipping a refreshing black rum Mojito (or a few dozen) and when you are done with the sun, a compilation of sea food at Nammos that would leave Captain Cousteau with his mouth wide open. At some point during the digesting process, people start getting uber energized and start dancing on tables.

Unfortunately, all good things tend to end very quickly. Although I extended my stay, I had to go back to the wonderful grey / white office of mine in Athens.

  

I LOVE WAVES...

They inspire me to stay calm and relax after a long laborious week. On a sunny Sunday afternoon, I sat on the warm white stones of Loutraki’s beach, the wind pleasantly whistling in my ear while eating my cookie crunch ice cream. My paradise.

For a while, I was enjoying the incredible view that was just an hour away from the polluted capital, Athens; a perfect way to celebrate the essence of April along with spring season.

Loutraki, Greece, is a touristic, yet refined town (I spotted several SPAs while getting there and of course, the famous Casino) located around 80 km away from the capital. Its rich vegetation and beautiful landscapes makes it one of my top places to hop to for a quick swim outside the noise, crowd and chaos of Athens.

After breathing some fresh air and having the sun caress your face, it’s kind of hard to get back to work on a Monday morning… Oh well… have a good, sunny week everyone!  

SUN IS KNOCKING ON OUR DOOR

From a whisper to a scream coming from the one and only Spring...

Finally I can smell it, I can sense it and I have already started to flirt with it! Spring! Spring! Spring is here! 

After a long, chillier than ever, winter in Greece this week is revealing the end of it all. No more depression over bad weather or reconsideration of a night out due to heavy rain. From now on, it's all about light and shiny clothing, fully loaded accessories and no coats to hide it.

It's time to hit the parks and jog in style, perhaps succeed in getting a tan in order to be less ridiculously white at the beach. 

Aaah! I feel so much better now. Of course, one thing is still bothering (because as humans are never satisfied): Being "trapped" behind closed doors watching the sunny atmosphere through a glass window, not being able to reach it. This my friends, is called office employment. At least, we still have the week ends to look forward to the weekend and the privilege to be right next to the beach!

So... Vivement le weekend!

And Happy Spring Equinox everyone! 

  

My very own "friendship" article

"I will speak ill of no man, and speak all the good I know of everybody."

- Benjamin Franklin

What can someone expect on Tuesday 13^th? In Greece they consider it as a jynxed day where people shouldn’t be going out much and rather stay home, cuddling and watch television for avoiding any kind of social dispute.

I don’t believe in superstitions. But I surely believe in how people affect your mood when times are not so bright in the country we live in.

I am so irritated by everything that is happening in Greece and more specifically the impact it is having on my social circle; What I see is that when friends are supposed to stand by each other and help each other when the dark days come, they rather turn their backs and focus on every non sense issue they have in their very own private life. In other words, what I see is pure egotism.

"Egotism is the aesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity." - Frank Leahy

Many of us have spent many hours of our days trying to console, cheer up and even talk some sense into our friends. They may have been through hell and back, or they may be simply in a bad mood and hence exaggerating; still, you make sure to always focus on their problem and try to resolve it as smoothly as possible. I am sure every one of us tries to do so for their peers but some just “lose control” and make the whole matter about you. Or worse, you just nod mecahnically because you are thinking of other stull like how you are going to spend your time at night.

Let’s get more specific. I have had strong friendships all over the world (actually no, just in London, Beirut and Athens) and every year I realize how complex it is getting as we grow up and how exploitation becomes more and more common amongst your friends.

"I don't trust him. We're friends." - Bertolt Brecht

So, as a 25 year-old-not-that-patient person I have figured some ways to not get disappointed and rather move on without giving any importance to what has happened between a friend and me.

First and foremost, be sure you are righteously irritated. Sometimes we get too sentimental and confuse the whole matter (especially when girls PMS). You may be the one who is “awfully” wrong.

Second, be sure to have several groups of friends. If you hang out with the same crowd daily, you are more prone to fight with each other. Your group of friends and your acquaintances should be thoroughly separated so you can interact with as many as possible and in different styles of locations.

Also, make sure to have a hobby. You have no idea how annoying it is to have people calling you from the moment they wake up to the time they get out of the house bugging you on what are the plans for tonight. Having a hobby takes out a lot of your energy (in a good way of course, except if your hobby is selling drugs in the ghetto) and makes you love staying home: Be your own best friend. Be the inner best friend who is always there to protect you, chat or chill out with you, care and love you unconditionally. Life provides us of constant reminders that ourselves is the essence to everything.

Kids hang out with themselves by having an imaginary friend which help them find the ”always-dependable best friend of love, friendship and happiness”  within themselves

Read. Read articles, the paper, the news, tabloids or even Freud. Sometimes focusing on the rich and famous’ lives enhances your mood. Who doesn’t laugh to the Kardashian’s lame fights or to Britney Spears’ weird mood swings?

Never ask the stupid, stupid question: “How could you do that to me?” Frankly, it is futile. This person you are facing is probably a bitch / bastard and if he/she is worth a second shot (which usually doesn’t) he/she will be strong on apologies (if he actually says sorry; because we have a tendency to be very selfish for no reason at all). I don’t agree with Elton John saying that “sorry seems to be the hardest word”. Sorry is sorry: when you mess up big time with a person you love the least you could do is apologize. But again, I agree with the saying: "Friendship is delicate as a glass, once broken it can be fixed but there will always be cracks"

“Being sorry is the highest act of selfishness, seeing value only after discarding it." - Douglas Horton 

Stop being a hypocrite just to show how awesome you are. You have to be a big actor to keep hypocrisy going on. Eventually, you’ll get busted and then you’ll be so lonely that your second self will be your only friend. 

When a friend tells you an ugly truth don’t get offended. It is one of the main reasons why you have friends and family around you: For example if a good friend of yourse doesn’t not like your crowd there probably is something out there that looks fishy. It’s not always about being jealous (although in many female friendships, jealousy is a main reason for fighting).

NEVER and I truly say, NEVER accuse a person of doing or saying something you have said or done too like for example gossiping about you. I have friends who were talking behind my back for ages. Few months later, I was tempted to do the same and they did a whole fuss about it. People don’t understand how much it hurts until their own self is faced with it.

Don’t get me wrong… Friends are wonderful people. They help you in the obstacles you face daily, they make you laugh, entertain you, cry with you when you are sad. All this is what makes friendship so special: Altruism, being there for the other person, forgetting what your own issued and focusing on your friends’. This people are thos that keep us going and grow stronger every day. 

There are now a dozen of people in my life that I consider friends and as I grow up there is a strong possibility this number will decrease even more but I am happy with it, because with each relationship that fades away comes a whole new set of concepts on human bonds and perhaps you will meet other people more suitable to your every day life. Just remember: True Friendship is like ghosts: everybody talks about it, but few have actually seen it.

To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others." - Albert Camus

Are you a good or a bad friend? Take the quiz! http://www.oprah.com/relationships/Friendship-Quiz-Are-You-a-Good-Friend-or-a-Bad-Friend