by Krista | Jul 5, 2012 | Fabulous Friday
I’ve been bustling non-stop for the last few days baking loaves of garlicky, Turkish flatbread, mountains of cookies, and a big bucket of chicken curry, all in preparation for three days of medieval camping with my dear friends this weekend.
We’re heading over to beautiful Bribie Island for the annual Abbey Medieval Festival and I am so excited.
Three whole days of camping in our oh-so-cozy Bedouin tent, making cheese and smoking homemade sausages over the campfire, and spending hours talking and laughing with old and new friends.
I can’t wait to taste steaming mugs of my friend Jack’s homemade chai tea cooked in a little cast iron pot – a recipe he’s been perfecting over the last few weeks. It will be so good on these frosty winter mornings before the sun warms us up.
And now I must check my to-do list one more time then head to bed where no doubt I shall sleep like a rock.
What are you looking forward to this weekend?
by Krista | Jul 4, 2012 | Compatriot Wednesday
Last time we went on a stop-any-ol-place-you-like drive through the Italian Alps. (Click here to see photos)
Today we’re heading up, up, up into the mountains to a stunning lookout atop a waterfall.
The drive alone is absolutely gorgeous, the road narrowing as it winds through pristine alpine villages and emerald green meadows.
The higher we get the rockier the terrain as the treeline thins and craggy cliffs emerge from behind fluffy white clouds.
The windows are wide open letting in warm, late afternoon sunshine and cool mountain breezes.
It feels exquisitely wonderful to be alive.
My stomach lurches only a little bit as my friend Margo expertly guides the car up the edge of the mountain. I try not to think about the sheer drop to our left and keep my gaze fixed on the soaring peaks aglow in sunshine. Knowing I’m only a little ways away from Switzerland makes me happy and distracts me from unpleasant fears of plummeting to my death.
At last we emerge on the mountain top, and any anxieties are quickly forgotten in the stunning vistas that await us.
We are speechless.
Without any explanation needed, we spend the next while alone with our thoughts, gazing across the mountains, down the plummeting stream, letting the winds cool our faces as we try to take it all in.
With hardly another soul around, it was the perfect place to be quiet, to rest, to be still. A wonderful spot to let all the stresses and anxieties of life melt away.
Next time I’ll show you more of this mountain top reverie.
Where is your favorite waterfall?
by Krista | Jul 2, 2012 | Bootstrap Monday
Although I grew up in and near the Canadian Rockies, there is something majestic, gorgeous, and wonderfully Old World about the Italian Alps that I never experienced in Canada.
Perhaps it’s the ancient stone cottages that dot the emerald green meadows, bordered by old fruit trees and covered by thick, rambling vines.
Or maybe the wonderful old church yards whose crumbling crosses are enhanced rather than dwarfed by the soaring peaks.
I absolutely love the profusion of flowers that spill over balconies and stone walls, making even the most imposing home cheerful and welcoming.
It’s the old alpine barns I love most, with their weathered timbers and lofts overflowing with golden hay. I long for afternoons spent cozy up there on an old quilt, reading about Heidi and WWII smugglers and hardy farmers eking out a living in these forbidding mountains.
I loved seeing these beautiful spots on a drive through the Italian Alps with my dear friend and editor, Margo, from the Travel Belles.
What fun we had driving wherever the mood took us, laughing when twisting lanes turned into tracks so precarious there was no way on earth we could traverse without endangering ourselves and anyone unfortunate enough to meet us. With 12-point turns aplenty we explored this gorgeous region near Vogogna, Italy. Our jaunts marked by frequent screeching of brakes as we took turns crying out, “STOP!”, then hopping out to take pictures of grazing cattle with huge bells around their necks, or simple picturesque villages.
We started our day with our traditional Vogogna breakfast: ugly eggs. They were my specialty, made in a wretched old skillet that turned any egg into a muddled mess no matter how much butter I used. We didn’t mind though, cuz they tasted great anyways, especially served over spinach stir-fried with sun-dried tomatoes. Perfect pre-road-tripping food. 🙂
Where is your favorite place to go for a drive?
