Wanderlust

 

 

Long walks are one of my greatest joys,

but especially in the fall,

when the light is perfect,

the air is crisp,

the leaves turn golden,

and scones, tea and whisky 

wait for us.

 

Photos by M & me.

To stop smoking…. Checked!

 

“A happy marriage is a long conversation which always seems too short”, Andre Maurois  

A long conversation is how I would describe the years by your side. A conversation that changes with time, always makes my life blossom, sometimes makes me sad… a conversation that everyday shows me that I married the right man. I wish this conversation will last until the end of time… &, why not, beyond that. Happy sixth anniversary, my love.    

Berlin, dear old friend

 

  

 

 

Thanks for letting us celebrate M’s 45th B-Day in style.

We loved coming back

to walk your streets, neighbourhoods, parks

following M’s steps a few years {or decades} ago;

to discover your hidden beer gardens, dancing floors, and cafes

that provided the best settings for deep conversations and joyful moments;

to be amazed by your palpable history

that made us dream of Prussian times long gone.

 

Thanks for having Leonard {our favourite singer} as a very special guest during our visit

 and for letting us enjoy three hours of serene melancholy.

We love you, Berlin… and we may take you again!

Old wise men

This summer I got inspired by two old wise men. They don’t know each other. Both have sparkly eyes. Both reminded me, in their own special way, that a young and curios spirit is the best companion for getting old.  Thanks David & Leonard!

The first part of the summer

 

 

 

 

 

We started out by cycling down to the ‘English Riviera’ with nostalgic thoughts about Cartagena de Indias in our minds. As it turned out, we managed to hit Rottingdean. Not bad for a start, a little reminiscent of Cartagena, but clearly not the place to be! Having learned our lesson, we boarded the Europlane to the Dreiländereck, where the sun does shine, the wine is good and flows amply over the course of alfresco dinners, the lakes are refreshing and the forests are full of mystery and delight. Why did we come back to the Island? Well, to introduce Markus’s Patentochter Hanna to the Primrose Cottage on Round Hill Street and everything that goes with it. (*Guest author – Markus)

It is not only about books

          My life as a doctoral student in Germany has been filled with good coffees, rose gardens, a lot of reading, wonderful hikes in the forests, a lot of reading and wild swimming by the lakes, tons of flowers, writing M in every opportunity how much I miss him, a lot of reading and sunbathing in one of the oldest pools in Freiburg, a lot of writing in an office with a view, and wonderful surprises waiting for me at home- including: a husband in need of attention.

Mi papá es una 'madre'

O por lo menos, eso creía yo, cuando un día de la madre llegue del colegio con todas las intenciones de darle el regalo a él y no a mi mamá. Por supuesto, estuve cerca de perder la cabeza por la furia fundamentada de mi mamá, pero eso si quedo claro que yo a él desde chiquita lo quiero montones. Y lo quiero pues aunque le herede la nariz vasca {con la cual pelee varios años de mi vida}, él me enseño a llevarla con estilo; también porque hasta el día de hoy prepara las tostadas francesas más ricas del mundo; y porque cuando le dije que quería ser la primera antropóloga {antro que?} de una familia con una larga historia de ingenieros no dudo en apoyar esta nueva iniciativa. Claro, ya estaba acostumbrado a embarcarse conmigo en cosas riesgosas, pues desde que tengo uso de razón le propuse cualquier cantidad de negocios donde sus beneficios pertenecían más al universo de la felicidad del padre por ver a la niña de sus ojos realizada que cualquier otra cosa. Además, él y yo somos los únicos miembros de la familia que conocemos las virtudes y secretos del mundo de los ‘autistas’, y por eso nuestra definición de un buen día es aquel que se pasa con uno mismo. A pesar de eso, a los dos nos encanta cuando estamos en familia preparar una de las mejores paellas del mundo, receta que el rescató de las mujeres de su familia. Eso si, tengo el presentimiento que él a mi esposo lo quiere más que a mi, pero qué más da, me alegra que se entiendan! Lo más grande que le debo es que me enseño a hacer todo lo que hago con mucha pasión, así fuera eso de la antro que?. Y a pesar de que desde hace rato dejé el nido, él una y otra vez me recuerda que siempre me verá como la niña de sus ojos – uno de los títulos que cargo con orgullo desde mis primeros años de vida. Por eso, y muchas cosas más, mi padre es una madre, es decir, el mejor del mundo.

Star Hunting

This picture belongs to Mike Ambach

Today I did something important: I had my first consultation for fertility issues. M and I have been open to the idea of having a baby for almost 4 years, but until now it did not happened. Life, as you know, have been busy for us… and only lately I have finally accepted that I have fertility problems and that it would be wise to get some help - a window that took us a long time and courage to open. I know this could be an unpredictable journey. But it feels like the right moment, and I do hope to have the strength, wisdom and love to go along this path. Today I told my mother, she understood how important this step was. She was happy. Me too. I told her not to broadcast it. And yet, a few hours later is out in my blog. Since it is an important step in our life, I just thought it would be nice to share it. Wish us luck in hunting our start!

Magic

 

 
 
 
 
To have these old pictures together is basically magic. It required: a brother who dived {twice} into my father’s messy slide archive in Colombia, took around 3000 old slides to the US and scanned them; a father that after my brother uploaded the lovely imagines in the web and shared them with us, wanted to see the real slides back or some kind of tangible product; one night in Cali where I went through all the pictures of my youth with my family around making not so funny jokes {you know families}; the brilliant discovery  by Markus of an old film that was not developed; the search for a place that still develops films {sadly not so common these days}; the wonderful surprise of the film being intact and to be able to see pictures from M at least twenty years old; and finally a few long nights of scanning and editing on my side, while M is away rediscovering the place we used to call home: Colombia. I have to say I am quite happy with the result.