I replaced the power cord on my laptop last year and was back in business. This morning, my newish power cord didn't do the job. I'm borrowing my neighbor's power cord and had to apply plumbing tape just to keep it plugged in.
Ellie Unplugged. I don't like the sound of that, so my son ordered me yet another power cord. Thank you, son! I just pray it's not my laptop...that would suck royally.
I love new beginnings whether it's me, someone I love or a complete stranger. I love challenges, new experiences and new vistas and my children are no strangers to new beginnings. We started new lives in the United States after my marital separation in Belgium 2005 where we'd lived for 13 years. I taught my children by example to embrace new beginnings and take risks in life and they are certainly following my lead--my son is taking a three week "lone wolf" trek through Southeast Asia next month.
My initial reaction was a dropped jaw as I heard the news from my son on the phone this afternoon. But I know my son--he will research everything he can possibly research and he's travel savvy enough to know that he has to be careful and watchful. He has consulate phone numbers, train schedules and names of hotels on the way, but he's solo. I'm thrilled and worried at the same time. However, I raised fearless children and that makes me proud. I shouldn't be surprised that he is ready for this international trek.
My son invited his sister, my daughter, on this trip which really warmed my heart. But she is in graduate school and working part-time, not a good time for her. I'm PRAYING that she can go on one portion of the trip as she has always wanted to visit Southeast Asia. I think this would be a great trip for them both. My daughter is on her own adventure with graduate school and her new beginning will be when she graduates--she's a natural born therapist. I'm as thrilled for her as this is her passion in life and the happiest day will be when she graduates and my other happiest day will be when my son returns from this "lone wolf" trip!!
I joked with my son that I had time off and could go along on his adventure and knew that he'd laugh--he did :) It's not my place to go on this trip or any trip that my children go on these days. These are my children's life adventures and I'm thrilled for them. I did good with these two. I'm so proud of their life's achievements and their courage in the face of adversity when it has hit. I couldn't ask for any more from my children--they amaze me and I love them more than life itself.
Writing a book takes a lot of the same things that we're talking about here--risk taking, stamina, courage, resilience, strength of character, facing rejection and setbacks, and love of our stories and characters. Writing my first book, A Decent Woman, was a new chapter for me and seeing my book in print will be a whole new beginning and I'm more than ready for that!
Take the risk for your dream and passion in life--you'll never be sorry you did. Just put one foot in front of the other and walk toward your new beginning.
Peace and love,
Ellie
Showing posts with label adventure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adventure. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Monday, July 8, 2013
Spinning Yarns and Ghost Stories Around the Campfire
When my Northern Virginia friends called to invite me to share their rented cabin, I was thrilled. I love the mountains and boy, were they really tucked in deep in the woods. After a few wrong turns, I finally found them.
As soon as I arrived, the grilling began--hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken thighs and the best baked beans ever which reminds me that I need that recipe. Well, after our delicious meal, it was time to sit around the campfire which our host had dug out earlier that afternoon.
We each had a log to sit on around the blazing fire and the conversation and laughs continued under a starry, starry night. Around 10 pm, the subject of ghosts and spirits came up as it ALWAYS does around a campfire! Here we are, forty and fifty year olds, sitting around the campfire spinning yarns about ghostly apparitions, telling ghost stories about unexplained phenomena, and urban legends from around the world. We four were clearly storytellers and nothing had changed--we four seemed to go back in time and became kids again.
As the stories continued and I told my story about the ghost in my house (true), all of the sudden, the cabin seemed far away and the woods around us seemed to circle in closer. I honestly was a bit afraid and kept looking over my shoulder into the woods imagining all sorts of things! Bears, bobcats and rogue West Virginian mountain men! My girlfriend's husband is a real jokester and loves pranking people, so I was alert and watched him like a hawk. My friend doesn't mind being his accomplice, so I was watching her, too. I just knew that he was up to no good. Every time he excused him to either get a beer or use the facilities, I stood up and kept a good eye on the path from the house to the fire pit. No one was going to sneak up on me!
At one point, our hosts went inside for more drinks, leaving me with my new friend, a former police officer. We'd just discovered that we shared a love of travel and adventure and he was telling me about a recent trip to Brazil. We were so engrossed in conversation that I'd neglected to keep an eye out for our hosts. I told him that I was a little spooked about how dark it was and how I didn't trust our host when all of the sudden, I felt a furry paw on my arm. Well, I screamed what was most definitely a blood-curdling scream. I jumped up and grabbed the man's arm and he yelled, too! This big, burly guy and I whipped around the see our host's Golden Retriever wagging his tail and 'smiling' a goofy smile like only a Golden can. The 'monster' dog quiet had been quiet as a mouse and as stealthy as a thief as he approached us, we hadn't heard a thing until his paw landed on my arm.
Of course, my (our!) scream brought out our hosts and soon we were laughing our heads off. What a night :)
I hope you had a super weekend. I sure did.
Peace and love,
Ellie
Thursday, June 6, 2013
The Strange Thing About Arriving At Your Final Destination
As I prepare to read my novel, A Decent Woman, aloud for what I hope will be the final time in the editing phase, I realize that I feel like I did when my children and I were one town over from the end of our two-week walk to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, the final resting place of Saint James.
We were so close to finishing El Camino, the medieval pilgrimage walk, and I remember it it was near sunset. My feet and heels had blisters the size of quarters. My kids and I were exhausted, mentally and physically exhausted from getting up at dawn and donning 20 lb backpacks and walking 20-22 miles a day in the Spanish summer sun until near sunset. Together, we'd walked 370 kilometers.
During our walk, I'd had visions of my kids and I running into town, our destination. I'd say that we'd yell in celebration when we entered the town, hug and kiss each other, but as we stood on the hill with Santiago de Compostela in the distance that evening, I changed my mind. It didn't feel right to walk the mere 10 final miles for some reason. I trusted my gut as I'd done when I decided to walk El Camino and drag my teenage children with me. I'd learned to trust my gut more and more on the walk and I've never deviated from those life lessons learned on our walk--our personal caminos. My kids agreed to wait.
I remember my children and I were silent as we looked down the hill at our destination. We were lost in our own thoughts about the walk and how it had all come about. At times, we hadn't believed that we could finish the arduous walk as we walked down country roads, through villages, trekked beside highways, and hiked up hills and mountains. My kids worried that I couldn't finish because of my blistered feet and I worried that my children would chuck it all aside and demand to go home. But, we hadn't given up. Home seemed so far away on that late afternoon, and crazy as it might sound, we realized that we didn't want our walk to end.
When we finally spoke, my kids and I expressed a desire to savor the moment. It hadn't been all that bad, had it? Yes, it had! We laughed and decided to enjoy a great meal, get a good night's sleep and enter the city fresh and clear in the early morning. I had dreamed of walking El Camino for years and here it was--the end. So close and yet, I wanted to wait.
Waiting to enter Santiago de Compostela was the best decision EVER. That evening, we had dinner with fellow peregrinos, pilgrims who had walked El Camino from various starting points around the world. Some of our new friends, all pilgrims had walked the entire Camino from France to the village we found ourselves in the night before the end and others had begun in Holland, Germany, Belgium like us, and we'd all heard the story of the 80 year old woman who'd walked our her front door in England, took the ferry from Dover to Calais, France and finished the walk. Others began their journeys in the US, Portugal, France and as far away as Japan.
There are many paths that lead to Santiago de Compostela. We'd all taken the path that made sense to us or the path that we found ourselves on at the time. During dinner we discovered the various reasons we'd decided to walk El Camino and the reasons were amazing to hear. There are as many reasons to walk as there are stars in the sky.
I'm glad that my children and I took the time to process our walk. We needed to process. And, as it turned out, we took two days. We loved the albergue, hostel, where we found ourselves and we enjoyed the pilgrims we came into contact with. It was clear that my kids and I needed to be alone with our thoughts and we needed to laugh about the things that had happened along our camino.
My kids and I shared many laughs and stories with each other that night and there were tears, as well. Our lives had changed so much in two weeks and we knew we were different people. We also knew that when we returned to Brussels, the lives we knew would be different. My husband and I had just separated and my kids and I were heading back to the US after 13 years of living overseas.
My children and I had always been close, but walking El Camino with my precious children, when we were hurting, confused, and doubting a good future, was the best experience of our lives. I will never forget walking into Santiago de Compostela with my kids. We were overjoyed, hugely relieved, tired and we'd grown by leaps and bounds. I'm amazed we survived that walk and then again, I knew we'd reach the end.
This morning, I remember the night before we entered Santiago de Compostela because my novel is finished. I've sent out new queries and I want to be alone with my book for the day. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and with my last reread (aloud), I'm savoring every word. I remember when I started this book and where I was in my life. So much has happened to my children and I over the last few years. Some days have been difficult for us, but we're happy and healthy today.
Of course, I've already starting writing that book! I'm going through the journal I kept on the Camino, gazing at our photographs taken during the walk, and remembering how it felt to begin a journey and to come to the end. I'm in awe of what we accomplished and I marvel at our resilience, courage and strong bond of love.
Today, I'm going to savor the moment because I'll never write my first book again. It's been quite a journey.
Peace and love to you,
Ellie
We were so close to finishing El Camino, the medieval pilgrimage walk, and I remember it it was near sunset. My feet and heels had blisters the size of quarters. My kids and I were exhausted, mentally and physically exhausted from getting up at dawn and donning 20 lb backpacks and walking 20-22 miles a day in the Spanish summer sun until near sunset. Together, we'd walked 370 kilometers.
During our walk, I'd had visions of my kids and I running into town, our destination. I'd say that we'd yell in celebration when we entered the town, hug and kiss each other, but as we stood on the hill with Santiago de Compostela in the distance that evening, I changed my mind. It didn't feel right to walk the mere 10 final miles for some reason. I trusted my gut as I'd done when I decided to walk El Camino and drag my teenage children with me. I'd learned to trust my gut more and more on the walk and I've never deviated from those life lessons learned on our walk--our personal caminos. My kids agreed to wait.
I remember my children and I were silent as we looked down the hill at our destination. We were lost in our own thoughts about the walk and how it had all come about. At times, we hadn't believed that we could finish the arduous walk as we walked down country roads, through villages, trekked beside highways, and hiked up hills and mountains. My kids worried that I couldn't finish because of my blistered feet and I worried that my children would chuck it all aside and demand to go home. But, we hadn't given up. Home seemed so far away on that late afternoon, and crazy as it might sound, we realized that we didn't want our walk to end.
When we finally spoke, my kids and I expressed a desire to savor the moment. It hadn't been all that bad, had it? Yes, it had! We laughed and decided to enjoy a great meal, get a good night's sleep and enter the city fresh and clear in the early morning. I had dreamed of walking El Camino for years and here it was--the end. So close and yet, I wanted to wait.
Waiting to enter Santiago de Compostela was the best decision EVER. That evening, we had dinner with fellow peregrinos, pilgrims who had walked El Camino from various starting points around the world. Some of our new friends, all pilgrims had walked the entire Camino from France to the village we found ourselves in the night before the end and others had begun in Holland, Germany, Belgium like us, and we'd all heard the story of the 80 year old woman who'd walked our her front door in England, took the ferry from Dover to Calais, France and finished the walk. Others began their journeys in the US, Portugal, France and as far away as Japan.
There are many paths that lead to Santiago de Compostela. We'd all taken the path that made sense to us or the path that we found ourselves on at the time. During dinner we discovered the various reasons we'd decided to walk El Camino and the reasons were amazing to hear. There are as many reasons to walk as there are stars in the sky.
I'm glad that my children and I took the time to process our walk. We needed to process. And, as it turned out, we took two days. We loved the albergue, hostel, where we found ourselves and we enjoyed the pilgrims we came into contact with. It was clear that my kids and I needed to be alone with our thoughts and we needed to laugh about the things that had happened along our camino.
My kids and I shared many laughs and stories with each other that night and there were tears, as well. Our lives had changed so much in two weeks and we knew we were different people. We also knew that when we returned to Brussels, the lives we knew would be different. My husband and I had just separated and my kids and I were heading back to the US after 13 years of living overseas.
My children and I had always been close, but walking El Camino with my precious children, when we were hurting, confused, and doubting a good future, was the best experience of our lives. I will never forget walking into Santiago de Compostela with my kids. We were overjoyed, hugely relieved, tired and we'd grown by leaps and bounds. I'm amazed we survived that walk and then again, I knew we'd reach the end.
This morning, I remember the night before we entered Santiago de Compostela because my novel is finished. I've sent out new queries and I want to be alone with my book for the day. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and with my last reread (aloud), I'm savoring every word. I remember when I started this book and where I was in my life. So much has happened to my children and I over the last few years. Some days have been difficult for us, but we're happy and healthy today.
Of course, I've already starting writing that book! I'm going through the journal I kept on the Camino, gazing at our photographs taken during the walk, and remembering how it felt to begin a journey and to come to the end. I'm in awe of what we accomplished and I marvel at our resilience, courage and strong bond of love.
Today, I'm going to savor the moment because I'll never write my first book again. It's been quite a journey.
Peace and love to you,
Ellie
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Adventure, Adrenaline and Stimulation in Storytelling
The first chapter of my historical novel, A Decent Woman, opens in 1901 as Hurricane San Cirilo bears down on the southwestern coast of the island of Puerto Rico as my main character Ana, an Afro-Cuban midwife, ponders whether the souls of those lost to hurricanes return to claim the lives of sinners...and boy, has she sinned.
Many agents encourage writers NOT to open a novel with weather, so why did I choose to open my story during a hurricane? I chose that beginning because hurricanes are a fact of life living in the Caribbean as are childbirth and death. I was born in Puerto Rico and it made perfect sense to me.
This coming Saturday, the first of June, marks and opens the beginning of hurricane season 2013. NOAA predicts an "extremely active hurricane season for 2013." If you live on the coast, most probably, you will already know this. If you live near the ocean, you are already making preparations. If you live in a historically high impact area, you've probably already purchased batteries, water, canned food and for sure you know where your can opener and flash lights are. Perhaps you've bought a generator this year and you definitely have a battery-powered radio to keep up abreast of the inclement weather reports and alerts for your area. You might have purchased wood to board your windows and doors should you be in harm's way to protect your family, your home and its contents. If things get ugly, you have a family evacuation plan, an emergency plan and kit, and your car should be gassed up until November 30, 2013 when hurricane season ends.
I have a friend who lives on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. She has two cars. One car sits in her garage, packed 365 days of the year with photo albums, family heirlooms, paintings, anything she deems precious, ready for evacuation. Her other car is her run-around town car. When I commented on how wonderful it must be to live in Hilton Head, she said, "You want to live in fear?" Hmmm...all is not perfect in paradise, but my friend remains. She has lived in Hilton Head for nearly ten years now and there is an evacuation route off the island to the mainland. There is no such bridge off the island of Puerto Rico nor neighboring islands. You're pretty much stuck and SOL--shit out of luck--so, you ride it out the best way you know how.
As a child and teenager, I spent practically every summer in paradise aka Puerto Rico with my grandparents and relatives. My sister and I would get out of school in the US in late May and fly TWA to San Juan with our mother where our relatives picked us up. We spent June, July and August in the southwestern city of Ponce where my family is from. As kids, we never thought about hurricane season, we just went to visit our grandparents and family for the summer, but I'm sure that my grandparents and my mother sure thought about it as our summer vacations always coincided with hurricane season. I certainly thought about it when I traveled to Puerto Rico with my own children during the summer months, but we went anyway. It's life.
My grandparent's house is situated near the city center of Ponce and we can drive to the beach, la Playa de Ponce, in ten minutes. My grandmother, Meme, grew on right on that beach and I always loved to hear her stories of life in the Playa. Meme's stories of living through tropical storms and hurricanes and even a devastating earthquake in Ponce always mesmerized me. I was the kid who sat her feet, listening and eating up every last word and description.
I've always been in awe of nature, Mother Nature and my grandmother. Meme, was the epitome of a storyteller. I took up the storyteller baton from Meme and still love a good storm. My sister and I share a love of inclement weather and we're not frightened by thunder and lightning. When we hear one of our areas is due a good thunder storm, we text each other and add a big smiley face and when it's a bust or blows around our area, we're bummed out. I don't really know where that comes from, but I have an inkling that it began with the adrenaline rush we didn't realize we grew up with by spending our summers in PR during hurricane season.
All I know is that as a kid, I was a handful. I constantly whined to my mother, "I'm bored!" I craved adventure, stimulation and couldn't wait to step off the airplane in San Juan. Maybe that's why my mother took us to PR for the summer. I was never bored there!
Writers write what they know, have lived and experienced. No surprises there.
Peace and love,
Ellie
Monday, May 13, 2013
Planes, Trains, Metro and Automobiles
No, I'm not dreaming of a white Christmas nor is it anywhere near December. My sister posted this photograph of us on her Facebook page and I nabbed it. As with old family albums and lack of know-how, my sister and I share the albums which means she has many photographs that I don't have and vice versa. I don't have a scanner at the moment and would love to purchase one so that we each have a complete family album.
Photographs. Many people complain about Facebook and many have decided to jump ship through the years for various reasons, but I have to say that enjoy it. Many days, I have to force myself NOT to check FB. It can get addicting. I have friends in many corners of the world and this is how I keep in touch with them. I keep up with my kid's and family's news, chronicled with photographs. If I lose my camera or my iPhone, well my photos are relatively safe on FB. If I drop my laptop and shatter my hard drive (which I've done) and lost it all, my photos are safe on FB.
Social media. Author platform. Many have a love-hate relationship with social media and authors...well, get used to it. It's now part of the author/publishing/marketing experience. There's no escaping Facebook, Twitter, writing a blog, reviewing other authors, and writing essays in magazines and ezines, it is what it is. Much as I dislike tooting my own horn ad nauseum (that's what it seems like to me), I know that I have to keep up-to-date and active on these accounts. I must put myself 'out there' for my novel's sake and for the sake of adding numbers to sales once I'm published. Yes, I'm taking the positive route here.
On being published. Well, that seems a long way off on this chilly Spring morning in Northern Virginia. I spent three wonderful weeks in Europe with my friend and her family, flew back to the US a week ago and four of those days were spent in Northern Virginia with my super kids, family and friends for my nephew's graduation, a cemetery visit with my friend N and for Mother's Day which was amazing! Tonight I head to my friend's N's daughter's house. I haven't seen her since her Mom passed away. Should be an emotional evening and I'm happy to be with her and her children for one night. Then, I head home tomorrow afternoon.
NO complaints. But...I'm ready to get home. I want to fully unpack, wash my clothes and wake up in my own bed, make coffee in my coffee press, fire up my laptop, kiss my furry children, check and enjoy my garden, and return to my normal routine. I'm excited for my writing routine to commence as well after nearly four weeks away from my novel-length manuscript, A Decent Woman. It's time to put the pedal to the metal as they say. I have some work ahead of me before I can resubmit my manuscript to the NY agent.
Precious moments. Although I'm a bit weary, I wouldn't change a thing about the experiences I've had this past April and May. I never dreamed I'd return to Europe. I ran for domestic and international flights, found the Viennese house I shared with my ex-husband and two beautiful children 25 years ago, I walked through Austrian vineyards, up cobblestone streets and snuck under a fence to reach a heuriger for a icy cold Radler beer with my friend K. I marveled at Gothic and Baroque architecture in Vienna, onion-topped Orthodox churches in Romania and was introduced to Gyor, a Hungarian city I'd never been to. I rode an elevator up to the top floor of Stephansdom to view the frescoes, visited nearly every church and palace in Vienna, and witnessed an awesome lunar eclipse as the full moon rose over the Carpathian Mountains as my friend K and I approached Brasov, Romania. I shared my nephew's happy graduation and had the most beautiful Mother's Day with my children. I visited with my departed friend N at her grave site. I will miss her.
Tomorrow afternoon, I'll be on the train home.
All blessings, every single one. Special memories.
Peace and love,
Ellie
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Adventure, Writing and Putting Life into Perspective
Greetings from the picturesque Romanian town of Brasov! As many times as my family was stationed in Europe, we never had the opportunity to visit Romania, big mistake! If you're planning a European adventure, please add this beautiful country to your list of must see's. I advise you to fly from Vienna to Bucharest if you're a skittish driver, however...it's a tough route in that you will be following and passing truck after truck on two lane roads! It's 200 km from Bucharest to Brasov which might be for you.
My very good friend and I drove from Vienna, Austria to Gyor, Hungary and spent the night with her gracious American friends who hosted us. The next morning, we rented a car and began our ten hour drive to Brasov, Romania after a stop for breakfast and coffee at the fanciest McCafe I've seen!
The route from Hungary to the Romanian border was along the Autoroute which was pretty uneventful with views of vast farmland and beautiful mountains in the distance. As soon as we crossed the border into Romania, our uneventful drive was no longer. We passed village after village, followed horse-drawn carts and myriad trucks from all over Europe while enjoying the scenery and daily Romanian life that sped by us. We did stop for photos of Orthodox churches with onion tops and I enjoyed peeking into rural backyards with chickens, little garden plots and lovely ladies sharing conversation with neighbors.
My wonderful friend did a stellar job driving and passed trucks like a champ, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't gripping the door handle every time she passed a truck, a car or a cart with oncoming traffic! By the time we were just outside of Brasov, the largest moon peeked over the snow-covered mountain range and we yelled! We're both moon lovers and it was quite a sight. We stopped the car to take photos and cruised into the center of Brasov after getting lost one time.
Our hotel is in Union Square and the views from this location are wonderful. We had a Romanian dinner of stuffed cabbage, boiled potatoes with sour cream and the hottest pepper ever, washed down with Romanian wine. We slept very well and woke up to a beautiful day. Neither of us had ever been to Romania and we felt blessed to share this experience together.
Yesterday, we had a driver take us to Bran, home of Bran Castle of Dracula fame. Mario, our driver, told us that the vampire shtick is just that - shtick. Vlad the Impaler did live in the castle and he was no Romanian hero. Vlad was into impaling his enemies apparently and Bram Stoker wrote his famous novel, Dracula, from stories told of a woman who was actually a living vampire. The Castle is moody and the views from the top of the castle are unparalleled. My friend and I took 100 photographs each!
We also visited the Rasnov Citadel which was awesome, as well. We had lunch in a spa/hotel up in the mountains where I tried Radler for the first time - beer with lemon. Excellent! My friend fell asleep in the car and I continued to enjoy the views of the countryside, pinching myself that I am really here.
Today we're touring Brasov with its beautiful gothic churches and gorgeous town square. It's another beautiful day with cloudless blue skies and temperatures in the high 70's. Our cameras and iPhones are charged and we're ready.
One sad note, however...the agent with the exclusive read has passed on representing me and A Decent Woman. I received his email yesterday and I was SO bummed. Sigh. He thinks I'm a wonderful writer and wishes me luck, but had to pass. The agent said that midway through the novel, his interest waned. I wondered if the fact that it's a women's fiction/historical novel was the reason. I know the exact moment he's talking about - Serafina's wedding. Hmmm. Well, I was majorly disappointed, but let's be honest (I tell myself), he asked for the complete manuscript which was a coup in and of itself. I was thrilled to have him read and he sent a kind note back instead of a form letter. I've sent my manuscript to female agents and him. I know my story is a woman's story and maybe only women will 'get it'.
I will continue to enjoy beautiful Romania, my friend's company and our drive back to Gyor where we turn in our rental car and head back to Vienna. Hey, how many people can visit Dracula's castle during a full moon?? That's awesome, actually. I will continue pinching myself and will not miss a second of this amazing adventure.
When I get back home, I will pull out my manuscript and read it from beginning to end and see where the momentum is missing the mark. But, then again...maybe it's fine and dandy as it is. Off to light more candles in more churches for my family, my friend's and my writing future. I will also light a candle for my best friend who is in hospice at this time. I received an email from her daughter two days ago. My friend of nearly 40 years is losing her fight with a stroke she had ten months ago. Now, she's left the nursing home for hospice.
Life is all about perspective for me. I am grieving for my dear friend and praying for her and for her family. I cannot believe that this impromptu trip to Europe comes at the end of her fight and I'm not there. I never dreamed I would be in Europe at her passing and she was stable when I left. I pray that my soul sister hangs on until I return, BUT I want peace for her. She has suffered enough.
Not having a positive reply from the agent isn't suffering. I'm okay and my children are well, thank God. I don't have a thing to complain about. Disappointed, but not suffering.
Peace and love,
Ellie
My very good friend and I drove from Vienna, Austria to Gyor, Hungary and spent the night with her gracious American friends who hosted us. The next morning, we rented a car and began our ten hour drive to Brasov, Romania after a stop for breakfast and coffee at the fanciest McCafe I've seen!
The route from Hungary to the Romanian border was along the Autoroute which was pretty uneventful with views of vast farmland and beautiful mountains in the distance. As soon as we crossed the border into Romania, our uneventful drive was no longer. We passed village after village, followed horse-drawn carts and myriad trucks from all over Europe while enjoying the scenery and daily Romanian life that sped by us. We did stop for photos of Orthodox churches with onion tops and I enjoyed peeking into rural backyards with chickens, little garden plots and lovely ladies sharing conversation with neighbors.
My wonderful friend did a stellar job driving and passed trucks like a champ, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't gripping the door handle every time she passed a truck, a car or a cart with oncoming traffic! By the time we were just outside of Brasov, the largest moon peeked over the snow-covered mountain range and we yelled! We're both moon lovers and it was quite a sight. We stopped the car to take photos and cruised into the center of Brasov after getting lost one time.
Our hotel is in Union Square and the views from this location are wonderful. We had a Romanian dinner of stuffed cabbage, boiled potatoes with sour cream and the hottest pepper ever, washed down with Romanian wine. We slept very well and woke up to a beautiful day. Neither of us had ever been to Romania and we felt blessed to share this experience together.
Yesterday, we had a driver take us to Bran, home of Bran Castle of Dracula fame. Mario, our driver, told us that the vampire shtick is just that - shtick. Vlad the Impaler did live in the castle and he was no Romanian hero. Vlad was into impaling his enemies apparently and Bram Stoker wrote his famous novel, Dracula, from stories told of a woman who was actually a living vampire. The Castle is moody and the views from the top of the castle are unparalleled. My friend and I took 100 photographs each!
We also visited the Rasnov Citadel which was awesome, as well. We had lunch in a spa/hotel up in the mountains where I tried Radler for the first time - beer with lemon. Excellent! My friend fell asleep in the car and I continued to enjoy the views of the countryside, pinching myself that I am really here.
Today we're touring Brasov with its beautiful gothic churches and gorgeous town square. It's another beautiful day with cloudless blue skies and temperatures in the high 70's. Our cameras and iPhones are charged and we're ready.
One sad note, however...the agent with the exclusive read has passed on representing me and A Decent Woman. I received his email yesterday and I was SO bummed. Sigh. He thinks I'm a wonderful writer and wishes me luck, but had to pass. The agent said that midway through the novel, his interest waned. I wondered if the fact that it's a women's fiction/historical novel was the reason. I know the exact moment he's talking about - Serafina's wedding. Hmmm. Well, I was majorly disappointed, but let's be honest (I tell myself), he asked for the complete manuscript which was a coup in and of itself. I was thrilled to have him read and he sent a kind note back instead of a form letter. I've sent my manuscript to female agents and him. I know my story is a woman's story and maybe only women will 'get it'.
I will continue to enjoy beautiful Romania, my friend's company and our drive back to Gyor where we turn in our rental car and head back to Vienna. Hey, how many people can visit Dracula's castle during a full moon?? That's awesome, actually. I will continue pinching myself and will not miss a second of this amazing adventure.
When I get back home, I will pull out my manuscript and read it from beginning to end and see where the momentum is missing the mark. But, then again...maybe it's fine and dandy as it is. Off to light more candles in more churches for my family, my friend's and my writing future. I will also light a candle for my best friend who is in hospice at this time. I received an email from her daughter two days ago. My friend of nearly 40 years is losing her fight with a stroke she had ten months ago. Now, she's left the nursing home for hospice.
Life is all about perspective for me. I am grieving for my dear friend and praying for her and for her family. I cannot believe that this impromptu trip to Europe comes at the end of her fight and I'm not there. I never dreamed I would be in Europe at her passing and she was stable when I left. I pray that my soul sister hangs on until I return, BUT I want peace for her. She has suffered enough.
Not having a positive reply from the agent isn't suffering. I'm okay and my children are well, thank God. I don't have a thing to complain about. Disappointed, but not suffering.
Peace and love,
Ellie
Monday, April 22, 2013
Bran Castle, Garlic and Blessed Water
Good morning from Vienna, Austria!
My friend graciously invited me to visit her in Vienna before her husband's tour of duty ends this June. This trip came at the best possible time for both of us and I'm thrilled to be back in Europe and to see my friend! My ex-husband, my kids and I lived in Vienna 25 years ago and I haven't been back in the continent since 2007.
Vienna hasn't changed dramatically in 25 years. I'm happy about that, actually. Places still look familiar and German words are coming to the forefront of my jet-lagged brain. My friend and I have already taken a brief walking tour of the downtown area, watched the sunset from a nearby castle, visited the gothic Rathaus (town hall) and saw the Saul Leiter exhibit at the Hundertwasser Haus, the highly creative renovation of an old furniture factory. We had lunch in my old stomping ground of the 19th district of Grinzing (wine region) at a famous heurigen I used to frequent and yesterday, we took a cruise down the canals of the Danube River. We sipped white wine spritzers among tourists and locals, taking photographs along our cruise - such a civilized thing to do on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon! We almost fell asleep on back of the boat as we've hit the ground running after my arrival. A combination of jet lag, white wine spritzers and the sun on my face had me nodding off as we cruised.
Despite awesome Viennese public transportation, there is still quite a bit of walking in Vienna and Lord knows, I'm not used to it. I shall lose weight on this vacation :) This is a very good thing as I gained weight finishing up my first novel this fall and winter...lots of sitting time.
Today is a day of rest as we gear up for some road trips this week and the next - Dresden to visit two Vermeer paintings on permanent exhibit (there's one in Vienna, as well) and Brasov, Transylvania to tour Bran Castle of Dracula, Vlad the Impaler fame. Both of us are well-traveled, have been to most European capitals and important cities, and neither of us has ever been to Romania. Kind of off the beaten track, but we're both excited about that adventure/road trip! When my girlfriend asked me what I thought about a trip to Transylvania, I jumped at the chance. Who goes to Transylvania? We do! I just might have the creative urge and inspiration to write a vampire novel after our Romanian jaunt! Hey, you never know! I journal when I travel and the camera is never far away, so I'm paying GOOD attention on that trip.
Hey...I could even write an historical novel about the gypsy aka traveler's life. The sky's the limit and I'm always alert to new sights, smells, places, people and things. You must pay attention when you write and I do. Never rely fully on memory. I've learned this from first-hand experience.
I'm thrilled to be back in Vienna with my friend and her children and revisiting my first posting as a young Army wife and new mother is exciting. My children were three and one years old when we arrived in Vienna, such babies. My beautiful children are now 28 and 25, wow.
You just never know where life will and can take you. I HIGHLY recommend that you always, always, go with the flow! Have the experience, take the roads less traveled, stop to smell the roses and other wonderful phrases are what I encourage you to do today and every day. Don't miss out on an experience whether it makes you nervous or not...and vampires thrill and terrify me!
My friend and I are taking blessed water from Lourdes, France to Romania and we're considering a small bag of garlic heads...hey, better safe than sorry :)
Peace and love,
Ellie
My friend graciously invited me to visit her in Vienna before her husband's tour of duty ends this June. This trip came at the best possible time for both of us and I'm thrilled to be back in Europe and to see my friend! My ex-husband, my kids and I lived in Vienna 25 years ago and I haven't been back in the continent since 2007.
Vienna hasn't changed dramatically in 25 years. I'm happy about that, actually. Places still look familiar and German words are coming to the forefront of my jet-lagged brain. My friend and I have already taken a brief walking tour of the downtown area, watched the sunset from a nearby castle, visited the gothic Rathaus (town hall) and saw the Saul Leiter exhibit at the Hundertwasser Haus, the highly creative renovation of an old furniture factory. We had lunch in my old stomping ground of the 19th district of Grinzing (wine region) at a famous heurigen I used to frequent and yesterday, we took a cruise down the canals of the Danube River. We sipped white wine spritzers among tourists and locals, taking photographs along our cruise - such a civilized thing to do on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon! We almost fell asleep on back of the boat as we've hit the ground running after my arrival. A combination of jet lag, white wine spritzers and the sun on my face had me nodding off as we cruised.
Despite awesome Viennese public transportation, there is still quite a bit of walking in Vienna and Lord knows, I'm not used to it. I shall lose weight on this vacation :) This is a very good thing as I gained weight finishing up my first novel this fall and winter...lots of sitting time.
Today is a day of rest as we gear up for some road trips this week and the next - Dresden to visit two Vermeer paintings on permanent exhibit (there's one in Vienna, as well) and Brasov, Transylvania to tour Bran Castle of Dracula, Vlad the Impaler fame. Both of us are well-traveled, have been to most European capitals and important cities, and neither of us has ever been to Romania. Kind of off the beaten track, but we're both excited about that adventure/road trip! When my girlfriend asked me what I thought about a trip to Transylvania, I jumped at the chance. Who goes to Transylvania? We do! I just might have the creative urge and inspiration to write a vampire novel after our Romanian jaunt! Hey, you never know! I journal when I travel and the camera is never far away, so I'm paying GOOD attention on that trip.
Hey...I could even write an historical novel about the gypsy aka traveler's life. The sky's the limit and I'm always alert to new sights, smells, places, people and things. You must pay attention when you write and I do. Never rely fully on memory. I've learned this from first-hand experience.
I'm thrilled to be back in Vienna with my friend and her children and revisiting my first posting as a young Army wife and new mother is exciting. My children were three and one years old when we arrived in Vienna, such babies. My beautiful children are now 28 and 25, wow.
You just never know where life will and can take you. I HIGHLY recommend that you always, always, go with the flow! Have the experience, take the roads less traveled, stop to smell the roses and other wonderful phrases are what I encourage you to do today and every day. Don't miss out on an experience whether it makes you nervous or not...and vampires thrill and terrify me!
My friend and I are taking blessed water from Lourdes, France to Romania and we're considering a small bag of garlic heads...hey, better safe than sorry :)
Peace and love,
Ellie
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