On Slow Life

Notorious Italy- My White Lotus Moment Noto & All

“Sicily is an island lying outside time, where past events endure in an external present, a beach on which the tides of successive civilizations have heaped in disorder their assorted treasure.”

Vincent Cronin

Notorious Italy

Slowly Discovering Sicily, an island of concentrated gorgeousness and raw untamed threatening and unthreatening nature on the cusp of another world is essential. It is a delicious, hot, smoking, historic, independent, connected, remote and related experience. Everyone has touched Sicily and it will touch you. 

Walking in Noto

Why Is Noto not on everyone's radar?

Mafia forget about it. Godfather? Not even a whisper of Marlon Brando’s husky voice, even though there are Don Corleone tours,  it’s all about Italy and the landscape and the piazzas and the food. Removed from the hordes of humanity steaming Rome, Florence &  Venice, it is worth the trek. Even if you don't have remote Italian relatives!

                                Siracusa and Taormina   Noto and Ragussa Bella!

 

 

 

 

 

  Musciara Resort Siracusa

 

 

 

Ciao 

See ya back in Sicily #Italy

 

 

Emerging: A Slow North Coast Social

 

Leaving Los Angeles after months of a city home life felt both wonderful and a little unsettling. I couldn't wait to go to Stinson Beach where I rented a little cottage for a week by the water but I was used to my world @ home.  Uprooting after so many months in routine on the edge of serenity and always grateful to have a home, a dog, a living family of origin and the ability to create, I took my little rescue pandemic buddy north to meet my friends and visit like the old times.

 

I am also part of another California up the road in Marin where I lived in 2006-2009. It is a place I visit yearly and maintain my friendships. Wandering these trails was like sprinkling magic all over my life where I could walk the beach and meet my friends again with my new buddy Marcel.

I was lucky enough to find a sweet little house in Stinson Beach to rent and then in Larkspur where I dipped into the forests, the cafes, the shops and past connections to infuse a new chapter of connection after so much isolation. 

I set up a week in each house where friends from college and my life in Marin could come play on the beach, walk in the woods, eat, soak, laugh and drink. Marcel was the love bug and our appreciation for nature and old friendships took on new momentum from the lack we all experienced.

 We stepped out into a new world where I could invite my friends in and relax. We are all vaccinated and after masking and keeping distance and staying out of shared homes, cars etc., this was a lovely way to reconnect. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fairyland

Friends! Food! More Nature

Rinse and Repeat

Hope, Marcel and Laura Chill Out

 

Outdoor dining in Sausalito Le Garage with 

Hurricane force winds Who Cares??

 Mt. Tam's Matt Davis Trail

Vicki on the trail

 

Location Location Location

Parkside Stinson Beach

Leslie & Marcel after a beach walk and lunch

 

Moral of the story? It's really nice to hang out with friends one by one indoors and out without fearing for my life. It's also a pleasure to enjoy the nature of California and my friends in it.

Go forth and explore your backyard and your friendships and slowly appreciate the good in your life. 

With love,

Wendy & Marcel