Le Vent Nous Portera

Unconscious of the frailty with which my recently altered heart rests in her chamber, I emptied the sand of the black sea coast from my shoes onto the side of my house and was, at the sound of each falling grain, sucked back into the very place from which my steps first captured her memory.

To retrace each swirling shift in direction between Bulgaria and Greece, these words must be delivered aimlessly likewise. I've not the desire to recount step by step the path which led me through Europe and back into the states, but do willingly share these experiences from memory as they fast forward-play-rewind. Beginning appropriately from the end, I let my eyes fall shut and am instantly lifted with the breeze and returned to the beach in Varna, Bulgaria.



The clouds read overcast and, like an elder who lacks the desire to pose as anything but, hover spitefully over our heads. The running joke that Nicki's "network" consists of rain clouds and thunder storms rings relentlessly true as we are yet again met with a darkened sky. We arrive to the beach as several mini cars packed with people and soaking dreams head upward on the road we have so anxiously just descended. One by one we crawl out of Nelly's silver bullet which she has somehow managed to squeeze through the downhill traffic "like butta." The breeze blows wildly on and off, the gray sky shows no sign of releasing the sun from her grips and the air is surprisingly...amazing. At first glance we would be insane to even fathom such an endeavor, but as we set our towels down and stretch our limbs, with a sigh of relief, we have arrived.


Everyone has settled down and before long Nelly and Deyan (our lovely Varna friends) charge into the sea. Nicki and I, silent and eyes to the sky, sit within our own minds and do whatever it is that people do when thoughts have yet to find their words.


As they return from a brief splish-splash, our friends engage Nicki in the where's, when's and why's of her recent life and I take this time to shut my eyes and listen to the sounds of the world around me. My Bulgarian has yet to progress in these first few days of our stay so conversation is shared between the sea and me. I take advantage of my listening tools and am glad to let her do most of the talking.

It was the thunder that first caught my attention, then the lightening in the distance. As if to warn us that we are now here at our own risk the lightening occurred closer and closer together like contractions before giving birth to thunder. Ooo's and Aah's from each of us as the sky danced before our eyes and...then it stopped. Similar to an orchestra obeying a swift command from their conductor, it stopped. The clouds parted, the sun shone brightly and the world rubbed it's eyes to a brand new day.




Me, Nelly, Deyan, Nicki, Teodor

Sofia, Bulgaria

Well all, I'm terribly sorry for the lack of blogs that i had promised prior to the start of our trip, but I'm glad to say that it has been very adventurous thus far, and finally seems to be slowing down just a bit. At last we have reached Bulgaria and are staying with Nicki's cousin Moni in Sofia. All of the people that we have come across have been so amazing and generous to us. It's people like these that make me want to stay out here longer.

When we first started our trip a couple of weeks ago, I thought I would never return to "normalcy" again. By this I mean we experienced jet lag at it's finest and it definitely took a toll on our bodies And minds.

After a fourteen hour journey from San Francisco Airport to Athens, we were in desperate need of some rest. Would we be finding it at any point in the near future? "Ohi." Dimitris (our lovely host in Athens) was kind enough to swoop us from the airport and pack us into his trusty Volkswagen Fox which we have all grown to love and appreciate (she purs like a kitten and hugs turns like I would hug my mom if I could reach her). We then proceeded to the coast to catch a ferry that would transport us to the beautiful island of Kefalonia where we would be spending the next five days. Now having skipped the night completely in transit from sky to sky, what difference would another couple of hours drive be just to miss the ferry? For that matter, why not another "couple" of kilometers to a different port where we would also miss the ferry and have to wait until 5am to buy tickets for the one that left at 6am? By this point we are beyond delirium and running off of fumes and the sheer excitement of knowing that we have FINALLY touched base in Greece!

Now let me stop here to emphasize the fact that many (including myself at some desperate point in time) did not believe that we would make it this far. Yet there we were at 11pm sitting outside of a small restaurant waiting to see our first (well, my first) European sunrise.

As shown in the pictures from my last blog, our very first meal was worth every kilometer, every Euro and every single sleepless night that lead us up to this point. To be quite honest I'm not sure that my reaction would have been much different if our waiter had placed a single slice of bread and a glass of water in front of me, but I was sure we had entered the Greek gates of heaven as he little by little filled every inch of space on the table with plates and plates of wonderfulness. (please, don't question my grammar).

...to be continued.

all i can manage for now!

Ephemeral Mumble Song

Friday- Work early. Get off work. Get on bike. Sweat. Give hugs to friends. Get on bike. Sweat. Get home. Go on run. Sweat. Get home. Clean up. Get on bike. Sweat. Give hugs. Get on bike. Sweat. Get home. Drink beer. Hide in my room while Nicki packs up her room. Avoid conversation at all costs. (Remember Andrea, you're at a sensitive time of the month and will probaby start to cry if you can't find matching socks. You hardly WEAR socks!) Lock self in room. Drink shitty beer. Listen to animal collective on repeat. Suddenly realize how ridiculous it is to fall asleep to any song on repeat with a shitty beer in your hand. Drink the beer.

Saturday- Wake up with the shitty beer headache. Suck it up and offer a hand. Get rejected. Decide it's best to go to mom's house. I mean, it's Mom's house! Wave goodbye to T street and friend. Get choked up. Wish for beer. Get to mom's house. Find no beer. Scavenge through any drawer that looks like food fits in it. Eat the food. Hug Mom every time she passes by. Hug Dad. Hug sister. Eat the food. Hug brother. Hug sister. Hug Mom. Hug sister. (She becomes an extra limb when I'm around. I dig it). Make the salsa. Watch the movie. Wish for beer. (I don't even like beer that much!) Wish for gin. Watch the movie. Watch the news. Wish for bed. Get the couch. Don't get the sleep. Sister won't accept a quitter. Watch the news. Note the time. Try to get the sleep. Don't get the sleep.

Sunday- Get the alarm. Get to church. Do the thing. Get home. Make the food. Eat the food. Watch the game. Eat the food. Watch the movie AGAIN. Do the laundry. Hug Dad. Hug Mom. Hug limb (sister). Hug brother. Drop brother off. Finish the movie. Finish the laundry. Make the call. Miss the friend. Take the food. Pick up the brother. Get back to T street. Flip the switch. Feel the void. Pack the shit. Play the song. Avoid the beer. Repeat the song. Wish for gin. Pack the shit. Stay awake. Fight to sleep. Stay Awake. Fight to sleep. Stay awake. Stay awake. Still awake.

Monday- Still awake. See the sun. Curse the sun. Get the alarm. Curse the alarm. Take the shower. Play different song. Race to work. Work. Work. Get off work. Get on bike. Sweat. Get to other job. Still awake. Write the blog. Still awake. Stop.

No sleep till Athens. (who sleeps in Athens???) 7 days and counting...

D.A.B.D.A.

As the day of our departure inches nearer, I find myself buoyantly dreaming my way through what was once considered my daily routine. The streets leave an unfamiliar aftertaste upon my tongue and as I prepare to kiss them goodbye we count our way through the steps of acceptance one digit at a time. One handful of stages that will help to turn the pages; from here to there, from earth to air we fly. Twelve days more that we have left to say goodbye.

Gold Soles: Take One (bitches)

First of all, allow us to apologize for the lack of...well whatever the heck it is that these blogs usually have that are so intriguing. Surely as the days progress we will become more familiar with this process and can accurately relay the events to come with at least the slightest bit of finess and perhaps that hint of spice that will keep you coming back for more. And now let us begin the countdown of our epic journey toward distant lands and into the unknown (cuz we don't know!) and we hope that you will join us. Let this mark the beginning of our countdown continued. In approximately 18 days we (Nicoletta and Andrea) will embark on our relatively blindly navigated mission into the next chapter of our lives with little but the clothes in our packs and images of a life once lived to carry with us. As we leave our beautiful families, friends and home behind, we ask only for your blessings (well, I mean, we don't reject donations) and best wishes on this trip. On June 29th these two studs will depart from San Francisco and with a very brief layover in Paris will arrive into Athens on the 30th. If the gods of travel permit, we will spend at least 10 days on the islands and then into Bulgaria we go!! We will do our best to update you on the happenings of adventures to come, but for our sake and yours, we ask that you be patient. That said, let the countdown continue...