Somewhere else

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I woke up with the sound of rain falling on the silent scenery. It took me a while to figure out where I was. The room was familiar but I haven't slept here for years. The picture of my grandfather on the wall left me with no doubts about my location and awoke me for good. Outside the house there was the scent of the blooming oregano and a bunch of cats craving for attention or food, I don't really know. Their intense meowing wasn't enough to disrupt the crisp serenity of the morning though.

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My relation with this village has changed many times over the course of my life.

During my childhood it was the place to visit my grandparents and spend my summer vacation. As a teenager and during the first years of adulthood, it was a place that I avoided, choosing other, more intriguing places to spend my summers. In my mid-twenties it was a retreat, a place to gather my thoughts and make big decisions about my life (that I never kept). And in my forties, the big surprise, the thing that no-one in the world, including me, would ever expect. I moved here for five years! Which is great if you are a cat but a rather controversial decision if you are an urban dweller!

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I have lived most of my life in Athens, the capital of Greece, first in the suburbs and then downtown. I loved my city and I never thought that I would like to move away. But as they say "never say never" and the day came that I desperately need to live somewhere else and suddenly this tiny settlement, in the middle of nowhere, sounded like a good idea.

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With hardly fifty inhabitants, away from touristic areas and totally charming, looked ideal to host my desire for a tranquil life, close to nature. The city that I once loved so much, wasn't fun any more or maybe I just needed something different as I grew older. Either way I was eager to move away from the urban lifestyle. The abandoned farm land around the village looked, in my eyes, as one more advantage of the area, in align with my plans to dive into natural farming, in free of chemicals soil.



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@galenkp is asking in his Weekend-Engagement writing topics

Do you ever wish you lived somewhere else?

My answer is more than once and every time I went to live there until a new somewhere else arise and move again to the new promise land! Since I left this village I have changed my residency twice and who knows how many more times in the future. Because I have promised to myself that I'll stay in a place only if I really want to and if not, I'll just move to the next one. And every time with the same enthusiasm and inquiring urge for whatever new lies ahead :)

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All the pictures and the words are mine.

Thank you for reading and if you want to know more about me you can check out my introduction post.

Commenting, upvoting and rebloging are highly appreciated!



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18 comments
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Greece looks like such a great place to walk around and take pictures. I love all the old buildings and cool looking doors. Plus, you know I love cats.

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Oh yes, Greece is the photographer's playground :)
I hope you'll have the chance to find out yourself and I promise you you'll find as many cats you want!

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Beautiful philosophy and wonderful photos as always.
It is funny the you woke up to the sound of rain, just as I did this morning.
we seem to follow similar paths. at least for me, after having lived in very big cities, there is now no way back. I did also learn though to never say never.
thank you for sharing.

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Thank you very much!

Living again in a big city seems very improbable for me too but as we all know,

never say never :)

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I loved your pictures, what a beautiful place, I would live here all my life. How many beautiful flowers, what beautiful colors, a very nice place. I would love to live in the countryside, in a secluded place, surrounded by peace and tranquility.
Very nice pictures!

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Thanks a lot!

I would live here all my life

All your life could be a very long time, are you sure? For me it was nice for five years but not for more!

I am sure you have in Cuba too, beautiful, secluded places in the countryside, don't you?

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Happy Caturday it was!

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Caturday indeed :)

Actually I was thinking to save the cat shots for a separate post but then I changed my mind and I just threw them in!

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Wow your photos are stunning.
That was quite a change moving there from the city, but it was a step in the right direction, going almost from one extreme to the next really helps us figure out what we really want, what we actually need xxxxx

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Thank you very much!

You are right. It was a move from one extreme to the other or at least as extreme as we could handle at the time and it really helped as change our perspective. Now we are trying a middle road (a small provincial town) but I don't know if we are going to settle there for good or if it is another interim before we move even further, in terms of extremity. Your lifestyle for example looks very appealing into our eyes (@traisto and myself) but we know enough to not take such a decision lightly.

Cheers!

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This is beautiful. Every picture, every scenery tells a story or could tell one. You could tell yourself that you love a place so much till your taste grows then you discover serenity, beauty and quiet could be your thing.
Thanks for sharing 💕

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I loved each and every photo 🙌📸.

I would move there in a heartbeat ❤

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Be careful what you wish for, it might come true :)

Thanks a lot!

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