FOR MANY, THIS PAST WEEKEND marks the unofficial start to summer: to long, golden days, the beach, road trips and warm bronzed skin. For us, it will be an awakening of sorts, after when seems like a never-ending winter of never-ending projects and impending deadlines. We're not complaining, of course, for we know that we are lucky to count what we do everyday as work. Nevertheless, it is always good to take a little time away to relax and recharge, do nothing but listen to the sound of crashing waves and sip good rosé if the mood strikes. And we are very nearly there! So very close now and so very perfectly time with summertime, our most favourite time of year...
ON FRIDAY NIGHT we met up with old acquaintances from Edinburgh for drinks at place we like to take all visitors. It had been one of those maddening days where you are trapped at the office all day waiting for a parcel to be delivered, only it never arrived, so meeting for drinks was the perfect way to end the week and forget about all things work-related and mingle with the warm summer night.
RECENTLY READ an article on happiness that discusses the work of Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychologist at the University of California, Riverside, and the author of The How of Happiness. According to her findings, roughly 50 percent of happiness is determined by genes (i.e., completely out of our control), roughly 10 percent is determined by circumstance
THIS WEEKEND had moments of bliss: there was the tennis, insanely beautiful weather, glasses of wine at old favourite places, and most of all, time to spend together; these moments, however, were punctuated by pure dreadfulness. At some point last week, must have somehow caught what had thought was an innocuous (albeit poorly timed) summer cold, but in actuality turned out to be a most unpleasant chest infection...
THIS WEEKEND BEGAN a little early, with oysters and cava on Thursday afternoon in celebration of recent accomplishments and of summertime. There would also be lunch at a new Greek restaurant in the old town, cocktails at a place favoured by the locals (a very smart crowd it was) that’s always lively and hasn’t changed its quirky décor since 1957 ...
ALTHOUGH the Mercado Central is my favourite on Saturday mornings, the market in Russafa has, in their fish market, a low-key place to order a glass of cava and oysters right where you pick up your mussels and shrimp for the weekend. We've tried it once already, and it felt rather decadent and the perfect way to begin the weekend. Of course, if you're looking for something a little less casual, you can also wait for a seat or a place at the counter at Ricard Camarena's Central Bar at the Mercado Central. We've been to the latter many times and the atmosphere is always lively and the service great. We are, actually, in the middle of compiling a city guide of some of our favourite places, along with working on a few other major projects at the moment. We can't wait to share with you everything that's been happening over the past few months.
