Free from restrictions
Inspiration shot May 2021
On Liberation Day I traveled from Geneva to Puglia via Amsterdam; straight through the various lockdowns. That made me realize again that many boundaries and limitations are more in our heads, than that they really hold us back. In this inspiration shot, I don’t necessarily want to glorify travel, but I do want to trigger you to think about what freedom means to you.
Slow travel
Inspired by Corona, poorer accessibility by plane, and more travel comfort, I decided to do a large part of my journey through Europe by train. First-class, of course, for a heightened experience …
It gave me the opportunity to watch the landscape pass by, work while on the road, carry more luggage and arrive in the center of a city. Highly recommended, I will definitely do it more often.
During a full month of travel in France and Italy I was only checked once (and that was only the PCR test, no explanation was asked why I traveled).
One door closes, the other opens
I was in such a beautiful place in the French Alps that I decided to organize a writing retreat there from October 10-17th. Can you imagine writing your book with this view? Maybe it also helps that the owner of the chalet is a chef … ???
DEALT!
I recently saw such an amazing documentary that I want to share it with you. Actually, I don’t want to say too much about it. But it is certainly an eye-opener (pun intended) when we talk about ‘dealing with limitations’ ….
Just check out the trailer and decide for yourself:
reMarkable
May I introduce you to my new favorite device? I used to travel with paper notebooks. But when I needed a note, the notebook always just happened to be somewhere else …
I preferred to edit books on paper, which takes up a lot of space, plus extra work to convert those edits into a PDF. Then I discovered reMarkable2 and now everything is different. One device as ‘digital paper’. Ideal!
Did you know...?
… that I am a ‘flexitarian’? Or actually more of an ‘opportunitarian’ …?
I would prefer to eat completely vegan, but I have (at least) two weaknesses: whipped cream and butter. 🐄
In St Malo (FR) I bought no less than a kilo (!) of handmade butter with algae … With a special cooler, I traveled through half of Europe. At each stop, the butter mountain shrank and I got a little rounder … 😆
I am already looking forward to the local ‘Ensaimada’ in Mallorca, a kind of mega profiterole with fresh whipped cream in it. Mmmm!
Where is Esther?
I am writing this on the train from Puglia to Rome. When you read this, I will be back in Mallorca to prepare for the writing retreat.
To my great disappointment, all restaurants in Puglia were still closed (a small miscalculation on my part). I lived on a can of chickpeas for two days. Fortunately, the Consul of Lithuania took me out for dinner: a picnic at the beach in Brindisi, and everything turned out fine, haha.
How I have enjoyed my land and olive trees! I burned the tinytrullo logo on an olive wood cutting board with the fire stamp (which almost did not pass the airport security), as a test to create my own boards after pruning.
I also painted a beautiful stone for each tree that was adopted and did a ‘naming ceremony’. I was moved by the stories behind each tree and the motivation to adopt, from corporate sponsorship to a love monument or a memorial for a deceased friend. You can view the photos here and read the beautiful stories (or adopt a tree yourself if you feel one of them calling you…).
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