memories of greece

we were in greece to photograph a wedding over three months ago now, and i love coming back to the pictures and remembering what it felt like.for part of the time, we rented a small air bnb cottage, in a small town about an hour outside of athens, up a steep steep hill from the water. there was a resident cat that we'd see all the time, blind and deaf and scrawny and friendly that we named feta. we'd pick up cherries and peaches from the market, get wifi from the cafe down by the water where the girls would dare each other to try out their english on us. the summer air is lighter there than it is here.this is an excerpt from my travel journal the first morning there, june 20 2013 -- wake up in greece -- clock ticking, chickens outside. cats screaming on our roof. i slept like a log. light coming in through the windows. where are we? sometimes i doubt our adventuring ways. cicadas buzzing outside. like when it was getting dark last night and we couldn't find our way and had to gun it up a 45 degree incline and hope it was the right way. sometimes then i doubt in my own resolve or ability to get out of problems or just embrace it, and it makes me want to get better at being ok with feeling uncomfortable.it's insane to me how much i tried to narrow it down (i really did), but here's still a ton of little glimpses into greece :greece is at an interesting point in its history, but to be honest we didn't see much of that. many of the groomsmen at the wedding we photographed (who were greek) asked us about this and all had their own stories and views to share. honestly what i saw was every slice of waterfront jam packed on a holiday monday as we drove south down the coast from athens to watch the sun set. i saw people jumping off from rocky outcroppings into the blue waters and drying themselves in the sun on the rocks. inside of athens, yes it was different -- full of tourists and probably not a person you saw on the streets was greek. yes -- some places closed early because they just couldn't keep them open.  i was only there for a handful of days but what struck me the most was a pace of life where things were actually enjoyed... it wasn't continual pursuit and work like it is here, always keep going for the top mentality. i felt like the best things of life were actually enjoyed and lingered over. i know at the end of the day it's about a balance, i know i'm probably idealizing and that greece has had it's fair share of struggles with the eurozone and everything that goes along with that.... but that's what i learned most and that has stuck with me.june 2013 // all around greece