A hug of New England’s Beauty

What do you do when you suddenly have plenty of time?….Finally you can do things that you didn’t have time to do them before. 

Thank God for the time we all call HOLIDAYS (in Greek: diakopes/διακοπές). 

For me walking and recently jogging are those things that give me lots of pleasure and complete me with a feeling of pure happiness.  If I happen to be in a harmoniously arranged environment that distracts me from the grey thoughts of every day routine, I consider myself lucky because nowadays there are not too many places that offer a comfort of easy relax. Believe it or not, Crete as a place for living is not always as relaxing as it seems to be for holiday makers.

The word “relax” is so simple to pronounce but not too many people know how to relax anymore, including myself. I keep on forgetting how important those “brainless” moments are when I just look around, take a deep breath and no worries fly into my head, at least for a short period. 

Sometimes being far away from everybody and everything is what we all need. One of those few places where I really take my time and get turned off is Fairfield, Connecticut. The way a landscape, houses, climate and general aesthetics of that place are, it just makes me calm and peaceful. This place has a spirit of a fairy tale where houses form a perfect composition with their environment of woods, streams and grey squirrels that my mother-in-law calls one by one: Charlie. Yes, so you know, every single squirrel in Fairfield is named Charlie!

New England has its own, unique style. Oh, those houses here are to die for: they strike you with the colors of main entrance doors, shutters, balconies. Nothing seems to be built accidentally and illegally like it is very often in Greece. Here, every single detail just touches your heart:

-         -  sun beds standing on the little hill before the house looking like a ginger bread house, 

-        -   ornamental iron sign indicating the number of the house

-        -   rustic pots holding plants that perfectly match the color of the house’s porch.

No wonder that a house with a white picket fence, like many of those that I go by during my walks in Fairfield, is a part of American dream. Let me tell you, at least from outside, those houses look perfect. Like a good magic was done and those wooden palaces were created. 

The streets are broad and there are sidewalks …a rare element of any Greek town. Personally, I think that Greek engineers responsible for urban plans in Greece should definitely visit some New England’s towns to develop more environmental sensitivity, knowledge and taste!!!   

If you walk around Fairfield, you just feel it that the whole place is arranged in such way so you could enjoy your time outside. After Greek reality, right at the beginning it is always shocking for me when I go for a jog and then…I do not have to be afraid that a car will jump out of the narrow street and will run over me or that an innocently looking dog will suddenly develop a passionate love for my calf and I will have to stop running in order to finish my outdoor recreation with two healthy legs! Here in Fairfield, the cars stop, dogs are well controlled by their owners and the streets are big enough so you could drive, ride a bike or jog…

If you lived in Greece for a while, you will understand what I mean when I admire and enjoy Fairfield’s space and neatness. 

I took a few pictures during one of every day walks around Fairfield’s lake and made a short movie. Hope you will enjoy watching the area the way it mesmerized me.

HERE IS FAIRFIELD'S LAKE AND ONE OF THOSE BROAD ROADS

FAIRFIELD'S HOUSES....JUST A FEW PICTURES ALTHOUGH I COULD PHOTOGRAPH EVERY SINGLE ESTATE...IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL HERE. PICK THE ONE YOU LIKE THE MOST..IT'S GOOD TO HAVE DREAMS...THEY COME TRUE WHEN YOU THE LEAST EXPECT IT:)

...AND A FEW DETAILS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE...AREN'T THOSE DOORS SOMETHING ELSE?