In Zurich at the airport

A few hour wait here is a delight. 6 am we arrive and lots of duty free and other stores open for our wandering pleasure. I find some stickers for my checked suitcase and a few postcards suitable to send grandsons. The last lost art of mailing postcards!

The flight from Montreal to Zurich was packed. We were one row back from bulkhead seats and beside a seat with leg room. I was loving just being close to leg room …. And said that out loud. A lovely (in every way) woman says to me, in a charming accent (turns out she lives in Athens Greece) would I like to sit there because she likes to sit with her feet up and can’t on the end. Wow. I call her saint Mary. I really enjoyed the flight and stretched right out, could see in to business class. We flew SwissAir and this was my first time.

No food choices worked for me, but I ate the cheese and salad, drank water and wine and sat back. We saw a sun set which was lovely but the sight that took my breath away was the vibrant colours of the morning sunrise as we flew over southern England. Very deep dark red to light bright blue and violet.

Getting ready to board now to Athens. I believe we have emergency exit rows for the few hour leg. We have been playing cards and drinking water. Ready for the next adventure.

Wish you were here.

Love Pam

Halifax

We are at the airport with plenty of time for the flight to Montreal. We know we are going somewhere warm. Mom notices we are the only two people in the airport wearing sandals!

I bought two more postcards of the area to send to grandsons so they have excitement of checking the post office with mom to see if news from Grammie. I wonder if I should start this? Too late, I sent two from Toronto a few days ago. I will send the Nova Scotia cards from Montreal later today before we head to Zurich on Swiss air.

It is chilly here, but you can’t really tell if its raining for the fog.

Sharing a very venti decaf skinny with soy caramel macchiato for Starbucks we wait the last few minutes preparing to board Air Canada.

Just heading in to Toronto

Hi there. Can’t get the iPad to post in WordPress here in Toronto. Strange. I checked clock in Athens, 10:25 pm and 3:25 here ….12:25 mid day in Victoria. Same day. Friday 10 May.

Weather here cool, grey and glad I am inside with sporadic rain showers. I seem to recall now why I live on an island in the Pacific! Love living in Victoria, the weather, the people, the ocean waves, sea gulls…. My life.

Guess I will keep on writing for a while till the Internet works. A flight just left for Halifax but I guess there was no room for me. Mine is in another hour or so. I should check.

I just checked Facebook and lobsters available in Halls Harbour down home … Um, Nova Scotia! Lucky me, I hope. Mom sent me a note there is a lobster snack for me waiting …. Been a long time since I have had fresh lobster, I guess since I saw her last. Well, going to change that in a few hours.

In the meantime I am unable to get on to the Internet for some reason. I am so not a techy! I was connected, not sure what happened.

Oh well, I will just keep on keeping on and hope for some energy to shift and my connection to be easy.

Mine is now the next flight to go … In maybe an hour …. In the meantime I people watch, took a picture of some planes and bright sky that peaked out.

Wish you were here.

Pam

Clothes and mindfulness

Hi there, I take a look around the airport, seeking fashion advice. I notice a woman my age, wearing my lulu jacket. Ok. It is not mine, because mine is rolled nicely in a ball in my carry on.

I carry lulu in my in my bag rather than checking it in my luggage. I also wear layers of Lu Lu when travelling. Lu Lu is my staple travel wardrobe because the sleeves are long enough, the leg length is always perfect and the fit is body flattering and comfortable. A great product and I am always grateful for my daughters for introducing me to lulu long ago, as now she is an old dear friend.

I go to a last minute washroom stop and see another very well dressed stylish woman my age donned in lulu pants, also that I own. Do I only notice Lu Lu lemon clothes or is that all there is?

On the plane now, enjoying a few glasses of room temperature water while others are enjoying coffee, soft drinks and goodies, not gluten free. I am listening to my iPhone audible book on mindfulness, with Sylvia Boorstein. She makes it sound so easy and everyday.

I have been on silent retreats, I am happy to recall, and remember how the energies arise and pass. So often the mind wants to tell a story about how the energy came to be or what to do with it next. If I can just be with the restlessness of the energy then it will pass, it always does. Falling in love, excitement, irritation, and awe…. Wave upon wave.

The sun is bright out my window as the plane flies over the Rockies and heads toward Toronto. I will have a few hours to practice in the airport waiting for the next leg of the journey taking me to Nova Scotia and in some ways, home.

Home is where my mom is and also where I was born. Home is where my early memories of returning on special occasions such as summer holidays to spend time in the arms of my extended family. Now my brother and mother live in Nova Scotia and I live on Vancouver Island at the other end of this vast country. Now my home is where my children live, and where my life is with Steve. Home is where I feel love and safety. It has never really been about geography for me. I have been in transition all my life, moving about.

I am experiencing a sensation and I will call it the joy of flying. If I sit with that feeling and energy it will shift to another and another. If I must name it, let it be love and positive language.

Thanks for listening, reading and travelling with me. I am on my way!

With love

Pam

Greek adventure pre blog

Hi everyone, so sorry I have neglected you.

It is 549 am on 10 May and I am at departure gate 2 in yyj Victoria airport. On my way to my next great travel adventure. Remembering Mothers Days from my past and anticipating this upcoming one.

I have to take a minute and applaud Westjet. The Captain stopped, took a few minutes, crouched down to speak to a very little boy. He introduced himself with a big welcoming smile. It was like out of a movie only I witnessed it in real life. Wow!

Going through security brings on anxiety. Some people, I have discovered, don’t do well with their anxiety! It causes them to not play well with others. I have to wonder how hard it must be for airport security to stay positive fresh and upbeat for an eight hour shift. Wow. People can really complain. I make a point to be grateful for security. To be grateful that my jewellery does not set off the alarm, grateful I have remembered my passport. Grateful I live in this country and get to travel freely around the world.

This blog and travel session will have overtones of mindfulness. Not really wanting anything to be different, witnessing what is. Can I be with it? Can I be present to my life over the next few weeks? Can my presence bring some kind of peace to my fellow travellers ?

Be with me now, hold me accountable and enjoy the ride. I am heading out on this Mothers Day weekend first to Halifax to see my mom. I reflect on how long it has been since I have been in her presence. Since we did that drive across the country a while back, the longest we have ever been apart in my 55 years. I am looking forward to being present with her and embracing our precious vacation.

The itinerary will unfold … Fly to Athens Greece. Spend a few days exploring little Greek islands. Then a fabulous luxury cruise aboard the Azamara Journey for 10 nights, back to Athens, back to Halifax and then home.

Thanks for joining me … I encourage and look forward to your comments.

Much love to all,

Pam

Financial Invincibility

Going from fear of your finances to financial invincibility does not need to be an impossible journey. Whether it is $500 dollars a month or $5 million dollars plus, let us walk together to reach your financial goal.

This book (the book I am writing) is for women. Of course you can share the lessons and conversations with your partner, but many of you won’t. As you know, many women feel like they are held hostage by their fear. They may feel that money is the reason to stay, or lack of money is a key stumbling block in feeling successful. Some women even feel shame for wanting to be financially free.

The ceiling is off. There was never a limit on freedom for women, except as we tell ourselves every day in our self talk. None of us are alone; many have lifted the ceiling and cleared the way for women internationally to hold the top business and influential positions around the world. More on that in the next book! (yup, there will be a sequel).

I invite you to be in book three, telling your story!

This first book is a compilation of the steps it takes, the mindset shifts and actions that will bring you to your goals, guaranteed. Are you a single woman living on a solo income? How about a married woman feeling like you want to make a contribution to the world? Or, like me, an international traveler to the soul, and finding a way to live travel dreams is what you most desire? Are you a professional woman making it in the company you work for, wondering how you will make your own fortune? Are you struggling to make the payments each month? Are you wanting to have enough investments to live off the interest? What is your story?

I want to hear it and I want to include you in this book. I want to help you become the leading lady in your life and the author of your story of financial invincibility.

Get in touch with me at pmacdonald@cruiseshipcents.com and let’s get started.

Ps. Book to be launched later this year, tell all your friends and family.

My mom and I have been making plans and searching out travel options. We have refined the details on the cruise, air, and pre and post hotels. The travel dream is taking shape!

When I look back on this years vision board, I see pictures of Greece. At the time I was wondering what I was attracting for this year? Memories of last year’s trip with family and friends? My mother had some second thoughts about not going with me last year … All the details in the space time continuum (quoted from the fabulous movie “Back to the Future”) conspired to bring me an opportunity.

Azamara Club Cruises is a wonderful, small, boutique-like cruise line, about 600 passengers and great cruise features, and provides luxury travel experience at an affordable price. The ship is the Journey. The destinations include 5 of my favorite Greek destinations, one new one for me (making my grand total of different Greek islands to nine!), two stops in Israel and one in Cyprus. It makes me giddy with delight to envision this itinerary. Lucky me!

My mother has great taste and wants the best we can afford; she deserves nothing less. She has expensive tastes, I love that about her. She always wants the balcony experience, so we book it and decide to talk more. My mom is in Nova Scotia now, and I live on Vancouver Island. We are as far apart as two people can live in this country, and yet very close as mother and daughter. My mother is my friend and the greatest support to me throughout my life. I love to travel with her. Taking her to Greece in style is a dream come true for me, and her.

Then we need to talk flights. She is on the phone with her land line phone to AirMiles, and has me on her cell phone, I can only hear what she says, not the agent on the other end. I have booked with AirMiles myself and their customer service is top notch. They have patience and expertise that is truly supportive to the customer.

As my mother is describing our trip, the representative on the other line says something that causes silence and a choking up in my mothers voice. I hear my mom say, with love and compassion, that agent had said longingly. “I wish I could go on a trip like that with my mom”. We all three have tears in our eyes for the sheer beauty of this experience.

Here is the reason for this blog entry. I am so grateful that I have the mother I have. I am so thankful she wants to travel, and with me. And I am so very lucky for this very special trip and that we have said YES to the opportunity.

More on our hotels and details another day.

With love and gratitude,
The daughter
Xoxox

Mamma Mia, here I go again!

Yes I am making plans for Greece! I am very excited.

Back to Azamara on the Journey. Cruising in the beautiful blue waters that host the Greek islands. The rocky wild landscapes, the white washed buildings, the designer boutique shops, greenery and fragrant flowers. I can almost taste the olives and feta swimming in olive oil. Wow…. I will do some painting of sights and explore the textures of my memory and my vision.

I am going with my mom and hoping some other great women will join us as a Women’s travel club group. However it is, will be perfect.

Chania, Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos, Athens and a new port for me, Nauplion. Also stopping for a tour of Jerusalem and Haifa in Israel, and Paphos in Cyprus. I am so excited for the familiar and the exotic unknown destinations.

15 to 25 May. No time to waffle, just going full out in my life.

Love to all and grateful to my mom for saying YES!

Pamela, of Greece
Xoxo