With My Freeze-Ray I Will Stop… The World

voltee ♦ November 2, 2010 ♦ 5 Comments

Item: Sweater Color/Fabric: Red, cashmere Designer: Barney’s Co-Op Where Purchased: Woodbury Common Years Owned: 0.25
Hello my friends! It’s been much, much too long. Internet access has been less than ideal during this trip. At this moment I am sitting with Nate in a little bar/cafe in Calpe, Spain. We are just over one hundred feet from the Mediterranean Sea, and we are listening to an accordion player and sipping a Cafe Tango.
So far this has been the most relaxing and luxurious vacation we’ve ever had. I really feel like time has slowed, or perhaps even simply stopped. The days just seem to stretch on and on and on- we won’t even be home for another entire week!
This little red sweater is something I bought specifically for this trip. I bought it in late July of this year, I think, and it was after a particularly sad visit to the orthopedist. Conveniently, my orthopedist is located just a stone’s throw from Woodbury. I called Nate with my bad news, crying, and he said, “Well, why don’t you go shopping?”
This would not be the first time I have dried my tears with a shopping bag. Or four.
I thought this sweater would be perfect, since, being cashmere, it’s thin but entirely cozy. And I wasn’t wrong!
The sweater was broken out on my very first day of the trip. We were in Mallorca, in the idyllic village of Soller, staying in a quaint and perfectly charming town house called the Casa Bougainvillea. I was slightly disoriented and tired due to the jet-lag, but it really wasn’t bad at all, I think because of my insomnia build up before. But we had decided to relax and maybe get to know the island a little bit on that first day.
At breakfast our friendly host, Matt, asked us what our plans for the day were.
“Oh, we just want to take it easy and relax today,” I answered.
“Well,” said Matt in his lilting British accent. “I think you should take the bus to Deia and walk back. The weather will be perfect in that direction.”
Sounded great to us!
Here’s what I imagined: smooth cobblestone sidewalks sloping gently up and down along the seaside to the ancient and stately small town of Deia.
I wore fancy jeans over top brown leather boots (flat, of course), and the red sweater. A perfect ensemble for the stroll I was envisioning.
Take and easy and relax, my ass.
It was a full-on mountain climbing, muddy, steep incline, never-ending ten mile hike to Deia. An amazing, utterly gorgeous, completely captivating, breath stealing ten mile hike, to be certain.
It would have been a dream, had I been dressed appropriately.
There were grazing sheep nimbly maneuvering the hillside, complete with deeply resonating bells around their adorable fuzzy necks. Old, twisted and gnarled olive groves ringed with spiraling Cyprus trees straight out of a Van Gogh painting. Cacti. Rock hopping mountain goats. A cafe on the side of a mountain, serving lemon tart and coffee. Jaw dropping vistas of the Mediterranean.
It felt like we would never reach this legendary town. And then, all at once, we were there.
Just in time to watch all the restaurants close down for siesta.
Then we decided to just go back.
Only to get thrown off the last bus back to our town because it was too full.
So then we did the only thing we could do. We went to a market and bought bread, cheese, and sangria and at it sitting on a wall overlooking the town, outside of a famous little cemetery. And then split a cab with a nice German couple.
All in all, it was a splendid way to start our vacation.
Except for how bloody my feet were. Those boots just were not designed for rugged mountain terrain. It just meant that I had to buy bandages in bulk, and were soft flimsy ballet slippers for the rest of our time in Mallorca, and then into Madrid.
I’m hoping they’ll be all healed up by Barcelona, just in time for some fresh blisters!
And it was impossible to stay angry with Matt. The Casa Bougainvillea is just too perfect a hideaway, and Matt and his wife Nina are such pleasant and passionate hosts. Our time there was nothing short of magical.

**I love cashmere.  Very, very hard to talk me out of it…