Countryside stories

Keeping life simple, this is what I always bear well in mind 

every time I leave the countryside. In mid December, 

we had a romantic getaway to Arachova, a winter destination, 

a little mountainous town built on the hills of Parnassus. 

Despite being a touristy region, life carries on 

as if it was yesterday.

People seem to understand themselves and the world around 

them in a deeper way. By virtue of its striking authenticity, 

village life appeals so much to me. You could say that things 

are never perfectly candid. Yes! But I insist on retaining 

this generous integral part of pureness 

as a good purpose in life. 

The story is the following. 

Once in the village, we woke up to a snowy scene outside

our windows. We took the car to reach a café giving an 

exhilarating view on top of the mountain. At the beginning, 

the road was still pretty clear and dry. The snowy landscape 

caused us a flurry of excitement but alas, ice suddenly 

brought an end to the fun. The car was sliding up and 

down on the icy tarmac making it impossible to put 

the chains on! A man appeared...

...from nowhere. He calmed us down, helped to steer the car 

to the edge of the road and invited us to have coffee 

at his home, a cottage hidden in the woods. 

Convinced by his nice behavior and struck by this squeeze 

of kindness we were hosted for a couple of hours by a 

wonderful man and a woman, both retired in province 

by will. The authenticity of their simple being and the fact 

that they were so genuinely interested in our problem,

 made us think that village people are the best. 

Those simple things count the most and can bring an amount 

of joy. The more sophisticated we become, 

the more egoists we are… 

I’m not sure but it’s a piece of the puzzle 

completing the human face. 

Wishing all people and especially women (8th March)

all the best things of this world.

I will be back soon with pretty spring photos.

O