I’ve had “la dolce vita” rolling around in my brain a lot these days (the phrase, not the Fellini film). One thing I usually love about this time of year is travelling to Europe, when full cities are basically emptied as everyone takes August off for vacation. Though I work for myself, it’s in North American culture to regard taking a big chunk of time off as a major luxury, not a necessity, and something I still very much fear doing (especially working in an industry that’s driven by 24/7 access). I’ve always loved how natural it is elsewhere to really live la dolce vita guilt-free, with everyone gone sunning in Greece, Spain, Italy, etc. It’s not the exception but more of a norm, and one I desperately wished was adopted here. I swear there’s something in the air because lately I’ve just been feeling really, really, really tired (like hardly able to get out of bed in the mornings, which is really unusual for me) and a few of my other friends have mentioned they’re feeling that way too. I’ve come to the conclusion that vacationing Europeans didn’t pick August at random – I’ve decided it’s actually the month when we’re in the most desperate need of R&R. Summers are typically really busy, September kicks off the full school year (i.e. the “new year” as far as I’m concerned, even now in my late ’20s!) and then it’s just a speedy slide into holiday craziness.
I was up late last night googling search terms along the lines of “not sick just extraordinarily tired” when I finally realized…maybe I just need a little bit of proper rest somewhere really relaxing. In other words, some actual, heavy-duty, serious business R&R.
So I’m taking off tomorrow afternoon for the cabin with my siblings, a couple of my best friends and the boy. I have a bit of work I’ve got to burn through while I’m there but other than that, I plan on doing nothing other than reading all day, soaking in the sunshine on the raft, playing aqua beer pong with the crew (you’ll have to follow along on Insta Story or Snapchat [tovogueorbust], the rules are very complex), going on a hike or two and swimming in the ocean. I’ll only get a few days away but if I do it right, hopefully that will tide me over for now.
To my fellow North Americans, are any of you feeling similarly ready for a big chunk of time off? My European friends, any tips you have on living la dolce vita for those of us who are uninitiated to its ways?
Photos by Alicia Fashionista
I hear you! I feel like I’m dragging myself out of bed in the morning and am exhausted by the afternoon. Our solution is to head to Europe in September! We are trying to choose between a combination of Ireland, Spain, Portugal and/or Greece for just over three weeks. Any recommendations? 🙂
Right? It’s like I have two peaks in the evening and maybe one mid-morning but otherwise, I’ve just been dragging myself along all day. Lame! So excited to rest and recharge. As for your trip, you actually picked my 3 favourite countries of all time: Ireland, Portugal and Greece! So needless to say, hard to pick between them, but I’d break it down this way: you’ll get the most bang for your buck in Portugal and you could do that and Spain in 3 weeks no problem (have tons on Portugal in particular in my travel section!). Greece you definitely need 3 weeks for (that’s how long we gave it) and similarly to Portugal, tons of info on a 3-week trip there as that’s exactly what we did last year! But Ireland is actually my all time favourite country of all time – if you did Ireland and Northern Ireland thoroughly, you could do that in three weeks with maybe a stop in London since flights tend to get directed there first! And I know I sound like a broken record, but tons of info on Ireland/N Ireland too on here if you dig around the Travel section! If you have any specific requests, I can def make a post too 🙂 xo
Have a great time relaxing!! I just love all these photos!
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Thanks so much Sydney! xo
Thanks so much! Your travel posts are great, they’ve given me a ton of ideas – now comes the decision making…