Detox and relaxation

It's Spring Break for me after all. We didn't do much today - just slept in and I took an amazing long shower (travel shoulders needed it!). We then went to brunch at a friend-of-a-friends amazing little cafe called "Taloolas"* where I had a great cup of organic free-trade coffee and a toasted panini proscuitto sandwich. My friend and I chatted about religion and life while the adorable little towhead next to us threw baby bottles at us.

We took the long route down along the Detroit River (Canadian side) and saw one of the smallest Great Lakes, St. Claire, and then went shopping at the mall. Perhaps it's not that great, but most of the choices are different from what we have in Atlanta so I managed to spend some money and start wondering how I will fit it all in my suitcase. I really did need those H&M black linen pants... I'd been looking for them for a long time...

We dropped by some friends of my hostess and I was delighted beyond words - both the parents in the house (4 kids) are artists of no small creative talent. Their little bungalow was crowded to the extremes with knick-knacks, art and paintings from around the world. The "man of the house" had a beard that reminded me of an ancient Viking combined with a lover of Star Wars (and yes much of his work had that theme :)). He took us outside to his fenced-in back yard where he does what he calls "mud work" - he takes mud and makes delightful fanciful wall hangings such as alligators, the god Pan, frogs, snakes, etc. He had his own pizza oven sitting on his eclectic marble-and-stone patio, and then started talking about not having taken a shower inside for a month. We walked around the corner and found a large hand-made shower! It was decorated with a sea-theme and tiles, and plenty of room. As we left I could only shake my head and wonder if the kids had a clue of how amazing their parents were.

We went back home (not without a delightful stop at Tim Horton's*) where I journaled and surfed travel buddies (so much more fun when you are actually traveling), while my poor hostess stressed over lesson plans. I'm on vacation! Somehow watching someone else stress out when I don't have to lets me detox even more.