Gimme a break!

I'm heading up to Montreal for a few days to visit one of the besties. I'm really looking forward to the min-break from Toronto. As much as I love this city, it's starting to make me restless. I haven't left it in five months. I never imagined five months as being a long time, but it is. Things I like about it are starting to annoy me right now. I think it has more to do with my state of mind at the moment, rather than the characteristics itself.

Sometimes stepping away helps bring an image into focus and perspective. And that's what I'm hoping will happen during my time away. Since moving back to Toronto, I've been on this hectic train ride trying to keep up with a life I imagined. I've been trying to chase down something that's felt pretty out of reach so far. And it's time to recharge the battery.

One of my favourite spots in Old Montreal - the Notre Dame Basilica. The architecture is so magnificent and haunting, all the same. I go here every time I visit the city.

I've been to Montreal a handful of times in the past, (both, in the winter and summer months), and I absolutely adore the city and its pulse. There's not a lot I want to see and do there, but I've always appreciated the shift in pace that comes with stepping into a new space. Truly, for all I know, I'll be vegging on my friend's couch, lost in glasses of red wine and stories of a far less complicated life. And that sounds perfectly delightful to me.

My life will be waiting for me when I get back. Just like it was waiting for me when I got back at the end of August. If there's one thing I learned in the months since I've been back, it's that everything you take a break from from will always be waiting for you upon your return. And sometimes it will magnify. The best thing to do is just... deal with it in any way you know how. Even if it doesn't make sense half the time.

So I'll deal with you, dear Toronto life. I'll get back and deal with you next week.

xo

Image courtesy of Google Images

Where in the world?

I decided to take a page from my friend B's blog, and answer her Question of the Day:

"Where would you choose to live if you had to leave your country?"

It's something I spend a lot of time thinking about, actually. Although I am currently removed from my actual 'home' - Toronto - I can't help but think about other places on this planet where I'd love to take up residence.

Leaving India for Canada was a leap for my family. But leaving Toronto for Seoul was a huge step for me.

I have to admit that Seoul was never top on my list of places to live in. I knew a lot of people who had moved to Korea for work and school, but the idea of coming here never really struck a fancy with me. But, somehow, life dealt my cards and now here I am... living and reveling in all the experiences this chaotic and cultural city throws my way. It's definitely been one fabulous chapter in my life, I must admit.

But, I always imagined that I'd someday move to the English countryside.

A quaint English cottage set in a small hamlet in the UK.

Yes, my love-affair with BBC's Pride and Prejudice might have something to do with it... but I've continuously been drawn to the images of lush, green meadows and acres of land you see in travel magazines and online. The idea of a quaint, brick cottage, nestled in a simple garden with an iron fence, sends warm-cozies through my body. Who wouldn't want to live some place that's described as 'charming'? There's something absolutely heartwarming about living in a country that's so rich with history and old-world ambiance.

And as B said in her blog, so long as I'd have the means of transportation to get me to and from my quaint escape, I'd be happy as a clam!

How about you, lovely readers? Where in the world would you move, if given the chance?

xo
SC

Image courtesy of Google Images