A forced time-out

When we drove up to the Village from Palo Alto on Wednesday, I was actually congratulating myself on how well I felt. Neither of us were feeling super tired, so I figured a couple nights with melatonin to establish the sleep schedule and I’d be home free.

Instead, my chest started feeling tight on Wednesday night. By Thursday I was dealing with a serious cough and Friday saw the addition of congestion.

I had to sleep sitting up because the wheezing and coughing got worse when I laid down in bed. I did steam treatments, essential oils, tea with honey, and sun baths. If I sat still I would fall asleep.

But bit by bit I’m turning the corner. I even left the house today for the first time since we got back from Europe.

But between being sick and events being cancelled due to COVID, I haven’t connected with a single friend since getting home.

It’s very, very strange.

So, what occurred to me during my time in the sun this afternoon is that Divine Mother has put me into a forced time out. I mean, we were constantly on the go in Lugano — fun, but also exhausting. And we were constantly on the go before we flew to Lugano — also fun and productive, but exhausting.

But now? Three days (tomorrow will be the fourth) of no events, no meetings, no nothin’.

And what’s the lesson? I guess it has to do with not going, going, going until the only way you’ll get a break is by getting sick.

Travel time again

We leave for Lugano in ten days. I can hardly wrap my mind around the fact that our departure date is almost here.

But I really must get my mind in gear so I can start addressing the practical realities of international travel.

Actually, I deserve some credit — this afternoon I finally got myself to order some key items that might not have arrived in time otherwise.

It’s a start!

We’ll be there soon

Hard to believe that — almost exactly two months from today — we’ll be in Lugano once again.

On the one hand, I can’t wait. On the other hand, I can’t believe how the last six months or so have flown by!

And for sure, time is only going to speed up between now and our departure date.

Il Grand Café al Porto

Cenacolo Fiorentino

My friend, Graziella, posted this photo on Facebook today and seeing it brought back beautiful memories of being at a luncheon there in honor of Swami Kriyananda.

The room is the Cenacolo Fiorentino (which translates as the “Florentine Supper Room”) on the upper floor of the Ristorante Grand Café Al Porto, located in the historic center of Lugano.

If I remember correctly, it was May (I’m not sure what year) and Swami Kriyananda was relaxing for a few days in Lugano. In honor of his upcoming birthday, the leader of the Lugano meditation group organized a boat tour of Lake Lugano followed by lunch at Al Porto — one of Swamiji’s favorite restaurants in Lugano.

It was a beautiful day, now a treasured memory.

A photo of the Cenacolo Fiorentino from the restaurant website

About life and coffee

We saw this sign in front of a café in Lugano this morning and it made us chuckle. So I decided to share it with you.

Translated it says: “Life is that thing that begins after coffee.”

Lord knows I’ve had plenty of days where this felt all too true! ☕

So long to an amazing view

We’ve really enjoyed our stay here at the Utoring complex in Aldesago, but it’s time to say goodbye — to this little apartment and to the expansive view of Lugano and the distant mountains.

Day after tomorrow we’ll say goodbye to Lugano itself for a little over a week while we visit Italy; first Riomaggiore in Cinque Terre, then Ananda Assisi.

Feeling extremely grateful right now.

Things that caught my eye

A fountain near the cathedral

No particular theme here, just a miscellany of images that caught my eye. Some are beautiful, others less so, but I found them all intriguing.

Tiny plants growing in the cracks of the wall
Two beautiful cappuccinos
The painting behind the statue of the stag is a depiction of Diana the Huntress
Fresh flowers and produce in Via Nassa
A glimpse to the left while walking along Via Nassa revealed this beautiful sight
A pretty bad cow pun!
IKEA evidently has a Swiss cow theme going right now
It made me a little sad to see this at Manora

Hotel Dante: then and now

With Swami Kriyananda at Hotel Dante in Lugano (2012)

One of the things we planned to do in Lugano today was visit the spots where we had spent time with Swamiji — especially Hotel Dante, where the above photo was taken.

Swami loved coming to Lugano on vacation and always stayed at Hotel Dante. We have a number of precious memories with him there; we even got to have breakfast with him on my birthday in 2005.

We had thought it would be nice to take a picture by the chair where Swamiji had sat, as a way of remembering our time with him. You can imagine our dismay when we arrived and discovered the room had been remodeled and is completely different!

It’s still Hotel Dante, but the lobby where Swami would sit and receive visitors is now a very modern looking restaurant. It wasn’t just disappointing, it actually felt like a loss.

But then I remembered that I can feel Swamiji close to me by tuning into him inwardly. An important and reassuring reminder.

The traditional lobby is now “FLAMEL Bistrot & Mixology”

Follow-up to yesterday’s walk

Funicular tracks near our apartment in Aldesago

Here are three little videos to give you a sense of the delightful experiences we had yesterday.

First of all, as we were walking up the driveway on the way to our walk in the forest, I just had to stop and listen to the joyful birdsong.


Then, while we were still standing there, we noticed that noise was coming from the funicular track. We waited a few minutes in order to video the funicular passing by — one going up to the top of Monte Brè while the other headed back down to Lugano.


Finally, while walking through the forest we heard a cuckoo call. I had never heard a live cuckoo until I lived in Italy.

I always get a special kick out of hearing them because of playing Mahler’s 1st Symphony back when I was a student at the SF Conservatory of Music. Mahler famously orchestrated the cuckoo’s call, although his cuckoo sings the interval of a perfect fourth, while the actual bird sings a (not-so-perfect) third.

Writing this blog post made me curious why I’d never heard the cuckoo before living in Europe. I learned that there actually are cuckoos in the United States, but the numbers in California have declined drastically in the last 100 years due to destruction of their preferred habitat and to pesticide use. 😕

At any rate, it was lovely to hear not just one, but two cuckoos going at it. And then the church bells started to chime! It was the perfect “aural” nature experience.

(The cuckoos were fairly far away, so you’ll have to listen carefully — maybe with headphones — to hear them.)