Anastasia Drawing & Dreaming

Sweet Island Life...

is anyone else super excited to see the film 'Eat, Pray , Love ' - its just been released here in Australia!

i love going to the cinema and this is a film Im really looking forward to seeing on the big screen!
I read the book a couple of months ago, i enjoyed it SO much, i couldnt put it down....
it made me think of my own experience moving overseas to the tiny island in the Mediterranean, Cyprus.

I was 21, wanderlust had kicked in after a brief holiday visiting Europe and the last stop being my parents homeland, Cyprus.

Meeting my huge extended family and being totally smitten by this magical island, i packed up and six months later moved to the other side of the world!

The plan was to stay for a year but I ended up living there for five years (...time flies when you're having fun!)

....i guess it was my own 'Eat, Pray, Love' journey.

I didnt stop eating thats for sure, the local food is delicious. Wherever you go people urge you to 'eat eat' ...breakfast alone would consist of a huge spread - Tachini rolls, Ricotta pie, fresh figs, Watermelon, bread and Hallomi cheese, strong coffee - i had no idea how the local girls kept the weight off as the first couple of months I kept gaining! haha

It was hard adjusting to a new island life, a slower paced life was different to what I was used to, the day broken into two with a long lunchtime siesta.

Life was easy going with strangers greeting you whilst walking down the street, I miss that relaxed lifestyle now and I keep all the lovely memories in my heart - i made lots of close friends whom I still have now, email making contact much easier!

I guess being in the early 90's with no internet,

no email, no social websites, i made more of an effort to get out there and socialise, it was easy to meet new people all the time!

We'd catch up for an afterwork swim, or late drinks, clubbing to the wee early hours every weekend...it was a perfect place to be in your 20's - beautiful clean beaches, long hot summers, partying, busy cafes, tourists everywhere, such a lively atmosphere!

- so many memories!

I still missed home though, I missed my friends, my beloved sister and my parents .. I wrote a lot of letters, sent a lot of cards and I had people visit too - I felt very very 'Australian' so far away on this little island in the Mediterranean.

*Images by Ben Watts for Madison magazine*