Lifestyle

"They're closing down the hangout, the air is turning cool...
... I come down to talk to me, When the coast is clear..."

     Jimmy Buffet, "When the Coast is Clear"

Some days Telluride Inside... and Out focuses on the  "inside." Those days are museum, gallery, church, monastery, etc. intensives, total immersions in history for grounding. But not today. Today was all about "out."

IMGP2096 On days like today, Telluride Inside... and Out hits the road with the sole intention of having no fixed intention, just inhaling the views from random stops on surrounding highways and byways. We are still in Crete. The weather, gods, kismet, something has gotten in the way of our leaving this Eden, so we gave in (willingly) to fate. Our hotel in Chania, Casa Delfino, became a home away from home and a launching pad for yet another Cretan adventure. Today was all about exploring the island's far west coast. First stop: Falasarna.

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After eight years in the field, Lacrosse in Telluride is going legit: This will be the first year that the boys and girls teams will be entering the CHSAA (Colorado High School Activities Association) Mountain Division. New players are welcome, and there will be an informational meeting Thursday, Oct. 28 (today!) at 5:30 p.m. at the high school cafeteria. Pizza will be served.

Lacrosse in Telluride started out eight years ago with just 15-18 high school boys and has grown into a girls and boys program with high school and middle school teams, and TYLA (Telluride Youth Lacrosse Association) anticipates more than 80 athletes will play this season. In the last few years the boys team has had a number of second and third place finishes in tournament play, and the girls (which started just four years ago) took second place at the Edwards LAX Jam in their first season. Playing for CHSAA is bound to help the players improve. “This will test our skills against much bigger schools with more established programs,” says Frank Hensen, president of the TYLA board.

IMGP2073 Telluride Inside... and Out's travels are as much about the people we meet as the places we see. And among the most interesting of the interesting we've encountered so far on our Greek adventure is Nikos Stavroulakis.

Jenny, the concierge at our hotel, Casa Delfino – fabulous, but more on that later – suggested Etz-Hayyim Synagogue and the old Jewish quarter as interesting stops on our tour of Chania's Old Town. She also mentioned that since her husband Alex worked at Etz Hayyim, perhaps he could arrange a meeting with the man responsible for Phoenix-like resurrection of the former house of worship. The interview with Nikos was scheduled for 5 p.m. yesterday.

Fattoush Salad mjpg Editor's note: The following is the second weekly column from new TIO contributor Lisa Barlow. Barlow is a writer and photographer who divides her time between New York, Telluride and San Pancho, Mexico. An enthusiastic omnivore, she specializes in stories about food.

 

It was only after I’d gotten home from our local Green Market that I realized that the large bunch of purslane I’d bought was the very same weed I’d been so vigorously deracinating from my garden all summer.

IMGP1967 Living in Telluride is about adventure. Readers of Telluride Inside... and Out know that Ben Clark and friends, including Erik and Chris Dalton, are in Nepal. David Byars will be corresponding from Ghana. Susan and I are currently on the island of Crete. There are plenty of adventures available in our backyard in Telluride, but Telluriders seem to be a wandering clan.

One of the reasons Susan and I travel is for the opportunity to meet new friends. Our first morning in Heraklion, Crete, we met 27-month-old Odysseas Pavlides, and through him his parents, Dr. Lefteris Pavlides and his wife Stephanie, both architects in Rhode Island.

Telluride Inside.... and Out continues to explore the Edenic island of Crete.

Yesterday, along with our new best friends the Pavlides, we visited the Lasithi Tabletop (Plateau), a region that combines spectacular scenery with one of the most important mythological sites of the island, our primary destination, the Diktean Cave. IMGP1925
In a spectacular case of upstairs/downstairs, Zeus did not start out life on Mt. Olympus; quite the opposite: his first address was a deep, dark subterranean cave with visceral limestone shimmering eerily on its walls. The place looks like a huge natural womb – or early Julian Schnabel. 

Editor's note: For eight years, Telluride local/mountaineer Ben Clark and a few friends/professional colleagues have made Spring treks to the majestic Himalayas. Follow his adventures on Telluride Inside... and Out, including links to his regular podcasts. If you have missed any of Ben's posts, just type "Ben Clark" into Lijit Search to find them all.

Folks, this is my ninth Himalayan Expedition. I have seen crazy stuff happen before, but never anything like this.  We are on our way to the mountains but nowhere near where I thought when we landed in the heart of the Annapurna range just days ago.   21a.thumbnail
 
If you know me well, you know I often joke about getting a tattoo across my chest of two tigers holding hands with the statement "Expect the Unexpected" emblazoned underneath. Well...it is because my life as an adventurer and explorer has put me into some of the most twisted realities I can or can't imagine. I live life daily and this week has been no different.

IMGP1958 Telluride Inside... and Out wants to talk bull with you. Mega bull: Zeus when he seduced Europa. Here's the story:

Overwhelmed by love for Europa, a Phoenician princess, Zeus transformed himself into a magnificent white bull and appeared on the sea shore where Europa was playing with her maidens.The great bull walked gently over to where Europa stood and knelt at her feet. Overcoming her natural fear of the great beast, she climbed onto his back. What ensued is the ancient Greeks' answer to date rape.

Most of us haven’t thought of wearing a pair of cargo pants since the 90s, but guess what? They’re back! Skinny cargos have become a staple in most fashion magazines and in many a closet throughout Hollywood. -1

Some might say that skinny cargos are an oxymoron.  Well, in a sense, yes they are! When we think of cargos, we think of bulk and oversized pockets, but the latest trend of the pant is everything but. The new skinny cargos have a sleeker silhouette, and the pockets sit to flatter to the body, which keeps them from adding extra bulk and width to the legs.

One of the best things about skinny cargo pants is that they are easily incorporated into your wardrobe. They work with baggy or tight tops, heels, flats, and boots. Pair them with a sweater, denim jacket or blazer. And the skinny cargo also looks flattering on all body types – it’s all about finding the right fit and style to work with your shape.

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While staying in Athens, Telluride Inside... and Out visited Corinth. The ancient city was upon a time a nearly impregnable fortress with a reputation for lewd and licentious behavior in the name of the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite. St. Paul must have found the profligates irresistible: he founded a church in Corinth during an 18-month stay.
"Golden" Mycenae was once the most powerful city state in Greece, with the whole of the Peloponnese under its dominion. 
The entrance to Mycenae's acropolis is through the Lion Gate, the oldest example of monumental sculpture in Europe. Inside the walls, excavations have uncovered a palace complex, Grave Circle A with its six royal tombs, courtier's houses, craft areas, sanctuaries, and other important buildings. Off the acropolis lie more finds: Grave Circle B with its 14 royal tombs and the tombs of 12 private homes. On a nearby hill is one of the most memorable edifices of Mycenaen architecture, the Treasure of Atreus, also known as the Beehive Tomb of Agamemnon.