Flashback

Nostalgia is in the air during and after the holiday season.

One needs to shift to low gear and shut out the present. Travel rejuvenates the body and nourishes the spirit. It warms the heart, especially when one goes back to a beloved place.

Crossing oceans and time zones can be exhausting, but it is delightfully refreshing in more ways.

Geographical distance makes one shed the crusty city attitude and tired skin. One’s perspective improves in a different environment. Problems seem diffused and recede into a blurry background. Worries melt away as the mind recharges in a stress-free mode. One blinks to rediscover another facet of nature — winter in a temperate zone.

Mentally retracing the old pathways, one feels a familiar spark. The heart-tugging ache blends with the novelty of a new vibe. It is seeing the past with a new pair of eyes in a dreamy light.

The beloved city with two mountains is more polished and alluring than ever. The iconic landmark, the Sagrada Familia Basilica with soaring organic towers, is almost complete after more than a century. Its architect passed a hundred years ago. Other architects continued the work in progress, supported by donations from the people who flock there to pray and marvel at the modern stained-glass windows that filter exquisite shifting rainbow rays of light. Designed by Catalan artist-architect Antonin Gaudi, the thought-provoking church has wonderful acoustics for classical concerts and thousands of details.

In Barrio Gótico, the medieval cathedral Santa Maria del Mar was built slowly — stone by stone, rock by rock, during the Black Plague.

The wide avenidas, paseos with trees and rotundas, glorious parks and sparkling fountains, glow after an icy downpour. Walking in the rain is chilly, but one can stop for hot chocolate and churros at a café. There are pintxos, jamon Iberico, figs, and seasonal delicacies in little stores.

Once upon a time, an elegant, isolated villa atop a hill with a magnificent panorama used to be a second home. It was surrounded by flowering trees such as cherry and almond blossoms in the spring. It was insulated from the distractions of the outside world and people. It was the place to study peacefully, absorb the classics, the ways of the old world, different cultures, art, music, languages, theology, literature, history, math and the sciences.

It was where one could grow up, sprout, and cultivate the budding wings of independence. Part of the education was to instill values and genteel manners, tradition, respect and courtesy, kindness and compassion. Slowly and carefully. Sometimes, under a magnifying glass.

It was a big challenge for a teenager to be transplanted and to adjust to a strange environment. After a few months, wonderful changes happened through new friendships that bridged cultures and countries with a shared Hispanic heritage.

This was a rich tapestry, with Asia’s only country with strong Catholic and Spanish roots. The travel tours were among the best educational aspects of the year. From the Pyrenees to Andalusia, Sevilla, Granada to Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, and the Austro-Hungarian empire.

Many years later, the old bonds of friendships formed in school and on those trips have been rekindled and nourished. This reverie is a flashback to those happy times.

The third home was a grand villa and brick buildings with towering cypress trees on one of the seven hills of the empire.

Rome offered exciting academic challenges, the chance to compete on an international level and attain the coveted precious medal of excellence.

There were new travel and artistic adventures that focused on the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo’s frescoes, Castel Gandolfo, Leonardo’s Renaissance in Firenze, Veio, the ruins of the ancient Etruscans, Greece. Finally, a lost love.

The imagination has a distinct, mystical way of reviving memories.

One simply closes their eyes to be transported to the place where mist surrounds the mountains around the valley. It is a forest frozen in time. Miles and miles of evergreens, a romantic castle amidst the picturesque mountain range.

The aroma of fresh pine wafts through the thin air.

Oxygen is abundant. It pierces the nostrils and lungs. One inhales its sharp sweetness and is quickly intoxicated.

It is hard to resist the magnetic aura of the mountains and the snowy peak. What could be more exhilarating than ascending on a cable car? A dimension far removed from the tropics is captivating. An open palm holds pure snow and intricate snowflakes.

One recalls another distant mountain a continent away. On a gondola, one breathes in little gasps and exhales puffs of steam at such a high altitude. The rarefied air makes on feel giddy, light-headed without wine.

To bask in the golden sunshine amidst the breathtaking splendor of the mountains is a soulful and mind-expanding experience.

The mental cobwebs melt away as sunlight drenches the body with radiance. An eagle soars with the wind and circles above.

The sky becomes a canvas as it turns vermillion, russet, and lavender. The sun dips into the horizon. One hears the dramatic music of Beethoven’s violin concerto. An eclectic audience is enthralled by the music. During the final movements, light raindrops fall in a natural rhythm, accelerating into a stirring crescendo.

Symphonic music and a tranquil curtain call at sunset. Twilight comes in shades of indigo and cobalt.

At nightfall, the crickets rustle and echo in the woods. The stars slowly peek through the cirrus clouds. It is so quiet that one can almost hear the rocks grow near the gurgling brook.

Dawn brings a powder blue sky with delicate drifting wisps of puffy clouds.

Only poinsettias seem to thrive in this icy space.

At 3,700 meters above sea level, the panorama is inspiring, spellbinding. The splendid crystalline scene is a creative challenge to interpret on canvas.

How can a human attempt to paint such perfection? Only the Divine Artist can create it with celestial strokes and cosmic colors.

High above the world, one can understand why mystics and world-weary travelers seek refuge atop a mountain. Serenity provokes deep thought and meditation. One feels so close to heaven with the ethereal glimpse of the infinity.

Maria Victoria Rufino is an artist, writer and businesswoman. She is president and executive producer of Maverick Productions.

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