A slower rhythm.
Life in Crete.
Village paths. Olive trees. A meal that follows the season. My own photographs and small moments from life in Crete, the island of herbs.
A visit became
a life.
I first traveled to Crete in 2015 to write a book. In Avdou, I fell in love.
What began as a visit became a life in the village.
My life in Santa Barbara and Ojai, California, had been one of couture and practicing functional medicine for celebrity clients.
In Crete, I stepped into a different rhythm: gathering herbs, eating with the seasons, and finding beauty in the simple things.
We searched for wild asparagus, ate figs straight from the trees, harvested olives, and gathered walnuts. There seemed to be endless lemons and oranges.
I still remember the smell of dried orange peel warming on the stove. These small, ordinary pleasures became the texture of my days.
At first, no one knew me. There were no familiar roles to step into, no titles to explain who I was. My fourteen years of university education were not what mattered there.
Without those familiar ways of defining myself, I had to let go of what I had attached my identity to—and begin discovering who I was beneath it all.
I was happier. More grounded.
In the quiet of traditional village life, I began to reconnect with my inner self. There was room to become.
My time there held some of the most beautiful moments of my life—and some of the hardest.
The Greek Diaries and these photographs preserve a little of that world: the love, the change, and the ordinary days in between.
A life, in the
little things.
A glimpse of my life in Crete. The paths I walked, the food on the table, the plants and ordinary moments I wanted to remember.
The village & its paths.
Stone lanes, olive trees, and a little time outside.
Where we went for peace.
We came to the Cave of Agia Fotini, with its magical little church above Avdou, for peace—to meditate, to look at the stars at night, and to drink the blessed water that had filtered through the cave. Very few people made the climb. Almost every time, we had this quiet, sacred space to ourselves.
From the garden to the table.
Wild asparagus, figs eaten straight from the trees, olives to harvest, walnuts to gather. Lemons and oranges everywhere. A life shaped by what the season offered.
The ordinary rituals.
A pot of tea, an open book, herbs close at hand—and the smell of dried orange peel warming on the stove.
The Greek Diaries.
My original words, from life on the island of herbs.
Open the diaries ↗A little more
of the story.
The place, the photographs, and the beginnings of my life in Avdou.
Where are the Greek Diaries set?
The Greek Diaries are my personal stories from village life in Avdou, Crete, Greece. They explore the paths, plants, food, people, and ordinary moments that shaped that chapter of my life. Read the original diaries ↗
When did you first visit Crete?
I first traveled to Crete in 2015 to write a book. In Avdou, I fell in love, and what began as a visit became a life in the village. This collection preserves both the beautiful moments and the more difficult ones.
Why do you call Crete “the island of herbs”?
It is the affectionate phrase I use for Crete in this journal: a way of describing my relationship with its aromatic plants, seasonal food, and herbal traditions. My medicinal apothecary occupied a 200-year-old stone building in Avdou Village.
Are these your original words and photographs?
The Greek Diaries preserve my original writing. This collection brings together photographs from my personal archive and images of places I visited. Any newer scientific, traditional, or historical context appears separately below the diary. Read the editorial approach ↗