SHE THOUGHT ABOUT THE LAYOUT of her kitchen carefully. She and her husband found the tiles while traveling through Portugal. A small table was placed next to the window, so she could have her morning coffee while looking at her plants. The fig tree lost almost all its leaves, but the lemon tree was green also in winter. Everything she cooked there tasted delicious even before trying it. It was the combination of that view, the home grown ingredients, the neighbour’s wine, the really nice cutlery and always the best group of people.

Sometimes we would sit in that kitchen for hours and contemplate the decisions of living in a big city versus living there. We always came to the conclusion that the balance between the two would be perfect.