What is it about blue skies and blue waters that make us feel so soothed? Both are merely reflections – if we scoop it up in our hands, it’s clear. Skies and waters can be moody, just like us, and they influence each other. Just like us.

Last month I got to visit southern France, and faced a field of lavender for the first time. It also gave me that “good blue” feeling. I brought home the freshest sachets of lavender from Arles – the place where Van Gogh lived and painted some of his most famous works – and a whiff can transport me there in an instant.

Last weekend we celebrated my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary at the spot where they went on their honeymoon back in 1965: the Fontainebleau Miami. 💙

“Ol’ Blue Eyes” adorned the walls – Frank Sinatra was a fixture at the Fontainebleau, especially in the colder months, where he and other members of the Rat Pack performed countless shows. Talk about a cure for the winter blues!

In 1959, Sinatra hosted a televised comeback show for Elvis after his military service. This too happened at the Fontainebleau. My mom said, “Two of my favorite idols, together!”

My parents, Kathy and John, happen to be two of my favorite people. We feel so lucky that the whole family could join in the fun at such a dazzling place. The staff treated my parents like royalty, and they deserved every minute of their 60th anniversary celebration. They said they are going back for their 70th! 🥳

💙 💙 💙 💙 💙 💙 💙 💙

Make some fun-in-the-sun memories with me at the Renew-Relax-Retreat. We have a great group going so far, and there are still a few spots open for October 11-18. Contact me for details. Deadline to sign up for October is 8/31.

Travel to faraway lands is inherently mysterious. I just arrived from a 10-day European adventure, not with my usual travel partner (husband Mark), but with a few friends – old and new – as we became a merry band of innocents.

Mystery with the language, the weather, the lay of the land – each day we faced something new and exciting. Some of us had been to some of these places before, and thus we shared what we knew and what we didn’t know along the way. We enriched each other’s experiences.

My friend and colleague, Dawn Summers, recently sent excerpts from Mark Twain’s 1869 travel book, The Innocents Abroad. The words rang true for me:

“Just in this one matter lies the main character of life in Europe – of comfort.  In America, we hurry – which is well; but when the day’s work is done, we go on thinking of losses and gains, we plan for the morrow, we even carry our business cares to bed with us, and toss and worry over them when we ought to be restoring our racked bodies and brains with sleep….

”I do envy these Europeans the comfort they take. When the work of the day is done, they forget it. …They are appreciative of life and its manifold blessings. …We bestow thoughtful care upon inanimate objects, but none of it upon ourselves. What a robust people, what a nation of thinkers we might be, if we would only lay ourselves on the self occasionally…!

“…The change that has come over our little [travel] party is surprising. Day by day we lose some of our restlessness and absorb some of the spirit of quietude and demeanor of the people. We grow wise apace. We begin to comprehend what life is for.”

I enjoy big-city energy, but I am drawn to quieter places, where I can feel my body and mind unfold within more subtle rhythms of living. 

As Dawn will be joining us for the October retreat, I look forward to learning from her experience as I offer up what I know about this little corner of Portugal. Perhaps it is calling to you too. 👀

October is the perfect time for an escape. We have such an amazing trip planned. I can’t wait to share this beautiful place with you.

Meet me in Portugal! 🤗

Fall 2025 retreat: October 11-18

Early Bird Special: Save $200 when you place your deposit by June 30.

Email me for details and pricing.

Photo by Monika Zdziebkowska – a city center view in Tavira, Portugal, our home base for the retreat.

Read all about it, check out videos and more on the retreat page.

I was talking with my yoga students about the movie, Flow, which is up for an Oscar in the best animated feature category. It’s a beautiful rendering of animals who retain their true animal nature (instead of being anthropomorphized) as they navigate an uncertain future. Earth and water play a significant role here, forging community between unlikely comrades. The message: things can change in an instant; we must learn to help each other in order to survive.

In our class today, we worked on creating flow – moving energy, lymph and blood, lubricating the joints and muscles, bringing balance to all of our bodily systems. I know I feel better when I work with people towards a common goal.

I am here on this planet to be of service to others, using my own unique palette to bring out colors for all to see. This is true of each and every one of us. We hold each other up. ❣️

Last week in meditation class, we talked about fear. We sang and danced to U2’s “Stuck in a Moment.” I shared the lyrics and many people resonated with this: 

Fear is a disturbance of root/earth chakra. We want protection, stability, security – but if we stay stuck (heard of “anal retentive”?), then we are afraid to move. Gather in those pelvic floor muscles – strength at the root keeps us from having a “leaky vessel” – and learn to harness (not hamper) your energy. ❣️♦️🏮

Morris and I are celebrating our escape from NY winter (Mark too, of course) when we head to Portugal later this week. Stay tuned! 🐾

Join me for a yoga/meditation class online, or meet me in Portugal! 🤗

Dates for 2025 retreats: 

May 24-31 and October 11-18

Early bird window for May retreat closes soon – sign up by the end of February to save $200! Email me for details and pricing.

It’s the shortest day of the year, and I’m sharing big-time news. 🤠

The Grand Canyon meditation video is out, and free for all to see! As I mentioned before, the live footage of the canyon is absolutely gorgeous. Seeing the final cut of the video moved me to tears. 

Click on link or any image and it will take you there. This is a companion piece to the Yellowstone meditation video – two ways to bring peace into your holiday season. 🥰

Favorite Views and New Adventures 🤩

August has been an exciting month already. I returned to DC to film a meditation video for the 1874 Grand Canyon painting by Thomas Moran, his companion piece to the Yellowstone painting that I explored a couple of years ago for the U.S. Department of the Interior Museum.

A few days later, Mark and I celebrated our 30th anniversary.  Where has all the time gone?

We head back to Portugal soon, with a pit stop in Dublin, Ireland for the FSU game that happens to be on my birthday. 🥳 It’s our first time to the “Emerald Isle” and we are feeling lucky! Mark and I met at Florida State 36 years ago, as freshmen, and started dating our junior year in 1990.

Come help us celebrate 2024 in our beloved town of Tavira! Just a few weeks left to sign up for the October 12 trip to southern Portugal. Retreat details here.

My uncle, Jim Buie, just wrote an article about Frances Mayes, the author of Under the Tuscan Sun. I read this book over a decade ago and it was one of my favorites. The subsequent movie was fun, but I found the book to be richly satisfying – you really felt like you were experiencing Tuscany with her. 

Mayes’ sense of being at home in the world is the same thing that keeps bringing me back to Portugal. I like the “me” that I am there, and I bring that “me” back to my life in the US. I never thought I’d be living in two different places at once, but for now this is working, and it’s helping me to thrive. 

My uncle’s article points out that the best kind of travel is not just about sightseeing. He quotes Mayes: “It’s because you want to grow. You want something to happen to you, you want to be changed. You want to be changed into something you are.” I found another illuminating quote from one of Mayes’ later works, A Year in the World: 

Travel pushes my boundaries….The own-little-self is unlocked from the present and released to move through layers of time.

After fifteen trips to the southern coast of Portugal over the past six years, I’m still in love with the idea of sharing this beautiful place with the world. Of course, I will always be somewhat on the outside looking in  – much like Wes Anderson says he is a tourist in Paris, even though he has lived there for almost twenty years.

An outsider perspective has its perks. At the very least, it’s breaking up my patterns, my routines. At best, it’s forging a sense of community with people of a different culture – connecting on a very personal level, instead of through social media or the constant news cycle. I bring this inspiration back to New York and hold onto the feeling as long as I can. 💙

My goal is to give a glimpse of this through my retreats. The best possible experience of relaxed travel in a limited amount of time. Maybe I’ll write a book on my Portugal adventures someday. For now, I have written a mini book on the day-to-day activities of the retreat.

Email me and I will send it to you! 😊

Our fall retreat is October 12 – 19, 2024.

Remember, this is not a yoga retreat. Morning sessions are optional; you could choose to sleep in. We do have a color theme for each day – these meditations are simply bringing our focus to the beauty all around us. And it adds to the fun! 💛

Where has all the time gone? This year marks the 15th anniversary of Peace or Drama, my first solo album.

_{Dear Eve of 15 years ago, what is this fascination with sofas and rocks? That dress from the cover shot – vintage 60’s midnight blue wool and sequins – had me channeling Ginger from Gilligan’s Island.}

Photography, like music, has the magic to bring you back to a certain time and place. Thanks to computer updates over the years, I thought these photos were lost. I found the orginal CD-R but had no way to play it. Mark fished out an old laptop that still had a CD drive, and voilá! It all came back.

Let me set the stage: It was a chilly day in Nashville and I arrived at Merridian furniture store in the early hours before they opened shop. 

We lingered in a living room window display. By luck, the artsy backdrop graced me with a fabulous flower halo. The beauty of my surroundings made me feel glamorous, even though my self-applied makeup was a rush job and my first (and only) attempt at false eyelashes was an epic fail. 😫

One lash set, half-unglued, waved like a spindly spider above my eye. No matter, that ridiculousness dispelled my nervous energy. It helped that the photographer was my cousin; Josh has a great eye and never fails to make me laugh. 

After a few different takes, we headed to the botanical gardens at Cheekwood and then ended up at the warehouse ruins around Nashville Jazz Workshop. All of these places were special to me.

Who do I think I am?

I am a writer, a musician, a teacher, a guide. I am also simply me, without any labels, just as you are you.

I am a fan of looking back, looking forward, as well as seeing what’s right in front of me. A reflection of self is not vain, it’s a form of connection. Look at Frida Kahlo’s adornment and haunting self-portraiture, as well as her role as a muse for many photographers.

Lucky 13

It took me a long time to own my creative expression, to fully accept Diva Eve. I considered myself lucky with those 13 original songs. A year later I was touring with 13 original paintings, each made by a different artist, inspired by my songs. I did it my way, but I certainly wasn’t alone.

It helps to have creative friends – after all, it’s just “play.” I am forever grateful for the many people who teamed up to put my music out there in the world; my dream come true. I can see it in my face, that creative force we all share. I’ll celebrate this previous me, who is still me with added layers. I’ll be inspired by the milestone and continue to carve out time for play. Thank you, Diva Eve of 2009! 😘

Excerpt from Peace or Drama:

Our path is not a straight one, you will see
It circles round like years on a tree
And if you get the chance to cut into me
Look for the rings of you

Here’s a cut of my own favorite pics from the photo shoot, most of which have never seen the light of day. I’m drawn to the quiet wistful stares (like a secret) or the laughing/silly smiles that remind me of my true self. Almost lost, but not forgotten, I am ready to let them shine.

Fill my heart with song, and let me sing forevermore….

I haven’t forgotten the powerful connection of song. In my back-and-forth between New York and Portugal, sometimes it seems there isn’t enough time for making music. In Portugal, I am lulled by the relaxed pace – I make friends easily, I am buoyed by community. In New York, sometimes it’s harder to make those connections. People are busy, rushing around from place to place and not looking each other in the eye. But NYC also has a strong community. It just moves to a different beat.

I am a lover of history. I go to the freshly renovated Tiffany & Co. flagship store and see the Givenchy dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I see the elegant designs of Elsa Peretti.

This is a city of wealth for sure, but it also embodies the can-do American spirit and coalescence of cultures worldwide. Both tourists and residents find moments of respite and serenity here too. 

My friend Joe and I busked in Central Park the other day. A Japanese man took interest in Joe’s foldable keyboard, and then he offered to take a video of us. An older Russian woman (who now lives here) stopped for several songs, and we became friends on Instagram. A three-year-old boy danced and clapped in front of us for a while. Many people hung out on the benches nearby.

Music is a universal language. I remember when I sang at the Cairo Jazz Club years ago, the young Egyptian guitarist said, “Everybody knows ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ and Frank Sinatra.” ❤️

But it’s not just the familiar tunes that draw people in. On our day in the park, Joe and I performed many originals. Here’s an excerpt of “Do You Remember,” a nostalgic piece I wrote for my oldest friend Alix, whom I’ve known since age 9.

Joe is also an old friend – we met at Berklee College of Music twenty years ago and I asked him to play on my first album. We recorded “Do You Remember” on a beautiful fall day in Nashville, Tennessee in 2008. As I listened to Joe put down the piano track, I watched the lovely golden and rust leaves falling from trees outside the window. 🍁 So many layers of memories!

Hear the original recording of this beautiful song, Do You Remember

So happy to see my article published in this month’s issue of Sutton Place Social Magazine. Grateful for my community and my neighborhood. 😊

How did I get here? A memory of my first inklings that led me to the Algarve.

Wanderlust, it’s there or bust
I can’t stay still it seems
But when I dream
I’m with you

Lyrics from my song Carolina Girl

I was born in North Carolina, raised in Florida, and have lived all over the US since marrying my college sweetheart, Mark Fleishman. We both had wanderlust from the get-go.

Back in 2018 we were hanging out at Fat Angel, our favorite neighborhood haunt in San Francisco. Dismayed by the high housing costs in SF, Mark said, “We should buy a place overseas.” I whipped out my phone and Googled best places to buy and this is what came up:

Sold! 🤩 I booked a last-minute solo scouting trip and headed to Portugal for the very first time. Spent a few days looking in Lisbon, then rented a car and drove south. On my last night, I landed in a small town called Tavira and I just knew this was the place.

Later I returned with Mark, and by lucky stars we were on the show House Hunters International. Here we are back at the same restaurant during the film shoot – our neighborhood favorite, Nó de Gosto.

All this time, I was performing shows and teaching classes back in SF, sharing about my PT adventures. People kept asking, “When are you taking us to Portugal?”

And that, my friends, is how the seed was planted for a retreat in the Algarve. 

I truly love sharing this place and its magical vibes. I want YOU to experience it too – wanderlust is contagious!

Learn more about the Portugal retreat at www.EveFleishman.com/retreat 🦩🌍🐙