There's definitely something magical about fireplace's, sitting in front of them gazing into the hypnotic flames while your body slowly is heating up. It's relaxing and revitalizing and at the same time very mind opening. In the calm warmth you start to think and reflect of your current life and of things you haven't though of in a long time. In company of some good friends, with some calm and fitting music in the background and with a glass in your hand filled with the most delicate red wine the moment becomes one of the best I know in life. This week, in front of the fireplace in the absolutely beautiful house we stayed in, we had some of these moments. Sure, the weekend included really good food, books and movies at the house. But Elk (which is located at the coast along Highway 1 approximately 2,5 hours north of San Francisco) was to beautiful to not explore. It had fantastic views (the nature is a mix of Big Sur's dramatic cliffs, Danish sand dunes and Canadian forests) a super cosy village center, gorgeous pear cake and some steep and tough mountain climbing. With the amazing view from the house, every morning felt like waking up in the world of "Pirates of the Caribbean". If I would retire, settle down and write the book about my life, Elk would probably be the perfect spot.