With a heavy heart and deep sighs all round we leave Greece. We had a fleeting thought of staying another week and making our way to Kastelorizo after all, but it is a pipe dream to keep us from reality just a little longer. In about an hour we will leave for the airport. Manny is trying to get Cassie to sleep upstairs in the hotel room while I type this downstairs. We've just returned from an hour in the big church square where Cassie chased pigeons so we could tire her out. Let's hope the plan works!
Yesterday we walked around Athens for hours and found our way to amazing ancient ruins of Agora. It is a massive area in the foothills of the Acropolis with so many statues and buildings dating back to the 4th centuray BC. It must also be the most peaceful place in Athens and we enjoyed some time there in the quiet taking in the majesty of our surroundings. We had our last few gyros (lamb and chicken in pita bread with tzatsiki, tomatoe and onions), and treated Cassie to an icecream cone (she loves the waffle cones but doesn't care much for the ice cream) before bed.
This morning was a final dash into the Plaka so Manny could buy the particular variety of worry beads he likes. Athens is still heaving despite it being October and the end of the tourism season. I think it's now many Greeks who come to the capital after their own busy season has finished. The number of people eating out at the plaka last night was amazing - thousands, enjoying the final warm evenings before the weather really changes.
We are looking forward to being home and to seeing everyone, especially Sarah tomorrow night, who will share in our stories and gifts before anyone else. We spoke to her just now, as well as Meghan who is in Pisa and will travel to Venice tomorrow. She too has been regaling us with stories of the food she has eaten, so it seems a strict diet all round when life gets back to normal in Perth.
This is the final post so thank you to everyone has followed our trip and left comments which have entertained us and reminded us of home.
We look forward to seeing you in the coming days and weeks
Manny, Sue and Cassie
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
More pics
These images include one of St George Monastry on the way to Kritsa, one of Maria, Sue, Cassie and Mareka before lunch at Mareka's house, one of Mareka, Maria and Yanni, one of the street on Kroustas where we bought freshly shelled almonds from the women on the street (that's Yianna doing a deal), a view of Kritsa from the winding mountain road to Kroustas, and two more of Cassie and the narrow roads of Kritsa (similar to the ones on Koutouloufari - I have no idea how Sue drove the car!).
More images of Kritsa and the friendly people we met
I am in Athens and they have free wi-fi internet around the main square of the city. So as long as the computer battery lasts I can up load some photos.
By the way did I tell you i hate Greek taxi drivers!!!
The photos include Cassie and the typical blue Greek village door, a view of Kritsa to the ocean, inside the church we attended on Sunday, a linen selling woman who turned out to be a distant cousin by marriage, and the friendly old Yia Yia who's daughter owned the pensione we stayed in and who took a liking to Cassie (Cassie was undecided...)
Farewell to Crete, Yasoo Athens
We have returned to the craziness of Athens and find ourselves immediately pining for the relaxed way of life in Crete. Our farewell dinner at Yanni and Maria's was fantastic. I think Maria must have cooked all day although she insists she didn't. We had lamb slow baked in a huge earthenware pot, the most delicious potatoes I have ever tasted brought from Aris' (son in law) father's village and cooked in herbs (alas, despite several hints from me the recipe was not forthcoming...we probably have to move to Koutouloufari before any family recipes are passed on), pasticio (like mousaka but with macaroni pasta), Greek salad, cheese, and stuffed tomatoes with rice. Desert was a cream and custard pie made by Maria. The conversation and wine flowed easily and we loved being part of the family in their own home. Maria's cousin, husband and daughter Cleopatra joined us as well and Manny tried in vain to arrange her marriage to one of our single Greek friends in Perth! Yanni's house is beautiful with stunning views over Hersonisis and the ocean. It is built on the hillside and enjoys cooling sea breezes. Yanni and Maria live in a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom house downstairs, while upstairs their daughter Sofia, her husband Aris and daughter Maria live in an identical building, as is the Greek way! Makes for easy babysitting and close family ties.
Cassie and I left around 9pm so Cassie could get to bed ahead of our flight to Athens, while Manny stayed another hour or so and enjoyed some more raki and wine from Chania. He was quite sad on his return - we both felt so welcomed and part of the family so it was an emotional farewell. We really do hope the children come to visit us one day.
And so to Athens. The flight from Crete was fine, although it was a small plane and Cassie wasn't fond of the take off. She adjusted quickly to the noise and was fine on landing. We found our luggage and a taxi and were feeling rather pleased with ourselves for the lack of drama on the journey, when things took a strange turn, well actually the taxi took a strange turn. We were stuck in traffic for about 15 minutes when the driver announced that there was a demonstration in Syntagma square (central Athens) and the road had been closed. He told us that no cars were able to drive to the road of our hotel and the best he could do was drop us a short walk away. He promised it was the only solution and that the walk was less than 300 metres. We believed him of course as we had no reason not to. So, we set off - Manny lugging a suitcase on wheels, as well as Cassie's 15kg bag over his shoulder, along with another 3 hand luggage pieces. I pushed Cassie in the pram with my suitcase on wheels pulled behind me, and our hand luggage strapped to the pram. What a sight we must have made - trapsing down the footpath, the suitcases unsteady and us both breaking into a hot and bothered sweat. I had previously noticed the lack of ramps on road crossings having dealt with the pram on our last visit, but the constant small and not so small steps, pot holes and uneven surfaces really came into their own on this journey. We made it across Syntagma Square only to find cars driving on the other side with no problem. It seemed our taxi driver had merely become bored of waiting in the traffic and decided to kick us out! We asked about the location of our hotel at the first hotel we came to, but they shrugged their shoulders in ignorance. When Manny asked the door man at the next 5 star hotel and he also dismissed us, my temper flared. I spat every word of Greek I could come up with at him, telling his his taxi drivers were the worst in the world and we had been left stranded with 60kg of luggage and a baby and no one to help us. He quickly ran off and found someone who suddenly did know where our hotel was and who offered to store our luggage to make our journey easier. I declined his offer and thanked him for his assistance (albeit delayed). We walked another 2 or 3 blocks, asking for more directions, struggling with wheels up footpaths and steps, crazy scooter drivers and unforgiving pedestrains who push their way through regardless, until we found our hotel - probably about a kilometre from where the taxi left us. Red-faced and panting we checked in. Thank goodness everyone at the hotel was incredibly helpful, taking our bags, giving us a free drink at the bar and doing their best to help us recover from our ordeal.
So, welcome back to Athens! Afterwards, lying in the cool of the hotel room, I laughed hard at our experience, but Manny is yet to see the funny side (give him a few more days I think). We had dinner in the plaka last night and this morning picked up a few more souveniers. We also found our way in to the seedier part of town to the fresh fruit markets and stalls selling dried beans, herbs and all manner of produce. We found what must be the biggest church in Athens and marvelled at the fresco paintings and massive icons. We have also found an icon shop and hope to order some when we get home including one of Saint Susannah which can't be found in Australia. Tonight will no doubt be another plaka dinner before heading to the airport tomorrow.
It has been a wonderful experience and the time spent in Crete with family made the travelling worthwhile. I'm pleased we decided to give up the trip to Kastelorizo, and we know now how we'll plan things next time. Manny will no doubt upload some final photos before we leave. We are looking forward to coming home - we'll be there around 3.30pm on Sunday.
love
Sue, Manny and Cassie
Cassie and I left around 9pm so Cassie could get to bed ahead of our flight to Athens, while Manny stayed another hour or so and enjoyed some more raki and wine from Chania. He was quite sad on his return - we both felt so welcomed and part of the family so it was an emotional farewell. We really do hope the children come to visit us one day.
And so to Athens. The flight from Crete was fine, although it was a small plane and Cassie wasn't fond of the take off. She adjusted quickly to the noise and was fine on landing. We found our luggage and a taxi and were feeling rather pleased with ourselves for the lack of drama on the journey, when things took a strange turn, well actually the taxi took a strange turn. We were stuck in traffic for about 15 minutes when the driver announced that there was a demonstration in Syntagma square (central Athens) and the road had been closed. He told us that no cars were able to drive to the road of our hotel and the best he could do was drop us a short walk away. He promised it was the only solution and that the walk was less than 300 metres. We believed him of course as we had no reason not to. So, we set off - Manny lugging a suitcase on wheels, as well as Cassie's 15kg bag over his shoulder, along with another 3 hand luggage pieces. I pushed Cassie in the pram with my suitcase on wheels pulled behind me, and our hand luggage strapped to the pram. What a sight we must have made - trapsing down the footpath, the suitcases unsteady and us both breaking into a hot and bothered sweat. I had previously noticed the lack of ramps on road crossings having dealt with the pram on our last visit, but the constant small and not so small steps, pot holes and uneven surfaces really came into their own on this journey. We made it across Syntagma Square only to find cars driving on the other side with no problem. It seemed our taxi driver had merely become bored of waiting in the traffic and decided to kick us out! We asked about the location of our hotel at the first hotel we came to, but they shrugged their shoulders in ignorance. When Manny asked the door man at the next 5 star hotel and he also dismissed us, my temper flared. I spat every word of Greek I could come up with at him, telling his his taxi drivers were the worst in the world and we had been left stranded with 60kg of luggage and a baby and no one to help us. He quickly ran off and found someone who suddenly did know where our hotel was and who offered to store our luggage to make our journey easier. I declined his offer and thanked him for his assistance (albeit delayed). We walked another 2 or 3 blocks, asking for more directions, struggling with wheels up footpaths and steps, crazy scooter drivers and unforgiving pedestrains who push their way through regardless, until we found our hotel - probably about a kilometre from where the taxi left us. Red-faced and panting we checked in. Thank goodness everyone at the hotel was incredibly helpful, taking our bags, giving us a free drink at the bar and doing their best to help us recover from our ordeal.
So, welcome back to Athens! Afterwards, lying in the cool of the hotel room, I laughed hard at our experience, but Manny is yet to see the funny side (give him a few more days I think). We had dinner in the plaka last night and this morning picked up a few more souveniers. We also found our way in to the seedier part of town to the fresh fruit markets and stalls selling dried beans, herbs and all manner of produce. We found what must be the biggest church in Athens and marvelled at the fresco paintings and massive icons. We have also found an icon shop and hope to order some when we get home including one of Saint Susannah which can't be found in Australia. Tonight will no doubt be another plaka dinner before heading to the airport tomorrow.
It has been a wonderful experience and the time spent in Crete with family made the travelling worthwhile. I'm pleased we decided to give up the trip to Kastelorizo, and we know now how we'll plan things next time. Manny will no doubt upload some final photos before we leave. We are looking forward to coming home - we'll be there around 3.30pm on Sunday.
love
Sue, Manny and Cassie
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
the long lost cousin
Yasoo
Happy birthday to Meghan! We spoke to her today in Italy - now a 15 year old! She is having a fantastic time despite having a cold. We sang happy birthday to her most of the way home in the car today in her honour (and to keep Cassie entertained...) We miss Meg and Sarah heaps. Sarah is in Sydney and has been experiencing jewish traditions with some friends there - we look forward to hearing all about it!
We are back from Kritsa and enjoying our last few days in Crete. We are leaving Crete on Thursday to spend 2 nights in Athens and break up the journey to Australia. It feels like the end of the holiday and the end of summer (deep sigh...) as the days start to cool and the sun is weakening. The village is slowly emptying and our hotel will close in 2 weeks. At least there are some bargains in the shops! I hope everyone is in need of some hand woven linen because we have a suitcase full.....
Our weekend in Kritsa was a definite highlight. It was so nice to be in the mountains where time seems slow and everyone has a smile and a 'kali mera' (good morning) for you - some even say it first! The lunch in the village of Kroustas with Yanni, Maria and Yanni's cousin Mareka was superb. The goat was truly amazing - Manny's right, it did taste of all kinds of herbs but perhaps that's because goats here are fattened on wild herbs in the mountains. We started the meal with goats cheese, bread and dolmades (some wild vegetable stuffed with rice abnd herbs) and then mountainous plates of pasta and goat. It was more than filling, all washed down with local red wine. The villagers were pleased to see us - the old women on the streets gave Cassie freshly cracked almonds, and one lady even ran inside and returned with a bag of spanikoptia (spinach pie), cheese, bread and cashew nuts for her when she understood that we were Papadoulis from Australia. Cassie thought it was great - and ate had more than her share of nuts and other goodies. She enjoyed a three hour sleep afterwards, and somehow we managed to eat a little more at dinner.
We left Kritsa a little slowly, wishing we could stay longer (although Manny was relieved that we were away from the linen shops!) and were already making plans to return in a few years. We hadn't met any Papadoulis' although we knew they lived in the town. Not to worry, we would track them down another time. Manny bought a wooden chess set from a shop selling goods made from olive wood. When we returned to Koutoulafari I opened the bag and saw the business card in the bottom - and the name on it was Dimitri Papadoulis! Manny had been into that shop several times and had left it to the last minute to buy the chess set - from the only English woman in town who had a job there. She was probably the only person we hadn't told our name, and now we'ded discover the shop owner is a Papadoulis. The woman had told us it was her day off the following day, so perhaps Dimitri would be working in her place? We decided to return one last time this morning in the hope of to meet Dimitri.
We left early, stopping on the way at the 500 year old monastry of Saint George which sits on the mountain side with spectacular views to the ocean. We arrived in Kritsa around 10am, only to find the wood shop closed! We went for a coffee (and bought another table cloth!) and then found the shop had opened soon after. Dimitri is related - he is tall and said all the Papadoulis' were tall people (perhaps this is where Manny, Meg and Sarah get their height from?) and with blue eyes (now this must be where Bapou gets his pale blue eyes from!). He is 39 and has one brother, but other siblings died as children. His father is still alive and he is going to ask about the family so we can complete more of the family tree. He was genuinely pleased to meet us and wished we had found him earlier so he could spend more time. We have exchanged email addresses so hopefully this is the start of ongoing contact. It was so nice to have found some family - and wonderful to see Manny so excited about tracking down a long lost cousin!
So now we are winding down towards home. We have taken back the car hire so are walking everywhere, which is fine as everything in the village is nearby. Tomorrow night we are going to Yanni and Maria's place for a farewell dinner. They have been more than generous and we look forward to welcoming their children to Australia sometime in the future. Maria won't fly so Yanni and Maria won't make it to Australia, but their children are talking seriously about making the trip, which would be fantastic. We have some serious hospitality to provide!
It is such a shame to leave when we are feeling so at home. Cassie is into a wonderful Hellenic routine of sleeping until late in the afternoon (in fact we all are!), allowing us time in the evening to enjoy dinner out. She is often into bed around 9pm, so it may take some re-training when we return to get her back into the Perth way of things.
Thanks for all the comments - keep them coming!
Sue, Manny and Cassie
Happy birthday to Meghan! We spoke to her today in Italy - now a 15 year old! She is having a fantastic time despite having a cold. We sang happy birthday to her most of the way home in the car today in her honour (and to keep Cassie entertained...) We miss Meg and Sarah heaps. Sarah is in Sydney and has been experiencing jewish traditions with some friends there - we look forward to hearing all about it!
We are back from Kritsa and enjoying our last few days in Crete. We are leaving Crete on Thursday to spend 2 nights in Athens and break up the journey to Australia. It feels like the end of the holiday and the end of summer (deep sigh...) as the days start to cool and the sun is weakening. The village is slowly emptying and our hotel will close in 2 weeks. At least there are some bargains in the shops! I hope everyone is in need of some hand woven linen because we have a suitcase full.....
Our weekend in Kritsa was a definite highlight. It was so nice to be in the mountains where time seems slow and everyone has a smile and a 'kali mera' (good morning) for you - some even say it first! The lunch in the village of Kroustas with Yanni, Maria and Yanni's cousin Mareka was superb. The goat was truly amazing - Manny's right, it did taste of all kinds of herbs but perhaps that's because goats here are fattened on wild herbs in the mountains. We started the meal with goats cheese, bread and dolmades (some wild vegetable stuffed with rice abnd herbs) and then mountainous plates of pasta and goat. It was more than filling, all washed down with local red wine. The villagers were pleased to see us - the old women on the streets gave Cassie freshly cracked almonds, and one lady even ran inside and returned with a bag of spanikoptia (spinach pie), cheese, bread and cashew nuts for her when she understood that we were Papadoulis from Australia. Cassie thought it was great - and ate had more than her share of nuts and other goodies. She enjoyed a three hour sleep afterwards, and somehow we managed to eat a little more at dinner.
We left Kritsa a little slowly, wishing we could stay longer (although Manny was relieved that we were away from the linen shops!) and were already making plans to return in a few years. We hadn't met any Papadoulis' although we knew they lived in the town. Not to worry, we would track them down another time. Manny bought a wooden chess set from a shop selling goods made from olive wood. When we returned to Koutoulafari I opened the bag and saw the business card in the bottom - and the name on it was Dimitri Papadoulis! Manny had been into that shop several times and had left it to the last minute to buy the chess set - from the only English woman in town who had a job there. She was probably the only person we hadn't told our name, and now we'ded discover the shop owner is a Papadoulis. The woman had told us it was her day off the following day, so perhaps Dimitri would be working in her place? We decided to return one last time this morning in the hope of to meet Dimitri.
We left early, stopping on the way at the 500 year old monastry of Saint George which sits on the mountain side with spectacular views to the ocean. We arrived in Kritsa around 10am, only to find the wood shop closed! We went for a coffee (and bought another table cloth!) and then found the shop had opened soon after. Dimitri is related - he is tall and said all the Papadoulis' were tall people (perhaps this is where Manny, Meg and Sarah get their height from?) and with blue eyes (now this must be where Bapou gets his pale blue eyes from!). He is 39 and has one brother, but other siblings died as children. His father is still alive and he is going to ask about the family so we can complete more of the family tree. He was genuinely pleased to meet us and wished we had found him earlier so he could spend more time. We have exchanged email addresses so hopefully this is the start of ongoing contact. It was so nice to have found some family - and wonderful to see Manny so excited about tracking down a long lost cousin!
So now we are winding down towards home. We have taken back the car hire so are walking everywhere, which is fine as everything in the village is nearby. Tomorrow night we are going to Yanni and Maria's place for a farewell dinner. They have been more than generous and we look forward to welcoming their children to Australia sometime in the future. Maria won't fly so Yanni and Maria won't make it to Australia, but their children are talking seriously about making the trip, which would be fantastic. We have some serious hospitality to provide!
It is such a shame to leave when we are feeling so at home. Cassie is into a wonderful Hellenic routine of sleeping until late in the afternoon (in fact we all are!), allowing us time in the evening to enjoy dinner out. She is often into bed around 9pm, so it may take some re-training when we return to get her back into the Perth way of things.
Thanks for all the comments - keep them coming!
Sue, Manny and Cassie
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