Nea Makri-Rafina

After our tour of the Big Ditch we decided to take a day off and so we just went down to the water to explore our little beach town of Nea Makri. This town is a nice summer beach resort area. There are lots of hotels, condos, and restaurants all along the beach. In the water were many fishing boats with crew working on their nets. The water is pretty blue and even now in the spring there were plenty of people strolling along the beach walk.

We picked out a little beachside cafe and stopped for lunch. Souvlaki (meat on skewers), burgers, tomatoes "cut like a rose" (the order-takers description) and fries came and we enjoyed our reasonably priced lunch.

We continued south to explore the town of Rafini and then headed home.

More pictues

The Big Ditch

March 5th was a pretty day and we decided to take a drive to the Peloponnese to check out the canal. We drove through Athens and along the Attiki coastline until we crossed the bridge at Korinthos. Then Don parked the car and we got out to walk along the bridge, back over the canal.

The canal at Corninth is pretty impressive. It is fairly narrow, about 24 meters (about 75 feet) wide, and has quite steep sides. The water is very blue and the slice through the isthmus is quite dramatic. It was interesting to walk out over the bridge and to look down that deep cavern into the azure water.
A little history of the canal:

A cut across the isthmus was considered as early as 600 bc by Periander, Tyrant of Corinth and one of the Seven Sages of Antiquity. He decided not to attempt it because the Delphic Oracle told him not to. Three hundred years later Demetrios Poliorketes thought he would give it a try, but the Egyptians talked him out of it. Nero wanted to cut across the isthmus and actually had slaves starting to dig, but then, of course, he was arrested for treason and put to death, so the project was abandoned. Other rulers considered the canal over the centuries, but nothing was don until the 1890s. With the success of the Suez Canal engineers were hired and the big trench was cut and the canal was completed in 1893.After our visit to the canal we continued into the Peloponnese to the ancient city of Corinth. Here the ruins are in quite good repair, with a long solid looking wall skirting the mountaintop. After a few wrong turns and getting stuck on the toll road with no exits for several miles, we finally found the route and drove up to the base of the clifftop settlement.
Archeological evidence shows that Ancient Corinth was occupied as early as 5000 bc. There are two springs on the mountain, and excellent visibility of both land and sea approaches, so it is a perfect place for a high fortress city. The city had three walls, one within the other, for protection. Today there are remains of a church from the 1800s, temples from ancient times, and several outlines of dwellings and defensive structures are on site. Don and I hiked up to the top and enjoyed a 360 degree view of the countryside. Cheryl decided not to do the steep climb and explored the church instead. 3pm it was time to head back down the hill and home through the Easter weekend traffic.

More pictures of Corinth

Easter with the Kazakos Family

Easter is one of the most important family holidays here in Greece. Easter preparations begin on Holy Thursday when the traditional Easter bread, tsoureki, is baked, and eggs are dyed red (red is the color of life as well as a representation of the blood of Christ). Special dishes are prepared, a whole lamb, eyeballs, tiny little ears, and all is readied, and bags and bags of charcoal are lugged into the yard near the barbeque. Friday there is no work at all, so Thursday the special Easter soup is prepared for Friday's meal.

Saturday afternoon our exchange host, George, was out in the back yard with a few other guys, studying the barbeque. They busily adjusted, measured, turned, and tinkered with the barbeque spit for a couple of hours. First they would work a , then stand back as guys do, discussing, then a bit more fiddling, then more, a swig of beer, more fiddling, more discussion. This went on all afternoon until mama called them in for dinner.
Later that night the tradition is to go to mass and then afterwards there are fireworks. This is to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. I was sound asleep at 1am when I was awakened by loud booms and Cracks. In my sleep I thought it was gunfire, but then I remembered about the fireworks, so I got up and stood on the deck. I could see colorful fireworks off in the distance, and smoke over in in the direction of Athens, and someone in our neighborhood was setting off those loud crackers that have a bright flash. The fireworks continued sporadically all night.

Easter Sunday arrived sunny and blue. Our host had invited us to join the family for their traditional Easter feast Early in the day work began on the barbeque. The fire was started, with the help of several guys, and after much testing of the coals, the first spit of meat went up. This was the delicacy, Coratella, which is the lamb innards and organs, wrapped up in the intestines.

People started arriving in the morning and by the time we went down around noon we had a big family. George's wife, Athina was still working in the kitchen. There was the beautiful daughter, Mara, and her handsome (think George Clooney) husband, Nico, and two little boys, Pandelles and little George. The Kazakos son, Costas, and his pretty wife, Katerina, pregnant with a son, were there too. Katerina's parents, the father , Mikas, with a snowy white cap of hair and lots of personality and a more taciturn mother, Johanna, were at the table. Neighbors came by with bottles of wine and other gifts, to check out the lamb turning on the spit and wish their friends a happy Easter.The table was decorated with bowls of red eggs and flowers. Bottles of wine were opened and everyone was in high spirits by the time the first sample of Coratella was presented. I got the first serving, and gamely took my first bite of lamb innards. It was spiced just right.

Pretty soon dishes began arriving. A platter of cucumbers, olives, feta cheese and tomatoes was placed on the table. Then a delicious yogurt dish with garlic, herbs and spices came out. Cheese pie, deep fried pastries, beet salad, and bread arrived.

The lamb was taken off the fire and George began carving chunks of meat off the bone. Don got a nice serving of crisp lamb skin, which George said was the best part, but then he also said the Coratella was the best part, so Don couldn't decide which to try first.

The son and son-in-law set up big speakers on the patio and traditional Greek music was booming around the yard. In fact, music was booming around the neighborhood from every back yard and the ozone level went up several points with all of the charcoal barbeques in action. Every single family in Greece has a lamb on the barby for Easter.

We each selected a red egg from the bowl and we played the traditional game, tsougrisma. Each of us tried to crack a friend's egg with our own and the person with the last egg intact was promised good luck for the rest of the year. My egg cracked right away, so I ate it. Ha! I will have good luck for the rest of the year anyway, and maybe next year too.

Next the dancing started. Mara and her little boy, then George, and then more left the table and joined in. Pretty soon they had Don up and dancing in the circle and then I joined in too. It was a fun time.

Around 5pm I thanked my hosts and excused myself. The booming music was hard on my ears and I needed some respite. Don and Cheryl stayed on and continued with the celebration. Eventually they came up too, but the party continued on well after dark.

We were so grateful to have this chance to participate in the Kazakos family celebration. It was a highlight of our visit to Greece.

Parthenon and Acropolis

April 4th already!
Despite the recommendation of our host, we decided to drive into Athens to visit the famous Acropolis. Trexie navigated us through the city and to a parking garage near the site. But, Don, the parking god, decided to drive around the neighborhoods for a bit, and in true godly form he found us a free parking space right at the entrance to the site.
We walked along the way to the ticket booth, raving about Don's ability to find the primo parking spot. He does this often, on Christmas Eve at the shopping mall, in town going to the theater, at the Legion of Honor for the Van Gough exhibit. He never ceases to amaze me by consistently finding the best parking in crowded situations. Plus, this saved us $25.

Next we approached the ticket booth to buy our expensive, 12 euro, tickets to the site. Special deal for Easter, it's free! Another $50 saved.

The Acropolis and Parthenon are really exceptional. Set high above the huge city of Athens on a high plateau, the majestic Parthenon is huge, and at one time boasted an enormous statue of Athena, 40 feet tall, covered with ivory for her skin and 1/2" thick sheets of gold forming her gown. I would have loved to see this, but it was removed to Constantinople by the Ottomans when they conquered Athens in 426 ad and it disappeared and has never been found.
As we ascended the hill we mounted the marble staircase and passed through the majestic Propylaea, imagining how it must have felt for visitors coming to pay homage to the great goddess. At the top of the stairs we walked along the Panathenaic Way, breathless, not only from the climb but from the stunning beauty of the Parthenon.

The Parthenon has been in a state of renovation for decades now, so of course there was scaffolding and a crane to detract, but it is still amazing. The renovations are interesting because great care is being taken to patch in marble replacement pieces milled to match exactly the damaged and missing parts. The same marble that was used in the original construction is being used for the repair project, and eventually it will weather and age and be the same color as the original stone.

The views of Athens City from the Acropolis are breathtaking. The rocky outcropping rises above the city and the white buildings of modern Athens spread out on all sides of the monument. As we approached the top I sat on a bench and enjoyed the blue sky, sunshine and gorgeous views all around--the Parthenon, shining white in the sun, the city, shining white in the sun, the sea and sky. Even the people-watching was good.
The engineering techniques used in the design of the Parthenon are very interesting. The columns were designed specifically to reduce the illusion of a sagging roofline created by a long flat line. The base of the Parthenon actually arches up in the middle to reduce the sagging effect, and the columns are constructed with a bulge in the middle and tilt slightly inward. The first look at the Parthenon as you mount the marble staircase of the Propylaea is majestic, breathtaking, stunning.

Eventually the photographers were ready and we proceeded around the side of the Parthenon, imagining how a visitor would be agape at the fabulous temple and awesome statue. We looked down at the theater of Dionysius, which would seat 14,000, and on the other side of the plateau we could look down on the ancient agora. We continued around the Parthenon, enjoying the views and the facades as we strolled. Then we studied the Erechthion with it's 6 statues of the Caryatids, 6 beautiful maidens.

Eventually we picked our way down the hillside again, down the majestic marble staircase, and out to the real world again. Now we were starving, so we opted for a fancy tourist restaurant with a great view of the Parthenon up on it's hilltop.

After lunch we headed home, tummies and minds full. It was a great day.

More pictures of the Parthenon

Rhodes to Athens, Meeting George

The next day we packed up and headed off to the airport to catch our flight to Athens. We got to the airport in good time and sat in the boarding area watching the planes take off and land. There was a cute little boy waiting with his mommy. He was about 3 and very gregarious. He was right up at the window and every time a plane would take off or land he would get so excited and he would wave his arms and turn around and tell us all about it. Of course, it was Greek to us, and we could only nod our heads and smile. He was very chatty and cute.

He got interested in my Monopoly game, so I turned on the sound and showed him how to roll the dice and he liked to hear the car, toaster, dog bark and cannon sounds. He ran over and showed it to mommy, who was exclaiming to take it back to me, but I just smiled at her and conveyed it was ok. Eventually he brought it back because it stopped making noises. I put it away and next time he returned I just told him it was gone.
Eventually we boarded the planed and took off for Athens. The flight was good and the landing was smooth. George was there to pick us up and took us, flying over the streets of Athens outskirts, to our new home in Attiki. George invited us to join his family for Easter Sunday barbeque, so we are looking forward to that.Our home is the top floor of the main house. We have two bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room. Also there is a nice deck that gets wonderful sun in the morning. George took Don off on a short orientation for the car and the area while Cheryl and I settled in for our stay. The first thing I did was a load of laundry.

After the guys got back the three of us went off to the grocery store. Cheryl and I shopped while Don went off to the Citibank for money and the gas station. Of course, here in Greece, we needed to take our bustas and I didn't have any, so we just loaded up the stuff in the shopping cart and stuck it in the trunk. We used our backpacks to haul the groceries up to our apartment when we got home.

More pictures

Drive Around the Island of Rhodes

After a restful night at the Hotel Lydia we enjoyed our sumptuous breakfast buffet and discussed our plans for the day. We decided to rent a car and drive around the island to explore. Our helpful hotel desk arranged a car and gave us a map with the areas of interest highlighted.
With the help of our trusty GPS, Trexie, Don navigated out of the city and we went south, along the east coast of the island. We stopped several times to take photos of the stunning coastal views and beautiful beaches. All along the route we saw many very large hotels that seem to be in some stage of construction Few were finished and none were open for business, but the locals seem optimistic about tourism opportunities. If they fill up all of these rooms during the high season, what a zoo Rhodes will be.
We stopped at the town of Lindos, a cute little seaside town of boxy white houses and narrow cobbled streets, nestled into a cozy cove of blue sea. We wandered through the streets, againn with the beautiful cobbled streets, past tourist shops selling dirndl skirts and embroidered blouses, cute pink dresses for little girls, shiny stones, evil eyes, postcards and other tourist trinkets. Along the way we stopped in a little church with beautiful, vibrant murals decorating the walls and ceilings. No photography allowed, so no pix, but very nice murals of the apostles and mother and child and scenes from the life of Jesus.

Up the hill is an ancient acropolis. There were donkeys for hire for people who preferred to ride up the hill. We walked the hill, selecting the longer route, which was not so steep. The acropolis is is good ruin shape, with a fab view, so we explored around a bit and then walked back down the hill again.On around the island we drove, cutting across the island at the south end, over the mountain range, through pine forests and pretty spring wildflowers, to the west side of the island. We continued along the route, enjoying the views. We passed the airport and continued on into the city of Rhodes again. Don, as he often does, got a parking spot right in front of the hotel.

More pictures of Lindos

Rhodes Rambles

We strolled along the streets of Rhodes, through the shops and out along the shoreline and soon we passed through the ancient walls into the Old Town. There have been settlements here for 6000 years. The old walls were built by the Knights Templar, who conquered Rhodes in 1307.

Throughout the Old Town are fenced off areas of excavation where we could view more rubble and trenches. There are good storyboards throughout the Old Town. We hiked up and down cobbled streets and deep into the narrow alleys old the medieval town. The cobbles on the narrow alleys are very small stones, usually white, and there are pretty designs made with black stones, set into the cobbles, usually at the entrance door to someone's house. These seem to take the place of house numbers and a welcome mat simultaneously.
Soon we ran across a restaurant that actually posted its menu. We decided to go in for our dinner, which was very good. They were glad to see us because we were the only customers. The Proprietor told us that he had to stay open by local rules, even though it is a slow season. Dinner was good and after wards we made our way back through the alleys, out the old city gates and re-entered the new town.

Rhodes is a lively town full of young people. Don especially appreciates the verrrrrrrry short skirts and painted-on jeans that seem to be in fashion here. I don't find the styles in the shops as cute as the ones we saw in Istanbul shops, but the styles are definitely not for old ladies.

As we approached our hotel area we checked out the various stores, clothing, electronics, cell phones, etc. All mod cons in this town.

More pictures of Old Town
sorry no verrrrry short skirts
you'll just have to use your imagination!