Lovely photos, the black-eyed peas look delicious, been a long time since I’ve seen an ashtray on a table in a dining room. No cats??
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The black eyed peas and the chickpeas were both side dishes and they were two of the best dishes I have had in Greece. Just delicious!
Ashtrays are everywhere and they are in use pretty frequently. It is odd to smell cigarette smoke at dinner but it has not been that bad.
Cats are a bit more standoffish on Crete, not nearly as willing to be photographed as on Santorini or Naxos. I did stumble upon a feline gangster conclave but they scattered as soon as they heard my camera. I am living in fear that they are going to send a “fixer” after me for witnessing something that would have best remained unseen.
And today for lunch I stumbled onto lahanodolmades with a form of Avgolemono sauce at Kouzina as one of the daily specials. And I immediately ordered the mince beef stuffed zucchini with a yellower version of the same sauce, without even thinking about the fact that they use nearly the same mixture of meat and rice. I swear, even after nearly 3 weeks here in Greece I still suffer from Tourestte’s Syndrome. I inexplicably blurt out food orders that make no sense whatsoever… I blame it on my tourist mindset. If I was in Traveler Mode it would not happen! LOL!
Let me see if I can find the cat gangsters and the Lahanodolmades…
Anyone know what dessert this is? I am not a dessert person but i have eaten several here on Crete and this cream cheese yogurt thing is pretty good. Is it cheesecake?
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What is the latest? Are you still in Greece??
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Thanks. I was just wondering about this myself.
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Thank you both for asking! I really enjoyed Chania but i think it is time for me to visit Italy so i flew back to Athens a few days ago. Stayed at my usual, the Attalos Hotel in Monastiraki. Rooftop bar, renoed rooms and nice people, near the Metro too.
Afogato served just down the street.
Then i had a really good pork arepas, of all things, across the street at Hoppers and a kebab and sausage variety special at Kostas a couple hundred yards away. I wish i had a foto of the kibbeh tart i had at Feyrouz, just delicious. Only 1/3 of the dishes were Greek but they were all good…
The cats are a little more timid in Athens, not quite the bold fellows of Chania.
Almost forgot the worst lambchop i have ever had, dessicated beyond repair at Thea…
But Spring is just starting as the first cherry blossoms popped. Right next to the prison that Socrates lived in for his final 30 days before being forced to drink hemlock.
Beauty and history, one woven into the other…
I love this city!
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The cherry blossoms are beautiful but the green eyes on that cat…
If it’s not too demanding I would love to hear about your journey from Athens to Patras to Bari (gleaned from the Puglia thread). I am so enjoying vicariously your amazing trip!!
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I don’t know where to start on the Athens to Patras trip. Sometimes i am in the groove and foreign travel makes sense and sometimes i miss the chair lift entirely. The Athens to Patras bus was one where the chair lift knocked me off my skis but i still ended up at the top of the mountain, somehow.
The Blue Star / Grimaldi travel agent sold me the bus ticket but warned me it was Carnival Weekend in Patras and the bus would be mobbed. They also told me it was a 10 minute drive to the bus station which it might be, at 3am. Took my larcenous cab driver 30 minutes after he drove down a street where they were handing out bags of free food. Grumble, grumble…
Anyway it was super busy at the bus terminal and the bus crew were mad as wet hens about it. I could not get anyone to say that the bus i boarded was the Patras bus, they kept signalling me to get on and they were saying it was the Achias bus, which i think is the bus route company or something. I was the only non “University student” on the bus and like a guy, i refused to ask a student for help. I later figured out that everyone was heading to some sort of “Mardi Gras” type festivity on the Peloponesian but i did not know it then.
So the bus pulled out of the bus station and headed west and every major intersection we passed that had is still heading in the right way was cause for a minor celebration. Buses are usually straightforward but this was an irritating exception.
Patras is a tired port city but a fun one, especially during Carnival. I checked into an Airotel that is dark and modern. Clean too, so there is that.
I then hit Rooster for a delicious pork tenderloin in mashed potato. Plus a free toasted graviera cheese, a free nut stick w paste dip, a free chocolate dessert. The owner is a good guy but i rolled out like a fatted pig for slaughter.
The next day Carnival kicking in and the crowds were pretty thick on Riga Fireau.
I am no longer a crowds type of person so i stumbled into Terra where they had no English menu and the waitress shrugged and said " Use my Google Translate".
Face palm. How many people have suggested that and i never used it until a day before i am leaving Greece of the Cyrilic alphabet…
Phenomenal lamb puree dumplings w a touch of dill. Just delicious.
Had pasta shells w beef today, good but not as good.
Beautiful Othodox Church on my daily walk.
What is it with Greece, me and cats? I am a dog person in real life! Ok, Thailand, me and cats too.
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I had absolutely no idea that Carnival/Mardi Gras was celebrated in Greece!
Carnival in Greece? Who knew?
They have tons of 5 and 6 meter tall papier mache figures, of which i took zero photos… Arghh.
Ship just hit the fog horn, pulling out.
The pilot boat went out 5 minutes ago.
Uhoh, we got a freighter/ferry combi pulling up right alongside us as the crew started tossing the mooring lines in the water.
I think the guys on my ship thought we could get out before the Alternative Transport reached us.
Its a race! Now a tug boat decided to zip by both of the larger ships. Smart alec…
We are not out of the blocks yet and there are two squads of people at the stern of my ship yelling at each other. One squad yelling in Greek and a couple guys yelling back in Italian.
I am not worried. Both nations are known for their calm disposition and willingness to let things slide.
Bwahaha!!
We are out of here like a herd of turtles.
Wait, the pilot boat came back to follow us.
Probably came to break up the squabble on the stern.
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Safe travels! Can’t wait to see your next posts 
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Riveting tale of drama and intrigue! Breathlessly awaiting an update.
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It’s a big deal, also with the Greek diaspora. Lots of dances take place in Toronto the week before Clean Monday. In the Greek culture, meat eating stops a week before the dairy eating stops, on Meatfare Sunday and Cheesefare Sunday.
Also, no weddings, baptisms or bake days are to be celebrated during Greek Lent. The weddings start up again after Easter. Would traditionally be the same in the Catholic Church, although I suspect cheaper banquet hall rates and more availability in March and April mean more springtime weddings happen now than they once did.
People who are named George/Georgia have an alternate name day in May for the years when St George Day falls during Lent.
The fasting begins on a Clean Monday rather than an Ash Wed.
Devout Greek Orthodox, other Balkan Orthodox, and Egyptian Copts typically follow Lenten fasting more strictly than Catholics or Protestants.
The fasting is preceded by the feasting at Greek Carnival, Apokries.
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That should be Saints Days, not Bake Days above. LOL.
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Ah, folklore is fascinating.
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So have you eaten anything in Italy? Breathlessly awaiting a “Wandering thrpugh Italy” post…
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I just realized this morning that I had not posted one yet. I have been in Bari, Lecce and Taranto and each of them had their good points though Lecce stood a good bit above the other two.
I am in Matera now, and it has really grabbed my attention. I love Lecce but Matera is so grounded in the earth, literally and figuratively. I have been walking around this town for two days and I still can not find my hotel without getting lost at least once. Not that I mind…
I need to find a way to transfer my photos from my Android phone to my MacBook so that I can do this story justice without having it blow up and delete everything so I have to start over.
On edit: Not sure why but the Google Photos download button on my phone was turned off. Must have been me when I was in an area with not wifi or something. I should be able to post photos from my Google account on my MacBook now. I am not really a Luddite. I just have grown to hate technology. Which kind of makes me a Luddite…
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Looking forward…
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Considering the dessert sections of Greek shops, Bake Days makes a lot of sense for Greece.
I sent a picture of baklava to a friend who is a bit of a sweets fan and she was " IS THAT ONE PIECE???!!! "
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That should have been Saints Days, not Bake Days, my phone has been a jerk lately!
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