Big Stage and Small Town

Last Wednesday evening, we went out with Aki and Maria to Politiea, one of the bouzouki bars in Thessaloniki. For anyone who has never been to a bouzouki, calling it a bar is a gross understatement. Politiea is a huge live music venue that seats about 1,500 customers at tables, with a retractable roof and a huge stage. Peggy Zina, an extremely popular singer in Greece right now, was the headliner. The music was so powerful and passionate, it’s nearly impossible not to be moved by it. Peggy Zina sang for about 2 hours, accompanied by a huge band and a fantastic laser and light show. The crowd was a typical Greek bouzouki crowd, meaning they were constantly singing along, dancing on the tables, and more than occasionally spilling onto the stage to dance or shower Peggy with rose petals.

For me, the most impressive part of any night at a bouzouki is after the headline act is complete. At that time (usually around 2 a.m.), a performer (whom I like to call the “closer”) comes on stage to finish things off. The closer is usually a well known Greek singer who perhaps was a headliner in his heyday, and whose niche is now singing all the traditional Greek songs and keeping the crowd happy. A good closer can take a crowd from the end of the headliner’s act and keep it going until the sun comes up. The whole event is party like you simply cannot believe unless you experience it yourself. What’s most impressive is that this party goes on like this, from about 10 p.m. until 5 or 6 a.m., EVERY NIGHT. At one point, with half the crowd on stage and the rest of it traipsing up and down the aisles between the tables, with ouzo flowing, music pounding, and the closer wailing, I recall thinking two things: (1) we have nothing like this in the States, and (2) all these people have to work tomorrow.

We got a late start on Thursday because we didn’t get home until after 4. Quick pita and coffee breakfast at the shop across the street and then we hit the road to visit my aunt in Kolindros. Kolindros is my favorite place in Greece. It’s my mother’s home village, and I was so happy to finally take Amanda there.

Kolindros is a tiny village about 45 km away from Thessaloniki. You drive west on the main highway until you exit for Aeginio and then follow signs towards Kolindros. Next thing you know, you’re in the mountains driving around hairpin curves and dodging flocks of sheep. The town itself has changed a lot; when we stayed with my grandparents there 25 years ago there was still very little electricity and only wood-burning stoves to heat homes. Now, it has grown into a sleepy little town of about 3,000 people with coffee shops, stores, and even a few restaurants.

We rolled into town about 1 p.m. and I immediately knew I would have trouble finding my aunt’s house. I was there just three and a half years ago, but all the tiny cobblestone streets and white homes with terracotta roofs looked the same. We found our way to the platea in the center of town and parked in front of a small store. As I got out of the car, the store owner came out and asked how I was doing. I said that I was fine, thanks, and asked if he by any chance knew my Thia Keti and where she lived. I fully expected him to know; like I said, it’s a small town and everyone knows everyone.

“Of course,” he replied. “Why are you looking for her?”

“She’s my aunt.”

“You’re aunt? Who are your parents?”

I told him my mother’s maiden name. When he stared at me quizzically for a few moments, I thought maybe he didn’t recognize it. Instead, he said, “Your mother is my first cousin.” Now this is understandable, since my mother has over 60 first cousins and I’ve only met half of them. But it was still a nice surprise. (Amanda later said it was her favorite part of the day…she was in the car watching me ask a store owner for directions, she looked down for a moment, and when she looked up again I was hugging and kissing the man.) He introduced himself as Dimitri and I told him my mother would be in town in a couple months. He was delighted to hear this and after we spoke for a few more minutes, he pointed us toward my aunt’s house.

It was wonderful to see Thia Keti again. She's such a caring, animated person and just wonderful to be around. She asked if we could eat a little food. When we said "Yes, we can eat a little," she filled her balcony table up with pork chops, noodles in tomato sauce, keftedes, fresh baked bread, salad, and about seven different kinds of cheese. From her balcony patio we had a breathtaking view of Aeginio, and in the distance, Thessaloniki and the Aegean Sea. We spent the afternoon eating, drinking beer, and catching up.

In the morning, we left for Meteora, which absolutely needs its own post. I've been there before, so I'll let Amanda write it so she can record her first impressions. By the way, we've added a few pics to some of the previous posts, and we promise to add more soon. Until then, yia sas!

Bill

Why They Don't Sell Greek Army Knives

We started getting the house settled this week, but it seems every time we start to make some headway, we get interrupted by a trip to the beach or a call inviting us out for drinks. Tough to be productive when there's constant fun to be had.

On Monday, we drove to the IKEA just outside Thessaloniki and bought a bed, some chairs, a desk, and lots of stuff for the kitchen. Our little VW Golf was so packed we were popping wheelies down Karamanli Highway. We managed to get all of the stuff up into the house just before we had to leave for Chalkidiki, the coastal region just east of Thessaloniki. My aunt and uncle, Thea Eugenia and Theo Manoli, have a beach house there in the little seaside town of Nea Plagia. Theo Manoli was out of town, but Thea Eugenia, Runia, and Runia's two children, George and Eugenoula, hosted us for a wonderful three days on the beach.

Nea Plagia was just perfect. It was packed with people taking a vacation for the Panagia, the religious holiday on August 15 to commemorate the Virgin Mary's assumption into heaven. It's one of the most significant days on the Greek calendar; it also happens to be my birthday, so the entire country had lots of reasons to celebrate. We spent our daytime hours on the beach with the children, followed by absolutely delicious meals that my aunt prepared (tasty brezolia, tiropita, and, of course, salad topped with tons of feta). After our daily nap in the late afternoon, we'd walk up and down the paralia and sit down for drinks and catch up with Runia. It was just fantastic.

We drove back to Thessaloniki on Wednesday and met up with my cousin Gregory (whom I call "Aki" because that's what I called him when we were little; Aki is short for Gregoraki, which means "Little Gregory"...he's 6'7" now but old habits die hard). We also met his new wife Maria (they were married in Thessaloniki on June 18), who is just beautiful and so gracious. She and Amanda hit it off right away talking about the pitfalls of wedding planning and about how both Aki and I were of similarly little help...

That night they took us to Kitchen Bar, a swanky new place at the Port of Thessaloniki. We had some light food and lots of drinks. I regretfully admit that one of the highlights of the night is when I tried to order another drink for Aki. He drinks vodka and cherry juice, but when I tried to say "cherry juice" in Greek I was off by a letter. I ordered Smirnoff and breasts. Everyone immediately had a nice laugh except for me and our waitress.

The next day we valiantly made the most of trying to assemble our IKEA bed with a Greek "all-in-one" tool that professed to be adequate for any household job. An hour later, we were left with no bed and one completely mangled all-in-one tool. No wonder the Swiss have cornered the market...

That night we spent a few hours at Aki's just watching each other's wedding DVDs and flipping through Thea Eugenia's photo albums. Pictures upon pictures of Runia, Aki, Polly and I playing together as children. Amanda had never seen many of the photos and it was Maria's first time, too. Next thing we knew it was 2 in the morning. So fun and so nice catch up. Aki and Runia are such wonderful cousins and I hate that 4 years have passed since I last saw them.

OK, enough for now. It's been over 40 degrees Celsius the past 3 days, so we may head back out to New Plagia tomorrow for the day to try and cool off in the Aegean. Later this week we'll hit the Bouzoukia bars, visit my mother's home village of Kolindros, and then tour the monasteries at Meteora--lots to blog about in our next entry. Until then, Yia sas!

Bill

FETA OLA!

Ok... I made it! It's been just over a week since I've arrived and I'm quit sure that I've eaten my weight in feta. No joke.

I arrived last Wednesday in Athens where we stayed with Bill's cousins John, Iro and Dimitris. In the first 48 hours we visited the Acropolis twice, went to the beach twice, went to a "football" game at the new Olympic stadium, and visited the Plaka in Athens. We got really lucky because we visited the Acropolis the one day of the year that it's open at night. They turn off all of the lights so that it was lit only by a gi-normous full moon. It was very impressive to see it at night to say the least... I'll share the pictures later but they don't do it justice!

On Saturday we went to another beach and then drove out to Sounio. Sounio is where the remains of the Temple of Poseidon are and it is also famous for its beautiful sunsets. John timed it perfectly so we were able to catch a spectacular sunset... again pictures to come when we get our computer set up.

Sunday we headed up to Thessaloniki. It should have been a six hour drive but we got many text messages from cousin John telling us where to eat and what sites to see. On his recommendation we stopped for lunch in Karavomilos for grilled psari (whole fish) and wine of course. Karavomilos is a small fishing village that we couldn't even find on the map. Luckily we found it thanks to Bill's Greek (which constantly frustrates him but it hasn't failed us yet). We finally arrived in Thessaloniki eight hours later to meet Bill's cousin Runia and her two children George (11) and Eugenia (9). We went to dinner down by the paralia (boardwalk) where we had more feta. Anyway you want it, grilled, smoked, fried, crumbled, wrapped with phyllo... you get the picture!

Obviously everything's been great so far... but we don't have our computer set up yet so we haven't been able to post a lot. When that's done we'll be able to add pics too! Until then.. Antio sas.

-Amanda

3 Kilograms and Counting...

Having a glorious time so far. My cousin John, his wife Iro, and their son Dmitri have been such gracious hosts, they have made everything so enjoyable and easy. In their fantastic home and neighborhood in Voula (southern suburb of Athens), I feel as if I've been at an exclusive and pampering resort. Spent most of the day Monday on Voula Beach, enjoying the perfect weather and the local beer.

Yesterday, my friend Rex (former rugby teammate who is on vacation here during summer break from his doctorate program at American University in DC) and I left Athens to drive over the canal to spend the day in the Peloponese. The Peloponese is the southern region of Greece, known for its beautiful seaside towns and sprawling hillsides covered in olive groves. We snapped some great pics of the canal (which I'll include, as soon as I figure out how to add them to this blog) before driving south to Archaeio Korinthos (ancient Corinth).

Archaeio Korinthos was beautiful; ruins of the Temple of Apollo surrounded by what's left of an old odeon, amphitheatre, and market place. Rex and I found ourselves picking and eating almonds out of tree next to 9,000-year-old ruins. Only in Greece.

We left Corinth and stopped at a roadside stand near Argos, where we bought some wine and talked with the owner. He asked which one of us was driving. When I told him that I was, he pulled out a bottle of homemade raki and did a shot with Rex. Rex pressed his fingers into his sinuses, began to cry, and described it as grappa on steroids. The owner sliced open a peponi (a very sweet Greek melon), shared it with us, and, of course, charged us nothing for all of the food and drink.

Speaking of eating and drinking, so far the trip has really been all about rekindling my love affair with Greek food. After Corinth, we drove down to Nafplio, a beautiful town sandwhiched between the Aegean Sea and some ancient military forts built on the overlooking hills. There we had lunch at Taverna o Vasilis (fittingly, Bill's Bar). We started with psomi (bread), feta psiti (grilled feta cheese) and dolmades (grape leaves stuffed with meat and rice). Rex then had kouneli stifado (braised rabbit in a tomato, onion and clove sauce) while I scarfed down some arnaki fournou kai patates (roasted lamb and potatoes). Of course, we washed that all down with two carafes of rose krasi barelizia. Jim Paugh, that food description was for your vicarious eating pleasure...hope you enjoyed it.

We left Nafplio and drove back to Athens to meet my cousin John at a professional soccer game in Peristadi (a northern suburb of Athens), Atrometro vs. Iraklis FC. John worked for Iraklis a few years ago as a VP of Team Marketing, so we had the best seats in VIP section and John knew everybody there. Imagine attending a Redskins game with John Riggins...we sat right behind the mayor of Peristradi...

John then took us to his local watering hole where he ordered pork, chicken, beef, lamb and kokoretsi (lamb and pig kidneys and livers wrapped in bacon and grilled). We ate like vikings for an hour and then stopped at a bakery to take home some galaktobouriko (cake soaked in vanilla custard and wrapped in filo dough), which we ate while sipping some single barrel bourbon that Rex brought over from Schneider's on Capitol Hill.

Today, I'm going to start taking fiber.

OK, I'm off to the beach again, and then to the airport to pick up Amanda. Next blog entry will come from her.

Antio sas!

Bill

Laundry Like You Wouldn't Believe

Well, our trip of a lifetime to Greece is almost here. We've planned this trip for so long, it didn't seem as if we would ever actually take it. It just became something we talked about, like a pipe dream. But it's here...and it turns out we're woefully unprepared.

Between Bill studying for the bar exam and Amanda wrapping things up at work (in addition to a quick trip to the West Indies last weekend for a family wedding), it's safe to say we have been neglecting laundry for the better part of a month. The piles had morphed into new pieces of furniture before we attacked them this week in prepartion for our departure. We tried to first gather everything that could be packed without washing it; when finished, we were looking at suitcases full of only travel guides, language books, and toiletries. Amazing how much harder it is to pack for a trip when almost everything you own must be laundered first.

Before we leave, we just wanted to say Yiasou to everyone here in the States. Follow along with us on this blog when you feel bogged down at work or school and need a distraction--we'll do our best to update it often with stories and photos from our travels. And feel free to post a note to say Hi...we already miss you all and would love to hear from you.

Antio!