Sweethearts 3

Lee and his girlfriend Katie came on June 1, 2014.  We got to keep Katie for two and a half weeks and Lee for two and a half months.  We also had the fun of Katie’s mom Luann and sister Jacqueline visiting us for 5 days during the time Katie was here.  We were cozy in our small house, but really didn’t spend much time there.  We had time together on beaches, in the mountains, on boats, NS IN then.  But, I think I remember eating the most.  We were all very enthusiastic eaters.  Katie especially liked the taverna on Stavros beach where the tables are made of large wooden wire spools and are covered with umbrellas make of palm fronds.  Best part, besides being about 50 feet from the water, is that your chair is in the sand and you can bury your feet or sift the sand with your toes as you drink the wine and Raki, and of course eat the food too.

Luann, Grier, Lee, and Jacqueline really like seafood.  So Grier was able to order as much seafood as he wanted with assurance that it would be eaten and enjoyed. When it’s just Grier and Suzanna he doesn’t get seafood as much as he would like.  Suzanna has difficulty, to say the least, eating seafood and we usually like to share all our dishes so…

I think, in some cases, it is not a bad idea to let some time pass between an event and writing about it.  In this next case what seemed somewhat miserable at the time, now seems more humorous.  We went on a spectacular boat ride around the peninsula farthest to the west to the Island of Gramvoussa and then for a swim at the beach at Balos Bay.  The scenery was gorgeous, the weather perfect, the hike around Gramvousa up to the fortress fun and interesting.  So what could be miserable about this?  RELENTLESS LOUD LOUD LOUD MUSIC.  Now you may wonder what is so humorous about that?  Well, I said relentless, but there was one blessed few minutes of silence where we could actually visit with one another and we thought maybe just maybe they will give us a break.  We were wrong, they had just forgotten to start the music over again and also must have thought that it wasn’t quite loud enough before.  So, imagine the relief of silence and then suddenly there was a deafening SCREAM.  People had terrified looks on their faces, some stood up and looked around to see if someone had been injured or murdered.  Then the song started, “I Feel Good!” James Brown, remember the scream at the beginning of this song?  Now imagine it coming unexpectedly out of silence as loud as you can imagine it.  Once we caught on to what was happening, uneasy laughter started and then some rather uncontrollable laughter.  But, all said and done, I would not recommend this boat ride even if we did get a story and something to laugh about from it!  I would pay the price to hire a silent boat.  

The smiles of Mom and two daughters were lovely despite the decibels.

The Loud Boat from Gramvoussa Fortress.

Balos Bay from the fortress on Gramvoussa Island.

We had a beautiful drive over the mountains and stopped at the top of the pass at a Sfakian Pie taverna on the edge of the Imbros Gorge.  It was a beautiful sunny day for a beautiful sunny picture of Sweethearts #3.

 Petromarula pinnata endemic to Cretan gorges and rock walls.  Imbros Gorge.

                                                   Wonderful food and expressions!

 Friendly fish eaters.

 An old neighborhood in Athens from the Acropolis.

Seafood market Athens.

 Fruit and vegetable market Athens.

Athens Acropolis.

Miniatures and Donkey Stairs

Our last Blog was on August 12.  And even then we were three months behind in our stories.  I was trying to decide whether to skip and catch up to what we are currently dong now or start back in June when Lee and Katie came.  I decided to do a bit of both, so from here on out the Blog stories won’t necessarily be in chronological order.

There is an old set of stairs that used to run from the harbor up to the city gates of Chania in Byzantine times.  The stairs are are still there and you can walk up them.  Donkeys could still walk up them too.  I really liked those stairs the first time I saw them but didn't realize the first time I saw them that they were the access from the sea to the old part of the city at one time.  I only realized this after we visited the Naval Museum in Chania.  There is a diorama of Chania in the Byzantine times.  It shows the donkey stairs, just as they are located today.  So, why am I telling you this?  Those of you that have come for a visit have likely seen the Donkey stairs because I never tire of telling people about them and showing them.  I also like to walk up them.  So beware, if you come for a visit, you will be likely to see these stairs and I will try to get you to walk up them.  Also, I will try to get you into the museum to see the diorama that show the stairs.  This is a more difficult task because it has limited hours of operation.

I really like old stairs because you can do something that the people that lived there so long ago did too.  I have likely also showed many visitors the display of miniature buildings and churches in Vrises that were made by a local artist.  The same artist that made the church that we bought that sits on our front porch.

A few weeks ago, Grier approached the subject of the Donkey Staris and the miniatures.  He was very kind but wanted to let me know that he had noticed that many of our visitors didn't appear to be as interested in the stairs and the miniatures as me and that I might want to consider that maybe these two things aren't necessarily very high on the list for places to visit for everyone. 

In the future, I will try to restrain myself.  I have many pictures of the stairs and miniatures, but will restrain from putting them in the Blog for now.  But they may creep into the Blog when you least expect them!