Shots from bus window

Taken in Northern Greece on the way to Ingoumenitsa, a port city. Enlarge to see the sheep.

Attika Zoo

Went to the Attika Zoo with the Primary the day before Corfu trip. Overcast day. This is a private zoo and the bird collection was incredible. The top shot shows you how close some people live to the zoo.

Where to Begin???

Am sitting in the college library wondering where to begin explaining about our 5 day bus adventure to Corfu, an island in the Ionian Sea. Some of you will shake you heads and wonder how in the world we ended up on such a trip...

I booked the "holiday trip" (it was over Greek Orthodox Easter) thru Costas Travel, a Greek travel agency that I could walk to. Emmanuela, the young agent with long blond hair, was happy to book the trip but asked one very telling question... "The tour," she said, "will be in Greek. Will that be alright?" I was so relieved to have found an organized tour within Ted's vacation time frame that I said it was absolutely NO PROBLEM. She assured me that the guide would speak some English. I figured looking out the window at the sights would be fine.

Our bus had about 40 other adults in it, some gray haired and reserved, others young and gregarious. We sat in the middle. When the guide wasn't rattling away in rapid fire Greek one of the rowdies in the back was leading a song or bantering with someone else or the radio was blasting Greek music. And when certain songs came on every person, young and old, began clapping and singing at the top of their voices. At the height of one of these singing frenzies, on a very narrow cliff hanging road, a young man was dancing up and down the aisle with an older woman. This was one happy bus!! Nothing like the green and white spotted ones, filled with grim and silent Athenians, that cruise up and down metropolitan streets. Eventually we figured out that some of the folks could speak English, so we were able to ask questions... like... what time should we be back at the bus?. or what town is this?... or where is the toilet!!

The guide, a very nice woman spoke about as much English as I did Greek, but she smiled a lot and would apologize over and over for only speaking Greek. The driver, Spiros, deserved a gold medal for getting us out of some very tight spots. It is incredible how those drivers manuver through narrow arteries.

Because it was Easter weekend we hit traffic both ways. The driver there took 9 hours and then a one hour ferry ride. (When we first tried to find the hotel both the driver and the guide got lost and were asking anyone they happened to see at a stop sign where they should go. Since it was an island we knew we would eventually find our way...) The drive home was worse. We stopped quite a bit but the entire trip from one doorstep to another, took 15 hours... We went to bed at 2 am. (The gorgeous travel agent with the long blong hair had told me it was a 6 hour drive, maybe a bit longer!!)

I got antsy on the return bus, but the Greeks just took it in stride, singing and laughing. Still happy. Three people got off the bus in Patras, 3 hours outside of Athens, and there were kisses for everyone else. It was amazing how friendly you can get in 5 short days. I will post more later, including photos. I felt we were lucky to travel with a busload of Greeks. We saw a part of their culture that an English speaking group would never have encountered. More later.

Emergency Number on Corfu

Leaving tomorrow morning at 5:00 am to begin journey to Corfu. Once there we will be staying at the Philoxenia Hotel in Vatos. Telephone # 26610-94660. You'll have to look up the area code for Greece. (Hotel may be in Ermones instead of Vatos...?)

Fasolada

Recipe clipped from a handout at the ACG Wellness Fair, with a few additions by Jane. Fasolada is a hearty vegeterian Greek soup. Mine ended up more like stew.

1/2 kg. white beans (not lima and not small ones)

1 onion

3 carrots

3-4 tomatoes

celery ( I used yellow peppers instead)

1/2 cup olive oil

seasonings

chunk of lemon rind

Soak the beans overnight in plenty of water. Rinse well and boil about 20 minutes. Drain. Chop the vegetables and add them to the beans. Add seasoning and about 4 cups of water. Boil the soup at low temperature till the beans are tender. You may have to add more water depending on how thick you want the soup. Add the olive oil after the beans are soft. Jane says if you add it before, the beans will take much longer to cook. Throw in a chunk of lemon rind. Fasolada is usually served with smoked herring and olives. Adding a slice of whole wheat break or rusk gives you a meal that has all the essential amino acids one needs. (Amazingly this soup did NOT creat havoc with my gut. I'm not sure why, but I rinsed the beans every chance I got. I also threw a handful of leftover cooked greens into my pot.)

Koukouvayia (Owls Eyes)

My friend, Jane, gave me another very Greek recipe. After you read it you'll se why it's called what it is.... owls eyes!!

Take two rusks (hard pieces of stone ground bread). Put them side by side on a plate (like two eyes). Sprinkle warm water on them to soften them somewhat. On top of the two eyes put freshly chopped tomatoes, feta cheese, olive oil and black olives. (Once again... remember the Greeks are very generous with the olive oil.) By the time the first forkful hits your mouth the hard bread will have softened and absorbed lots of the flavors that have been piled on top of it.

ps.. when I go in the grocery store I always wondered why there were so many different kinds of dried bread, packaged so nicely. Now I know.