Hoodoo Highway

As many of you know, we spent 9 wonderful days in Greece. It was a fabulous trip and so amazing. I could go on and on and on, but I will hit the highlights of the trip. We flew from Little Rock to Dulles (D. C.) to Munich to Athens. The Dulles to Munich was on a 777 and it was very, very comfortable. It took about 8 hours on that segment, 9 coming back. We arrived in Athens on Friday the 30th, got our rental car (which was too small for four people and all their luggage so Michael and I sat in the back with two suitcases). We found our apartment, which was in the middle of a neighborhood. This was pretty neat. We would walk to the market for fresh fruit, snacks, beer, etc. There was a bakery around the corner for our wonderful pastries and bread, a laundry near by and many little local shops (nothing touristy). My favorite place to get cappucino was a couple of blocks away. We were about 10 minutes from the Metro, so we purchased a week long pass for 10 euro and took that thing everywhere.

The Metro was awesome, clean and no smelling of urine, no grafitti and flat panel tvs where you wait on the trains (now how long do you think those babies would last in a subway system here?) We rode the Metro all over - it was very convenient and easy to use. My metro story is that one day, Michael and I rode to Piraeus, the port. As folks got on at one stop I swore someone grabbed my butt. I turned around and all I saw was a little old greek man, white hair, short, smiling and walking to the back of the train. I thought maybe someone just bumped me. A couple of stops later, he was getting off and I will be damned if he did not grab my butt cheek again and cup it. I turned around and he had the biggest smile, saluted all of us and got off the train. I turned back and told Michael "that old man fondled my butt twice!" to which Michael said "well it must have passed inspection, he saluted you!"

Beer in Athens - Mythos or Alpha - preferred Mythos. Here is some we enjoyed at the apt. in the evening as we rested up for dinner. In Athens, dinner does not start before 9pm. It gets crowded even later than that. So we made a habit of sightseeing, doing whatever, going back to the apartment and having some wine, beer or whatever and resting a bit before we would head back out at 9pm for dinner.

Food in Athens was quite tasty. The only meat I had was a McDonald's Cheeseburger at a rest stop on the way to Delphi. It tasted the same. Michael says I should just go on and become a vegetarian but there are 5 things that keep me from being one; pork bbq, fried bacon, fried catfish, turkey and ham. So no vegetarian lifestyle every day. Here is the real scoop. Dishes were described as having meat. Well ok... does that mean lamb, because I just am not into lamb. Also, bacon there is not cooked done and I cannot eat pink, limp bacon. So I stuck to lots of Greek salads which are a bit different. No lettuce; just tomatoes (which tasted like real tomatoes ya'll - the kind we used to get), cucumber, olives, onions and the feta cheese is a slab on top of the salad and they bring olive oil and a balsamic vinegar to the table for you to top your salad off with. Very yummy, the olive oil was the best. Now you could get it Crete style, with these very hard croutons "dakos" and the feta cheese was crushed into the salad. I had a lot of these Greek salads. Michael dug the Mousaka and had it about 3 times. Steve got lots of lamb. I also did several soups "beens soup" (that is how it was on the menu) some white beans, with greens (spinach) in a nice broth with lemon squeezed on top. Also they have these giant beans (that is what they call them or boar beans) I think they might be fava and they make some awesome soup with those. Bread comes with everything and is wonderful. We bought several loaves of fresh bread from the bakery and it was awesome. We found a little cheese, snack and olive store. We got a couple of hunks of cheese, some olives, some pretzely things with sunflower seed that made it through security and customs with me... (yyummm) and snacked on that a lot.

Sights we saw: Hadrian's Library, Temple of Zeus, Hadrian's Wall, Acropolis site (with parthenon, etc), Plaka, Anafiotika (which starts at the Plaka and is a cluster of small houses built on the slopes of the Acropolis)above the Plaka (this photo to the right is the path into Anafiotika it is like wandering a small cobblestone path on a greek island beautiful and the Acropolis above it, Corinth Canal, Epidavros, Delphi (my most favorite site of all), the Agora and various other things here and there. We did not do any museums. Can you believe it? The one we wanted to go to had an El Greco exhibit that we found out was on loan. You were not told that and paid your 5 euro and when you got to that section, they had pictures of what used to be there. My friend Steve said he wanted to go back and ask could he give them a picture of 5 euro instead of the euro. The fact is, that we saw so many ruins, statues, etc.. everywhere (metro, on the streets, in neighborhoods, at stores, etc..) that we just figured how many 3,000 year old chunks of stone and marble do we have to see. Call us lacking in culture but we absorbed culture elsewhere. I loved Temple of Zeus (the first site we found) and it is the pic that starts off this blog. This piece of a column here was at Hadrian's Library, which was right next to the Agora and the Metro stop at Monastiriki, the train runs right through the Agora. This is also where the Sunday morning market is at the Steve said was not to be missed. You can miss it. It is a lot of useless junk and furniture. However, we did enjoy going and checking out the neighborhood and found some cool little cafe's and a place to eat later in the week (near Thissio).

We took a day trip to Corinth and saw the canal and then sidetracked to Epidavros. It was a beautiful drive but it was a rainy, grey day. The mountains were very pretty, the site was cool but the rain limited what we spent time seeing. We drove through some small villages and found a really cool church. As we got to the church we realized a funeral was going on so we did not stop and take pictures out of respect for the funeral. It was a really cool church. We enjoyed the outing.

We spent a day shopping in the area that housed Attica (the largest department store and high end) Noro Galleries, H & M ( I bought three uber cool hats and a necklace there), other little boutiques and all the fancy, schmancy designer stores; Dolce & Gabanna, Versace, Ferragamo, etc... The in style at the moment is boots with jeans tucked in. Everyone had on boots (the ladies) so see my Darth Vader boots (as Michael calls them ) are so in, in Greece, but that is ok I will still wear them here. I found a fabulous necklace made by Armando Moustaka at Attica and bought it for Jen as a gift. Then I found an even more fabulous, funky one made by Armando Moustaka for me and bought it!! Michael said it looks like something I would wear, so most of you know that means different. I love it. We piddled around, went to Utopia cafe (our favorite neighborhood coffee place with Maria the sweetest waitress). They are stuck on the 80s music there. We had a good time singing along with Duran Duran and other 80s legends. Also, you should know that in Greece the national past time is smoking. Everywhere, everybody. I believe when they are born they are given a cigarette first. They smoke and eat at the same time and all have the same pose. Cigarette between two fingers held up while head in propped against the hand with the cigarette. Then with the other hand they eat and then smoke and eat... very interesting and so not Larry or Virginia - they would die over there or be killed for complaining about it.

My favorite site was Delphi. It was an amazingly astounding and beautiful place. Delphi was considered the center of the known world, the place where heaven and earth met. In Greek Mythology, Delphi was the meeting place of two eagles, released by Zeus and sent in opposite directions. Where they met indicated the center, or the navel, of the earth. It is the center of worship for the God Apollo, son of Zeus who embodied moral discipline and spiritual clarity. Prior to that, other deities worshipped at Delphi; including the earth goddess Gea, Themis, Demeter and Poseidon. Apollo displaced these other deities and became the guardian of the oracle, Pythia. The oracle would deliver her prophecies in an intoxicated haze and they would be translated. It is absolutely stunning.

It is built on the slopes of Mount Parnassos, overlooking a valley filled with cyprus and olive trees. The site contains the Temple of Apollo, the Sanctuary of Athena, The Treasury of the Athenians, A Gymnasium, A theater, a stadium and much more. I just cannot describe how beautiful and peaceful this place was. Here are Michael and I at Delphi. We went into the village of Delphi which had one main street into it and then back to the village or town of Archova, which is where we had lunch. It is a ski resort town in the winter and is built on the side of the mountain. Just gorgeous. I have many pictures in my album of the entire trip, actually.

The Plaka was one of our favorite hang out places, also. Lots of touristy shops with lots of interesting tchotchkes to buy and bring home. One of our favorite places was Brettos Distillery. We enjoyed Ouzo, Raki, Mistachi, Coffee, Citron and other liqueur. We bought Ouzo, Raki (with honey and cinnamon and Coffee liqueur which is nothing like Kahlua - not nearly as sweet - just yummy. The place is gorgeous. It is 109 years old and the bottles line the wall with these lights behind them.. the old kegs are there and everything is still produced there. Go to their site and get you some good stuff, too! I found some cute evil eye talismans for some folks, some fabulous olive oil and honey soap, I got myself an wooden icon thing that is pretty funky, I found some beautiful lacework coasters and doilie things I bought as gifts and I got some worry beads. Also I got a Greek Cats calendar for my friend, the cat lady Virginia. Cats and dogs are everywhere in Greece. They do not believe in spaying or neutering and everyone takes care of them. They are all fat and healthy looking. The dogs just lay where they want to and you step over them. They never open and eye or do much of anything. The cats sit where they want and when they want. I have pics of them on scooters, in trees, etc..

My final story (because I could go on and on) is our trip to Thissio area of Athens - just a few Metro stops away from where we stayed and at one end of the Plaka. We found that taverna we wanted to eat at. Steve went with us. Now, Steve, whom I love dearly has this guidebook called Time Out - Athens. He lives and dies by the guidebook - if it is not in there well he is not all that interested in going. It was pretty funny because we would say we were going to eat somewhere and he would say "do you want me to check the guidebook?" So he went with us, a little begrudgingly I think. We walked in and sat down and he said "Two things against this place already, it is too bright in here and the menu has pictures on it - not a good sign". I made a tacky, cursing statement about his guide book. (Cause I am an evil red head and he would expect no less from me and he knows it). Our meal was great. Michael said it was the best Mousaka he had and he tasted Steves carbonara and said it was excellent - Steve gave it an "ok" - cause he knows he did not want to admit it was good because it was not in Time Out. (Not that Time Out did not have some cool info in it, it did and their recommendations did have some good food but their driving directions to Delphi were incorrect). However, all of that being said - we all travelled well together and I would travel with these folks again, anytime and Steve knows it. We had so much fun, we really did. As we walked to this Taverna we passed a cafe on the corner called Carte Postale. Some awesomely great Chicago blues was playing on the sound system so I said we would return for a drink after dinner. We did and sat down. We told the gentleman we stopped because of the blues. He told us he only plays blues and jazz. He was very excited that we liked the blues. I told him I had the blues radio show and OH MY GOD he was in heaven. He then showed us pictures of his album (vinyl) collection, a picture of him and an older black gentleman that I was supposed to guess the identity of. I said it looked like Hubert Sumlin, which was correct, so I am batting 2 for 2 now. Free beer starts flowing. He asked Michael would he trade wives and Michael said no. He told Michael "you lucky man". I told Michael he could have negotiated and gotten a goat in the deal, as well, and probably lots of free Mythos. In the end, we were invited back on Friday night before we leave for a special night. I decide, I am going to give him my AR Blues & Heritage T Shirt that I had with me because I can order another one. We went back Friday night around 10ish. When he saw us I got the Greek greeting of kiss on both cheeks, while we hug and slap each other on the shoulders. He had some friends there who also liked the blues. I gave him my t shirt and it was like I gave him a kidney. Here is one of the many kisses I got from Bill (because he says his greek name is too long and it means the same as Bill) after giving him the t shirt. His friends Dimitri and Jacob (another one who says his Greek name is too long and difficult to pronounce) were fun and interesting, as well. An artist and poet, among other things and blues lovers, except they like Country but Bill will not play them country. Bill turned them on to the blues, that is how he met them. They (Dimitri and Jacob want to visit America and go to Nashville, TN. (Hey, they should check out the Parthenon there). Jacob drank Jack Daniels and had on cowboy boots. We explained the whole "shit kicker" thing and he got a real kick out of that. The thing is, these guys know blues beyond belief. Like the date a song was recorded, all the artists, where it was recorded, etc... amazing stuff. They had a huge book of blues artists that they had obviously studied. They knew about Arkansas because of blues artists from Arkansas. It was very enlightening and fun. Michael dubbed them the Greek Blues Society and Steven says "Of course, leave it do Deb to find a party in Athens." For Krista, Tony, Steve and Trish {inside joke} - "I think I found my tribe - they were not at the Grand Canyon, they are at Carte Postal in Athens, Greece waiting for me to come back!! (Michael, me, Bill with his t shirt, Dimitri and Jacob - my tribe, my people... I will be Queen of the Greek Blues Society!!)