It's Getting Better

Friends and Family,

Somehow, missing that one day, and then having Blogspot down threw me off schedule. So I am back to trying to catch-up for the two days I missed. Actually, it should not take long.

Saturday was a beautiful day. There is a sense that the weather has truly changed. I walked to Drepano and was truly warm by the time I returned. Because there was hardly a cloud in the sky, we decided to vary our schedule and head for the beach. We returned to Karathona, where we had enjoyed a bottle of wine last week. While there were a few more people there, it was still relatively quiet. In fact, everyone continues to comment about how quiet it is everywhere. Anyway, we took some chairs and a table on the beach, ordered our bottle of Greek wine, pulled out Kindles and iPads and enjoyed the sunshine – for a bout an hour! Suddenly, the wind came up with the sun still shining, but paradise was no longer as advertised. So, we picked things up and moved up under a covering, enjoyed the remainder of the wine, before giving up and coming back home. Lunch was in (we keep coming away from restaurants with leftovers!), as was siesta. About 6 p.m. we ventured down to Yorgos’ bar. It was a lively group. There was a German couple and an artist friend of Ingrid and Yorgos, Petros, from Slovania. Virtually homeless, he lives on what the artwork he can sell and the odd-jobs people give him, either for food or money. It is these interactions that make you appreciate what you have. We have also had a nice time talking with Ingrid’s mother, who has been here for last month. She is from Cologne. Lovely lady, who goes back on Wednesday.

Anyway, that pretty much took up Saturday night. We came back to the room for some dinner, but had our little beach excursion as the only time we left the grounds.

Sunday was a even warmer day. It was the warmest morning we have had since arriving. They were predicting temperatures of about 80 and after Polley and I walked the mile of so into Tolo for a glass of wine, and then back, I am sure the prediction was correct.

We had some wine at a little place called Arcadia in Tolo. We had not been there 10 minutes when a whole table of American college students and one of their instructors sat at the table next to us. As we ease-dropped on their conversation, I was reminded of how important it is to at least have the minimal decencies of the language of the country you are visiting. These girls and their instructor seemed to have no sensitivity to the language of the people serving them. Hello, please, thank you, how are you, all seem like requirements of a program taking people abroad. Apparently that is not case in Tennessee!

We took the warm walk home, and Polley made a fabulous Greek salad. I may have said it before, but I think she could teach the Greeks something about Greek salads! Siesta, of course, and some time at the bar with Ingrid, Yorgos and her mother. This time, however, we were determined to get to a restaurant. We decided to return to Chez Gilles, a place we went the first week and had very much enjoyed. This time were very much disappointed. We had an octopus salad (alright, but nothing special), and a recommendation of something called cuttlefish cooked in a tomato-wine sauce. Very disappointing. The fish was so firm that it really bordered on tough. The sauce lacked any sort of complexity. We have now decided that we will not return to Chez Gilles. Very nice people, but the food seems to have gone down hill. The nice thing, of course, is there is always tomorrow and another place to try!

Ed and Polley