St. Patrick's Day in Rethymno

After dropping my bag at the Hotel Civitas upon arrival, I met Apostoli for coffee at a cafe on the waterfront, then dinner at a really nice, quiet little family run place in the center. Afterward we headed to the The Punch Bowl, an Irish pub owned by his friends Christos and Geraldine. Geraldine is the "Irish" factor - she's been here for many years now, and although I don't recall exactly the quote she recited to me the other night, I recall the gist and I love it: "If you want to waste a life and do it well, come to Crete". Which I took to mean that the days, weeks, months and years just sort of flow together, and no one is too concerned about making "something" of themselves, because plain old existence here is satisfying enough.


Me with my Irish on. Everyone who came to the bar got a free hat and t-shirt, and although the hat will go in the "memorabilia" box once I'm back home, the t-shirt is going to work fabulously as a sleep-shirt.




Apostoli with his Irish on. Everyone was Irish tonight!







Eleni, one of the waitresses, who was as amazingly fast, efficient and friendly as she was when I was here for the first time at Carnaval. She somehow managed to look like she was having fun whilst trying to serve up the large crowd that eventually descended upon the Punch Bowl.



Christos and Geraldine.







Trying to capture the atmosphere inside without a flash.







Me and Apostoli, who is truly a generous host. Interesting as well, I could listen to his stories for hours!






Everyone was in the spirit.







Eileen, Geraldine's friend from Ireland who visits regularly this time of year. Check out the drink...a punch made of various liquors and juices, of which I enjoyed a small free sample upon arrival, but then steered clear of because it tasted WAY too smooth and easy to drink. I knew I might end up in serious trouble, so I switched to beer, but apparently Eileen is up to the task:-)






I was supposed to meet Apostoli back at the bar the following morning for coffee with Christos, Geraldine and Eileen, but my bed was feeling very comfy and I remembered that breakfast came with the price of the room, so I called Apostoli and rescheduled our meeting time for lunch. And then I called reception and asked them to bring my breakfast to the room.


Fortunately I got a sea-view this time!











After lunch on the 18th, Apostoli walked with me to the bus station and explained that these yellow grids are to assist blind people. I don't know if I have seen these elsewhere? Surely I must have, but I don't recall it and I thought it was quite clever.

All said and done, another thoroughly enjoyable weekend in Rethymno and I really hope to be able to get back once more before returning to the US at the end of May, although I don't know if time will allow it. I just realized today that I have only a little over two months left here!!!!

I think this might do...

On a walk today, I passed a large plot of fenced-in land, upon which sat several dilapidated buildings. It's quite close to the sea, with southern views to the mountains, and about a three minute drive to Kastelli/Kissamos. I day-dreamed (why not?) about what might be done to make this into a retirement "compound" (Debbie, Merit...you know what I'm talking about!!!) and thought that it might work quite well.

The main house, where I will live.







My house is in the foreground, there is another house in the background, closer to the water, which could serve as further living space for the other residents.





We'll have to do some work on the trees/greenery around the place. Debbie - that's your job since you're always waxing nostalgic about that English garden (there are enough Brits here that we can pretend that it's English).




I think Merit's horse will like it here.







And this will be turned into a wine shop/tasting room.







Extra buildings that will serve as living accommodations for those select few who will be joining us.






So...before I try to find out who this land belongs to, and whether they'd like to make an offer...who would like to front the cash?

CIC Coach Excursion, 28 February

I really shouldn't have gone. I had come down with an intense headache and fever the night before, coupled with chills and achy muscles - classic flu symptoms. However I had been looking forward to this trip all month, and it would have been the third time I had made arrangements to meet with Albert Van Elst of the CIC and then not been able to do so, so I was determined to drug up and go. The moon was still up when I left my house at 5:45am to catch the 6am bus to Hania, where I would then catch the 7:30am bus to Rethymno, which stopped in Georgiopouli, where the bulk of the group was meeting.
I managed to make it through most of the day feeling relatively well. We visited the Arkadi Monasteri first, followed by the village of Margarites where they make pottery, then a cave near the village of Anoiya, and then a big taverna for lunch.

Sadly it was during lunch that my condition took a nose-dive, and I was barely able to make it through the main course before finally excusing myself. I had hoped to be able to retire to the bus, but it was locked up so I sat outside for a while before coming back into the restaurant because it was too cold outside. I sat at a chair in the back of the place while I waited for everyone else to finish their meal, wishing I could better enjoy the live music being played by Vasilis Skoulas, a very well known Cretan musician.
The bus ride home was spent sleeping, sweating out my fever and apparently snoring at some point (I woke myself up and looked around self-consciously, realizing that only those closest to me had been subjected to the loud snort that emitted from my gaping mouth...lovely).

Despite feeling like crap, I got a few pictures and met some very nice people.

And I hope that this poor little goat was able to meet up with his mother again at some point. We frightened them on our approach to the cave and the mother hopped over a fence that the little guy was unable to breach, so he just ended up on the roof of this shack looking helplessly at his mother on the other side.

Sorry this post isn't more informative, there really is an interesting story surrounding the history of the monasteri, and the village of Anoiya, and I'd recommend further reading on both subjects...just not here:-/

My flu led to pneumonia and I ended up getting to experience the Greek medical system first-hand, and I can only say wonderful things about the emergency unit at the hospital in Hania. Quick, efficient and thorough - what I thought was going to be a nightmare turned out to be a not at all unpleasant experience. Kudos to them.

Flora

Various flowers and other plant-life, taken on a walk around Kastelli/Kissamos last Friday.

Lentil Soup

I don't usually get excited about soup, but I must admit that the batch I cooked up last night was pretty damn tasty.

I boiled 1/2 kilo of lentils for about 10 minutes, then rinsed and drained them.

In a large pot, I cooked garlic and onions in olive oil for a few minutes, then added the lentils, two grated tomatoes, enough water to cover the lentils, three bay leaves, salt, pepper, fennel, dill and paprika (heavier on the dill and fennel). I let this cook uncovered on medium heat for about 30 minutes, adding a bit of water as I went to make up for the evaporation (I suppose I could have just covered it and avoided having to do this?). I also threw in a bit more spice to make up for dilution from the added water. About five minutes before I turned off the heat, I added about a tbsp of vinegar and fresh chopped spinach.

I freaked out a bit when I began eating it because I saw what looked like worms, but realized that for some reason the lentils had begun to sprout while I was cooking them! I don't know if this is normal, I have very little experience with lentils.

Anyway, I really liked the flavoring in this and am looking forward to the leftovers for the next few days.

Nopigia

The gorgeous weather this week finally prompted me to take the walk from Kastelli/Kissamos to the Rhodopou Peninsula, to revisit a meadow overlooking the sea that I had visited earlier in the year. It was about 4 hours round trip, and I packed a small lunch of bread, meat, cheese and fruit to eat along the way.

On the return trip, I ran into Neil and Lorraine, the folks who take care of things for my landlord, at the taverna Porto Allegra, where I first went with Yannis last summer. They invited me in to have a drink, but I declined knowing that I had a good two hours walking ahead of me.

Before seeing Neil and Lorraine, I had a rather strange conversation with some fishermen. They were out in the water in their boat, I was high up on the rocks. I tried to speak Greek, they tried to speak English. We were yelling at each other to be heard above the wind and the waves. They learned that I was living in Kissamos and had walked here from there (looks of incredulity). They learned (after asking) that I am not married but am here with my two cats. I'm not sure if they really understood the cat part of it, because they then asked if they were brothers or sisters. I learned that the one guy's father lives in New York, and that I should come back the following day at the same time to feast on the days catch. I explained that it was a long way to walk, and I probably would not be back tomorrow, but some other day. I told them I want to go out in their boat with them and help them fish, which was met with looks of confusion between the two of them, and me finally deciding to wave goodbye and tell them I'd see them some other time.

Greek is difficult enough for me, but I have to admit that yelling what little I know across the sea to a couple of strapping, handsome young fishermen was kind of fun.

There is a picture in the collage above with some goats and a chicken. I love this particular yard, because it has not only goats and chickens, but some random bunnies hopping around too. Sometimes when I eat meat I feel bad, but if I'm going to eat it I'd like to think that whatever creature it belonged to was wandering around happily before it met its end, just like these guys.

Horta

I tried making it a little differently tonight: Steamed for about 15 minutes, added shredded carrots, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, salt and pepper. Nothing earth-shattering, but I like it. To go alongside the baked chicken thigh marinaded in olive oil, white wine, the juice of one orange, tarragon and some salt and pepper.