Ode to a Grecian Yearn

 

 

 

 

Yearnıng for:

1) Family to share our Greek adventures. Check! Bernie's brother John and sister in law Linda joıned us for two weeks of sight seeing, island hopping, eating, and shopping. A fantastic time was had by all.

2) A Greek history lesson. Check! Thank you Brian Rootsaert, I do know that the Parthenon sits atop the Acropolis. (Ten points for Staff Infection... our Trivia Team)

3) A little Greek. Check!! And we called him 'Papa George', the owner of the Greek Travel Agency who plied us wıth sweet coffee while we planned our budget escape to the islands.

4) Warmer weather. Check! The island of Santorini was warm enough for us to eat breakfast and lunch on the patio of our 'cave house' and I even dared to remove my socks and shoes.

5) A nuzzle from Tigger. Sort of check. With so many feral cats roaming around the islands, it wasn't hard to adopt one or two or three for a few days. I named my favourite Baby and spoiled him while we were on the island of Santorini.

6) Christmas with family. Check!! Thanks to John and Linda Christmas came to the island of Naxos complete with supper (chicken kebabs and Greek salad), gifts, and a Skype session with Oma and Opa in Steinbach.

7) A marble quarry. NO check. Marble, marble everywhere and not a backpack big enough to take it home. There is so much marble on the island of Naxos that those leftover bits and pieces are used as 'fill' in rock fences. It's just not fair! (If only John would have been a little more accomodating I could have gathered enough marble for a new kitchen counter and sent it home with him.)

8) Another two weeks in Greece. NO CHECK! Before we knew it our time was up on all three islands and we were winging our way to Istanbul.

Roamin' Holiday

My feelings about Rome are all over the map (no pun intended). It is a city of great beauty and yet it has a gritty feel. St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistene Chapel, Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Step, and the Colosseum are all beautiful in their art, architecture and history but underlying everything is the feeling that it is every man (and woman) for themselves. Now... my perception might be slightly clouded as I had my wallet lifted while riding a very crowded bus and the rose coloured glasses were removed. Maybe I'm feeling this way because Rome has always been on my 'go to' list of places to see.

On the up side, I did get to retrace the steps of Audrey Hepburn in the movie 'Roman Holiday' and loved having that movie come to life in a new way. My fave... the Mouth Of Truth... legend says that the hand of a liar will be bitten off when placed in its mouth. (Is this the time to tell you that it is hard to type with only one hand?)

More importantly though I got to share Rome with my brother Brian and my friend Linne. We all tossed our coins into Trevi Fountain (ala another old movie 'Three Coins In The Fountain') and even though my initial visit included some bumps, I'm keeping my fingers crossed to come back another time.

Under The Tuscan Sun

What can I say about Tuscany that hasn't already been said? To be able to spend two weeks exploring the back roads and hill towns was a total delight. I don't really know if I knew what to expect but I certainly was not disappointed. Every curve in the highway and every town along the way provided us with another photo op... good thing cameras are now digital! We really felt like we had found a home away from home thanks to our wonderful host Annamaria. A highlight of our stay at Casa Gabriella was the annual olive harvest. We helped our host family 'rake' the olives from the trees onto the netting on the ground. From here the olives will be taken to be pressed and every family will have oil for the whole year. We were also invited to share a meal with the family and treated to real homemade Italian cuisine. It was an experience we will never forget!