Long and Glorious Days In Kritsa

We are loving our time in Kritsa - we have fallen into a routine of joining Yia Yia and Bapou just after breakfast, then a trip into Agios Nikolaus for shopping and coffee, back to Kritsa for afternoon sleeps and dinner at a local taverna.

Bapou has solved many riddles about his family, by stopping to speak to locals and asking questions.  He and Yia Yia found Maria Papadoulis, a lady they met when they were last here in 1987. They produced a photo of her taken in her 20s - she looked shocked until she realised who they were. Then we were invited inside her house to look at old photos - a lovely warm woman - and it made Yia Yia's day to have found her.

We've enjoyed delicious meals here - never anything fancy but always wholesome and delicious. Lots of horta (wild greens) cooked with olive oil and lemon, boiled eggs, the local dried bread with oil, tomatoes and feta cheese, greek salads, snails (manny and yia yia only), souvlaki meats, tzazkiki, crusty bread, wild cured olives, dolmades (stuffed vine leaves), and fava beans. 

Manny and I saw 8 houses for sale yesterday on our rather arduous walk up and down the village - everything from broken down farm yards complete with goats and donkey stables, to stunning bouganvillea terraced homes with three or four bedrooms.  We've can't decide between two - one a very traditional house with original hand painted green tiles and a small terrace, and another with stunning terrace views from the roof top down through the valley to Agioa Nikolaus and the ocean below. We're taking Yia Yia and Bapou for a second look in an  hour or so.  Not that we'll buy anything this trip, but it seems a real possibility that we will dream about more at home.

Off to look at homes now - miss you all!

xxxx

The Royal Wedding!

Another womderful day in Kritsa - but it's raining!  Yesterday was wonderfully warm - hats and t-shirts weather, but today it's back to winter. We woke to the raining pouring down, and did the long dash to the car through the river torent down the laneways.  Off to Yia Yia and Bapou's, then we decided to take a wet weather drive to the Lato ruins, via a narrow road up the mountains.  It was closed, but the view over the mountain was worthwhile. 

I decided we would heed my spirit of adventure and took a right hand turn towards an unknown village through the mountains.  We didn't make it as far as the village - car sickness and a general feeling of panic (apart from Yia Yia) among my passengers forced me back after a hair-raising ride along cliff faces.
We then went to an historic church built in the 1300s just out of town. Across the road was a taverna advertising souvlaki, tzaiziki and chips for 5 euros - as it was cold and raining, it sounded divine so off we went for lunch.  We were there just in time for the royal wedding, so I asked if we could watch the BBC on the TV.  We enjoyed a delightful lunch washed down with local red wine as William and Kate took their vowels.  Something to remember!

We returned to the apartments so Sophia could sleep, and then we spent the next few hours watching the wedding in the apartment restaurant TV, drinking red wine, and a little raki (given to us as a gift from the restaurant we've dined at for the last 2 nights).  I think I'm beginning to appreciate this local specialty. A lovely way to spend a rainy afternoon!

God Save the Queen!

Lamb on Sunday

The lamb on the Sunday. What a great day

Easter Videos and Pictures

Hi everyone I am going to attempt to load some more photos and videos. Mum and Dad are having a ball which is the main thing. They loved Easter and spending times with our family the Klontzas in Koutouloufari.
The Klontzas have been so warm and welcoming.

The following Videos are Midnight on Saturday. The start of the big celebrations. They know how to do Christos Anesti in Crete.

Not only do they have fireworks bells ringing, fire crackers but they have a huge fire where they burn Judas !!! I swear the whole place was about to burn down. It was scarey !!! ........but so much fun

The Great Escape

The start of Soup !!!

check out our pics and vids

Hi - we've just loaded more pics throughout the blog posts so go back and have a look at old posts if you're keen.
Love to Les who has a bad eye injury - we're thinking of you and wishing you a speedy recovery! (will some raki help??)
xx

Kritsa-bound

We left Koutouloufari just after 10am and headed for the hills of Kritsa.  We stopped on the way at the Monastry of St George. It was St George’s day and so a great celebration was taking place, especially as it was still Easter holidays.  Hundreds of people stopped to light a candle and take part in a special liturgy. We saw Yianni and Maria there – as their grandson is named George so a special day for them.  Outside along the highway, police directed traffic on the mountside, while the gypsies set up market stalls of leather goods, gyros and balloons – not quite what’s expected on a religious holiday but there you go.

We made it to Kritsa in good time and received a very warm welcome from the owner of the apartments we rented last time with Cassie.  She remembered us and Cassie and smothered her with kisses.  Sadly, her mother, a favourite of Cassie’s, passed away only three months ago.  Very sad, as I have a photo of her and her Greek baking on my pinboard at home.  We left the girls with Yia Yia and Bapou and took off in search of our spiti (house), trying to follow absurd directions given by the owner “....go up a narrow road, turn left, go past a shop and over a bridge ...” which is fine except the shop is no longer a shop and the bridge is hidden by giant rubbish bins so you have no hope of finding it.  A 20-point turn around a narrow corner was assisted by two old Greek men who called instructions and waved their hands about – no help at all but nice that they were willing! We finally abandoned the instructions and called the caretaker, and English lady who’d lived in Kritsa for 19 years.  She rescued us and showed us the way (there was no way we would have found it otherwise “... it’s the house on the second laneway with the hyndrandras on the stairs...”).  It’s actually more of a spitaki (small house) than a spiti. I fell instantly in love with the white washed walls, Greek blue decor and charming hillside location amongst the locals and about 10 cats that regularly try their hand at looking adorable in the hope we may throw some food their way. ..Manny was a little less excited and felt reality didn’t quite live up to the photos on the web site.  It IS off the main drag for sure, and we can’t park anywhere near the place because the roads really are old donkey tracks, but it has a charm and simplicity that I love and I couldn’t be happier. 

Sophia is staying in the apartment in town with Yia Yia and Bapou as there is no cot here.  We have borrowed one from the apartment in town, but it’s wooden and unless Manny carries it on his back through narrow laneways we couldn’t get it here.  While we got organised with our spiti, Sophia slept and Yia Yia and Bapou enjoyed a glorious afternoon in the sunshine overlooking the mountain valley, beneath the lime and lemon tress of their apartments, drinking locally made wine and raki from Yianni.  They say it was one of their best days ever – and will no doubt be a special memory from our holiday.  I’ve never seen them so relaxed and at ease (and frisky... J). Afterwards, we took a walk through the town, Bapou stopping every now and then to speak to the locals in his native tongue about his father, had a watered down raki in a tourist cafe and then back to the apartments for a home-cooked dinner at the Argiros Apartments (Yia Yia and Bapou’s place) of peppered chicken and potatoes casserole made with fresh ingredients from the owner’s farm, an icecream in town and then off to bed.

The following day we headed down the mountain into the major port of Aygios Nikolaus – a big bustling city with throngs of tourists even at this time of year.   We had a wander around, a snack at an expensive tourist cafe on the lake and then headed for home so Sophia could sleep. 

It’s lovely in Kritsa and the locals are welcoming, especially to those who stay overnight here. So many tourists come here on a day trip (the one promoted as ‘experience a traditional Cretan village) so if you are staying, it’s something different.  Plus Bapou impresses everyone with his Greek and stories of his family who lived here.  The family down the laneway asked today if he was going to claim his father’s property, and he said yes! I’m sure that story is already around town.  The produce here is so fresh – we’ve been kept in good supply of eggs from the family next door, while we fill out water bottles from the communal mountain spring tap nearby – which are dotted around the town. 

We’re looking forward to taking a drive into the mountains to find the tavern we visited last time with its renowned goat lasagne.  We’ll also go back for shopping in Aygios Nikolaus, a visit to the apartment owner’s farm (he wants to show us), dinner at the Papadouli taverna and a sample of the best meat in town at a cafe down our laneway next to the blacksmiths.

Manny and I are even venturing out with the spiti caretaker on Thursday who is also a real estate agent to check out the local property, which has fallen in price by 50% since the global financial crisis. Nikos tells us there will be more drops in price and next year would be the time to buy.  Nothing big – just a spitaki on the hillside would be all we’d want so we have something for our family to enjoy for years to come.

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday April 24, 2011

A joyous feeling, sitting outside our apartment at Sunrise, watching the ocean below at the bottom of the mountain, a cat prowls for scraps, a wood-fired aroma drifts by - the remnants of Easter lamb, Greek music plays in the distance, the birds sing – it’s dusk and the rest of the Papadoulis family are asleep.  I savour the final moments of a very special day. I feel so honoured and privileged to be a part of the Papadoulis family who have given me such a depth to my relationship to this country.  When I left here in my late 20s I thought I would probably never return, or seldom.  Now a part of the Papadoulis clan I have returned with a new family of my own, and have become part of an extended family here. 

Being a part of a family Easter in Greece is so special – not just celebrating it in Greece, but actually being a part of a household, seeing how they live, understanding their customs and traditions and being honoured in such a special way has been so memorable.   Yianni asked me today if I felt a little bit Greek, and the answer is yes I do.  Frustrating at times, absurd at others, but truly lovable, the Greeks have a way of getting under your skin and grabbing hold of your heart.  I feel so fortunate to now have the experience of family in Greece – all thanks to my wonderful husband and his family.  At Nicko’s house on the hillside with ocean views to one side, and a view of a snow-capped mountain to the other, among the olive groves, there was a sense of peace and serenity.  Watching Bapou in his element with Yianni, Nicko, Arris and the other men at the table talking about the goat and how it was cooked, we all felt the importance of the day and how special it was to everyone there.  And there have been so many moments like that, especially for Bapou.  He spent a night talking with Yianni about old photos he’d brought with him – finally determining who was in them and the connections between their families.  That’s a lifetime search resolved right there.  And another, after communion on Saturday morning, when he emerged with such a smile on his face, exclaiming that it was a wonderful morning.  It’s an honour to have helped Bapou and Yia Yia experience all this – and see their warm glow of appreciation.

Before lunch we all took a walk through the olive groves to a stunning view through the mountains and over a riverbank. Cassie held hands with little Maria and Arris; while Yia Yia and Bapou walked arm in arm, stopping to look at wild rocket, aniseed and carnations (Yia Yia is truly in her element here with the wild herbs and impossibly rich colours of wildflowers, not to mention geraniums and hydrandras which flower profusely in small patches of soil on the roadside or in old oil tins set beside the front door).

The day was deliciously warm, the red wine and raki flowed, the Greek music gave a rhythm to our feasting, and Manny, Yianni and the girls danced.  Meze this time was goat cooked on the barbeque, salad, toasted local bread (dipped in the oil and vinegar mix at the bottom of the greek salad), and tiropita with mushrooms. I was full before we even began! Then it was time for the lamb on the spit, with salad and more bread.  Divine. Bapou was given the honour of the lamb’s head – tongue, brains and all, which is relished.  Then there were home baked easter sweets as well as baklava, and other delights I can’t event name – trays and trays of them, washed down with raki.  A relaxing day, spent with incredible hosts who have worked so hard to make this an Easter we will never forget.

Church last night was a truly unique experience.  Bapou, Manny and I were collected by Yianni and his daughter in law Anundia (short for Constantina).  Another special moment in Church at Easter with Bapou. We arrived around 11.30pm and then on the stroke of midnight the lights inside the church were turned off.  The fight was on for the first holy light from the priest, which then passed quickly through the congregation and spilled out into the courtyard.  Somehow we hadn’t noticed the effigy of Judas in the courtyard until it was lit on fire – the flames threatening two nearby trees until it was doused with a garden house in true Greek style.  Fire crackers, gun fire, fire works, church bells, the Christos Anesti song – a chaotic sensory overload that brought on fearful laughter among Manny, Bapou and I.  We stopped off at Yiannis’ place for takeaway soup, goat and salad for me, then returned to collect Yia Yia so they could continue the festivities well into the early hours of the morning.  Bapou was once again honoured as the head of the household – Anundia kissing his hand before the meal began.

And so to the end of the day... I can still hear children playing nearby, there is a chill in the air, but a promise of warmer weather ahead and the excitement of a new summer with all its possibilities.

For me, this is now Greece – hillsides of wild herbs, goats and shepherds, snow capped mountains, endless olive groves, the rolling ocean, church bells and local music.  I see a deeper beauty here now than I ever have before. It’s not about the good times of summer, it’s about the depth of relationships forged and Crete itself – at once simplicity and chaos combined.

Holy Communion

This morning we woke at 8am, dashed around getting ready, woke the girls (who were still both asleep), got dressed and headed out the door by 8.30am for a walk to church for annual sacrement of holy communion.

Bapou was ushered to the front with the older men while Yia Yia took Cassie to the chairs at the  back. The church was full and the floor covered with bay leaves in honour of the day, which Sophia delighted in collecting (thank goodness it kept her occupied).  We lined up for communion – Manny and I prodded towards the front by the local women because we were holding the girls. After a moment of anxiety when Sophia started to cry for me, all was well and both girls took communion well, as we all did.  It was a wonderful feeling to have taken part in such an important sacrament in a small church near where the Papadoulis family originated.  Afterwards we collected the car and drove to another village for coffee, stopping off to watch the men argue over the lamb in the local butcher (everywhere there is hustle and bustle over easter preparations), buy a plate of baklava and locally baked serefi (a Greek sweet bread with a red egg in the centre) to take to Nicko’s place tomorrow.  We are all invited to Yianni's son's place to celebrate easter sunday. 

The bakery owner gave us three freshly baked sweets for free (not sure what they were called but a delicious vanilla custard in the centre and pastry) as they had just come out the oven.  We ate them with coffee and tea at the local taverna, joining the local men who sat outside smoking and gossiping.  We then went for a drive along the coast to Malia, and returned to Sunrise Apartments to find Yianni and Arris doing maintenance work and our apartment being cleaned.  It was a beautifully warm late morning so we sat in the sunshine on the grass with Yianni, Maria, Sophia and little Maria talking, and laughing.  It was one of those special moments where everything seemed simple, happy and relaxed.

Tonight is the midnight church service which Manny and I are going to.  We’re then coming back to drop me off (to stay with the girls) and collect Yia Yia and Bapou for the traditional breaking of the feast meal at Yianni’s place.  Maria is cooking a speciality for Bapou – Maritsa which is some kind of offal dish (mmm) and no doubt it will continue into the early hours.  Tomorrow we celebrate easter at Nicko’s place from 9am until 9pm so a big day!

I’ve taken plenty of photos will upload those soon.

Miss you all

Sue xx

Easter Celebrations Begin

Good Friday we followed our now standard routine of a walk into Koutouloufari village for a coffee, a stroll around, lunch for the kids, Sophia to bed.  We all had an afternoon sleep ahead of the Good Friday church service. 

Yianni and Maria collected us at 8.30pm – Manny, Cassie and I (Bapou, Yia Yia and Sophia stayed at home as it’s still very cold at night here) and we went to their beautiful church at Piskipiano – the next village along the mountainside.  It is such a glorious sight – the church and church courtyard packed with hundreds of families, inside the Epitafio is decorated with white and purple flowers- the church filled with a heady perfume of incense and flowers.  Again, we were ushered to the front and joined the throng, somehow standing right beside the priest.  Six local young men dressed in traditional Cretan costumes stood before the Epitafio waiting for the moment to lift it onto their shoulders for the procession through the village.  Two young women, also dressed into traditional costume waited with a basket of rose petals to follow.  The priest blessed the congregation, the usual chaos ensued as the Epitafio was hoisted into the air (glad to see some things are universal!) and the strapping young men were away and into the courtyard.  We watched the procession until it headed into the village.  

Afterwards, Yianni and Maria drove us to a taverna in a nearby village where we joined their daughter Sophia and husband Arris and their friends and children.  Yianni and Maria convinced us to take Cassiana and let her stay up late for a change.  The taverna was in a small village not frequented by tourists and along a dirt road. The room was no bigger than our living room - all good signs that the food would be excellent home style fare!

Our tradition in Australia is to go to Church on Good Friday and then straight home, given the solemnity of the occasion. No here!  We were told it would be only small plates of meze (starters), not a big dinner.  But it was far from a small meal.  Plates of fasting food flowed from the tiny kitchen – fava bean dip, cooked fava beans in garlic, slow roasted red capisicums, tender deep fried calamari, prawns, snails (which Cassie devoured!), chips, dried bread with roasted tomatoes (a local delicacy) – we ate until we could eat no more, and then the dessert arrived – more spoon sweets of figs and grapes, served with a plate of almonds and walnuts drizzled with warm honey.  The raki also came out then, along with giant fresh fava beans straight from the garden of the taverna. It is tradition to serve fresh beans at the end of the meal, which we peeled and ate – Cassie loved them.  By this time it was close to midnight and we could not eat another thing – finally I realised the food continued to flow because we continued to eat – the more we ate, the more arrived.  I nudged Manny and told him to stop being polite and eating, and then the food would stop!

Cassiana was still playing happily with the other children – Sophia’s daughter Maria who is 3, another girl Marula, and two boys.  The language barrier is proving not so difficult for Cassie to overcome with the children.  Yianni’s son Nicko taught Cassie to say “I saw a black cat” in Greek “Etha mis mavri guata” and then taught the Greek children the same in English.   We got home at midnight, collapsed into bed, knowing it would soon be time to get up and go to Church in the morning for communion...  

And so to Greece...

Manny and co arrived a day earlier than me and received a wonderfully warm welcome from the Klonzas family who hosted a dinner which I hear was a feast of great proportions.   Platters of fasting fare that was hearty and delicious flowed from the kitchen of Maria, who then pan fried crepes with local cheese and honey – my mouth was watering just hearing about it!  Yianni then showed an historic Crete movie which featured his father and himself as a boy – and incredibly Yia Yia had watched the very same movie in a foreign movie theatre in Melbourne in her 20s – which she remembered because she loved it.

I arrived the following day – feeling instantly at home on Greek soil, just as it was when I was working here in the 1990s.  I always  felt an overwhelming sense of relief to be back – and it was so again this time.  I taxi ride through the mountains and I was at sunrise apartments and into the arms of Manny who I believed missed me greatly J

We settled in, had a light supper and then Manny, Cassiana and I walked to the local church (small with room for no more than 20 or 30 people) for the service of Holy Unction – where we received a blessing with holy oil.  We were made to feel very welcome, ushered to the front and offered the sacrament ahead of the rest of the small congregation.  Afterwards we dined at a nearby restaurant, ordering the most delicious vegetable soup, a Greek salad and Manny couldn’t resist a plate of snails.  We washed it down with a bottle of surprisingly good local red.

The following day was our first adventure in the hire car – a 9 seater which is not ideally suited to the donkey pathways of the village, but as head driver I’m not doing too badly!  We headed into Hersonissis , just a short drive down the mountain to the seaside and stationed ourselves at a water’s edge cafe.  When I say water’s edge it is literally so – the waves of the beach lapping beneath the glass windows.  I’m sure the entire waterfront restaurant scene contravenes every building licence under the sun, but I don’t think they’re big on those kinds of things here!

That night we were again hosted at the Klonzas for a Lenten feast in honour of my arrival.  Baked tomatoes and capsicums stuffed with rice, horta (a wild green that is divine with oil and lemon), a cabbage salad with artichoke hearts, and the most amazing seafood dish of prawns, mussels, tomatoes, herbs and melted feta cheese.  The bread is crusty and wholesome – and very much worth breaking the no-carb diet over.  Yianni spoiled us with double-dried wholemeal bread soaked in oil and vinegar which is beyond description (I could eat it all day), locally made feta and delicious local wine.  He then brought out Greek sweets made by Aris’ (Yiannis’ son in law) mother – a sugary crystallised fruit that was a cross between an orange and a grapefruit, served with fresh yoghurt.  The Greek ‘spoon sweets’ were once well known among the Greeks in Perth and a tradition of Manny’s grandmother to make, but not often made in Perth any longer.  A real treat!

Here in Crete just in time for Pascha(Easter)

Well we made it to Crete. What an adevnture that was going through UK security.!!.
We are loving Crete the food the wine the cousins family the small village churches. It has been so much fun. It is great to seeing Dad catch up with his family. Just loving it

Fun at Gatwick

So this morning we set off around 9.30am bound for Gatwick.  Some of us were a little slow to start after yesterdays English BBQ antics and the village spring open garden day which saw copious amounts of Pimms, white wine and beer consumed... It was one of the amazing days where everything comes together in perfect unison, The sun was shining, the weather was warmish (low 20s), the BBQ was sizzling, drinks flowing, and Tim's family were all in once place - a rare event that happens only every few years as his sister lives in Sydney. So, we enjoyed a lovely afternoon with Tim's two sisters, brother in law, and mother. 

Their village of Langley was buzzing with the excitement of spring open garden day and after lunch we headed off, stopping to take in the delights of authentic English cottage gardens, the likes of which we just don't see in Australia. There was a raffle, plants for sale, a glorious home backed afternoon tea in the church hall, and generally a lovely relaxed atmosphere.  We got to meet most of the townsfolk - but of course we were already well known as the Australian cousins visiting for a holiday so we didn't have to do many introductions.  It was a lovely day and one that shall go down in my memory as something special.

This morning we bade farewell to our wonderful hosts and drove to Gatwick - took about 2 hours along motorways and navigating through traffic.  We found the hotel, unloaded and put Sophia to bed with Yia Yia while Manny and I dropped off the hire car and scoped out our departure plan for tomorrow. It will be an early start, catching the 5.30am shuttle bus to the airport to be checked in by 6am for the plane at 8am.  Arrival in Greece is 2pm.   Tim and Desi will join us in Greece just after Easter so it will be lovely to see them again in a new environment.. especially as it will be Tim's first trip there.

Can't wait to be back on Greek soil and see Manny's cousins again.  The grandchildren will be around 3 years now so Cassie will have some play mates - let's see if they can bridge the language divide.

Until then

Sue xx

 

Fun with Desi and Tim

We have had so much fun staying with Tim and Desi. Today the village had garden day where everyone opens up their gardens to the public. It was so much fun and we had a ball. Monday we start our journey to Crete by heading off to Gatwick airport for the flight on Tuesday. A big thankyou to our cousins and family in London Tim and Desi for hosting us. We will miss you for now but see you shortly in Crete.