A day for the blog

Matthias said there’d be days like these. But it didn’t seem so on Friday morning, when we were eager to ride our bikes to the market in Timbaki – about 12 km away – to buy vegetables for the week, and sit in the square and eat Souvlaki. Unfortunately, it looked like rain that morning, so we said: “let’s see what it looks like by 10AM” (when we wanted to leave.) Like clockwork, at 10AM, it started to rain and we decided not to go.

On Saturdays, they have a market day in Mires (pronounced: Mir-ez) – also about 12km away. We were concerned on Friday (well, Matthias was concerned) that if it also rained on Saturday, we wouldn’t have a chance to get cheap salad stuff for the week. Fortunately, the weather on Saturday turned out better than we could have imagined – the ride to Mires was brilliant, and after we bought our groceries, we enjoyed our souvlaki in the glorious sunshine. THIS, I thought, is why we came to Crete! It was so nice that I suggested we stop in a village we always pass through on the way back and sit on the Platia (town square, or plaza) for a drink. Matthias was up for it, and chose a little “kafenion” with a table outside. The owner was thrilled to see Matthias and speak German with him, as he had spent 20 years living and working in Germany. He took us to his orchard and gave us a huge bag of oranges and then back to the café where he poured us some of his homemade raki (distilled Greek wine.) We then rode home where we grilled some Greek sausages (okay, they weren’t so great) and vegetables in olive oil, and Matthias made calamari in garlic. As the sun started to go down we went to the restaurant owned by our landlord for a beer - but really just to sit by the fireplace (and sip the beer SLOWLY). Some people we know were there (drama – to be shared later, perhaps) and we sat with them for a while before going down to the pub. That was a treat for me, as “California Jimmy” was there and we were able to chat about American Football (go Cards? Ravens? What do I know?? They could have been knocked out by now…)

It was a great day – one that I should remind myself of whenever I start to complain about…well….anything. We had great weather the following day as well, when we took a hike over to Red Beach. And now we’re back into our weekday healthy-eating-and-no-alcohol routine (okay, I get to have one vodka with olives in the afternoon.)

And when I upload this to the Internet tomorrow, I’ll read all about Obama’s inauguration!

latest photos are here: PHOTOS

I need to update the blog but I don’t feel like it.

That’s what I just said to Matthias. Sure, there’s a lot I can write about, but I’d rather play a game on the computer, watch a movie, or read my book. Also, I can’t remember what I’ve already written, and since I don’t have access to the Internet right now, I might be repeating myself. But here goes anyway…

We had a really nice xmas dinner here in Pitsidia at the local pub, which is run by Hans (from Bavaria) and Isabelle (from Poland.) So the food was traditional Northern European – duck, cabbage, potato salad and dumplings, etc. , and it was delicious. And of course the beer was flowing, as was the Raki (to add the required Greek flair to the party.) We also spent a relatively quiet New Year’s Eve at the Pub – less food but equal amounts of spirit.

But then the holidays didn’t end there. On New Year’s Day we went to a traditional gathering in the little town square, or platia (it’s triangle-shaped, actually) where the Greek version of Santa Claus (I just learned that’s an American name – developed by Coca-cola, I was told) delivered gifts to all the children. There was also a big cake – everyone got a piece and more – and somewhere hidden inside was a token for a prize. The cake was tasty, but I didn’t win the prize (or I just ate it.) There was also some music and dancing. It was fun.

The next day (my birthday) we took a bus to Iraklion – the nearest “big city” about an hour away. Unfortunately (as often happens on the 2nd of January) most restaurants and shops were closed, so I didn’t get to do my birthday eating and shopping until the next day (fortunately, I thought ahead – we stayed overnight in Iraklion.) Every Saturday, as the 3rd of January happened to be, there is a big market in Iraklion – fruits, veggies, clothes, you name it, and Souvlaki! We had fun there before getting the bus back to Pitsidia in the afternoon. Actually, the bus ride is nice in itself – the bus winds its way over the snow-covered mountains. By the way, thanks to all for the birthday greetings – it was fun to go to an internet café and get 15 birthday emails in my inbox, not to mention the Facebook postings!

Now things are back to “normal”. We’ve had a few days of nice weather and have been biking and hiking around. Hopefully, I’ll be able to include some photos here as well as on the Picasa site (link will be included here or to the left – whichever I have time for.) So, that’s all for now. Happy New Year to all!