The Road Trip Begins

 My dear brother (one of the 3) and his wife have just arrived in Poros from Perth. I can't remember how many times they have visited.  All my family love the island and come here year after year. It used to be just brothers and wives but now it's nephews and nieces, members of the extended family and many friends.   It always amazes me how much they enjoy their stay and it gives me so much pleasure when I see them walking down the gang plank of the Catamaran!! 

This time we are taking Paul and Karen up north to ancient Delphi, the naval of the world, and the site where the oracle Pythia announced her cryptic answers to the ancient's queries. 

From Delphi we go onto Meteora with it's Monasteries 'in the air' 

Paul in his Hellenic Navy cap ready to set off on our road trip 

Paul's cap brought us lots of chat about Greece, brothers in law, and Australia. Every Greek has some family member in Australia, and these Australians have relatives on a Greek island

We travelled along the top of the Peloponese and crossed over this magnificent bridge, Rio Antirio, to the rest of mainland Greece 

Octopus and grilled, fileted sardines

After a wee 'adventure' we found a taverna off the main road. One where locals were eating, and drinking,  and enjoyed a very good lunch. 

Here we are, the table groaning as usual with traditional Greek food

K and I on the left, P and K on the right

The view at lunch

Not bad is it. 

The village of Delphi is way up in the mountains and this is our view looking down to the sea. 

Happy couple 

Cocktail time

We were also celebrating our 46th Wedding Anniversary

Thank you Paul And Karen for making it a wonderful day

And thank you K for driving all the way

It was a 5 hour journey

Much more tomorrow 😊😊

There are ancient ruins to visit

Almost Summer

 

Coffee time at 'Utopia' 

Or this that the brand of coffee

The weather is ok for sitting outside though there is rather a nippy breeze 

We are still in long sleeves and jackets. The foreigners in short sleeves.

The garden shop is doing a brisk trade as everyone clears their winter gardens and stocks up for summer planting

The view this morning

Preparing for the Luxury Boat Show.

Soon there'll be a line up of floating palaces

Once Upon a Time

 Hard to believe our backyard was once a summer paradise 

The sight today

Old iron posts

Piles of broken paving stones

And yet.. 

13 years ago

There was even a small lawn. 

And a lawn mower. 

It lasted one summer. Maybe 2.

The lawn dried up

The lawn mower was sold

The old paving stones piled up

A load of old iron couldn't be resisted. 

ANZAC

ANZAC Day

Remembrance Day in New Zealand

And

Australia

They rose with courage in a world at war

Today we rise in peace, remembering them

From the trenches to today's parades we honour the brave. 

Lifted from Instagram

Thanks

My father's cap and medals 

In a display case on our wall

He served in the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy.

Captained this Motor Vessel which spent time working with the Greek Navy searching the islands as the Germans retreated .

His brother Frank Creasy served in the NZ Army and was killed in the Battle of Monte Casino. He is buried in the Commonwealth Cemetary at  Cassino in Italy.

My mother's brother George Perry also served in the NZ Army.  He was captured in Northern Greece when the Germans invaded and spent the rest of the war working on a farm in Austria growing food for the German Army.

We remember 

Family Feast Fotos

 
A photo is worth a thousand words. So they say

These baking dishes are huge

The lamb was lowered into them and dismembered 

Kyriakos

Son in law

Same pose, same photo every year.

Son in law Yiannis

There's always dancing

Yiannis cutting the last of the offal off the spit 

Just beginning

Family fun

Father daughter greeting

The male of the house cuts the Easter loaf 

All the family was present

George and Boem

Elli and Junior

Sunday Fiesta

 Easter morning moments

Early morning it's all about the boys. 

Hard work over, it's breakfast time . Wine, fried innards, offal soup, music and tall tales.

8 am and it's all on the spit

Lamb, head to tail, offal roll, everything from liver to kidney, spleen and heart and probably more I've forgotten. 

Last and not at all least a spit of half pork and half chicken. 

Putting toothpicks in the bits of skin hanging down

It's all turning merrily over the coals

Cracking red eggs for good luck

Sort of egg conkers

Hot no-cross chocolate buns

Not so traditional English recipe

The boys clean up and do the outside dishes.

Well taught by mothers and m-in-law

Last night's midnight meal

Offal soup, mayeritsa. Made with the innards, lettuce, rice and thickened with eggs and lemon juice

Homemade Easter bread

Saturday Afternoon

 Part 2

There's a lot of activity up and down our cul de sac today. The dog at the top of the road immediately starts barking when it hears a car or bike and it's taken up by the dogs further down.  All the neighbours far and wide have arrived from Athens for the holiday.

Elli and Luli

First visitors today bringing extra intestines and sheep's stomach.

Soon after they left there was a loud 'yiasas' from our front gate. Our neighbour across the gulley handed a plate of homemade red eggs and koulourakia over the gate. And a beautiful pot of carnations from their garden shop.

She has three children, the youngest is 2, she works at the shop and still has time to bake cookies, dye eggs and deliver them all over the neighbourhood.

Meanwhile

In Jerusalem the Holy Light has been received and is on its way to Greece in the Presidential plane 

This light is flown, speed boated, trotted by donkey and driven to every corner of Greece. At midnight when Christ is Risen, every candle, including ours, will be lit from this flame and carried to every house around the country.