Sunday 18 October 2020

Under the Grapevine



Paradise Taverna.
In the hills above Poros, this is our 'local'.


In the grounds is the private chapel dedicated to Agios Nektarios.

Agios (Saint) Nektarios lived and died on the next door island of Aegina.  He only died in 1920 so he's a very recent saint and  is known for his healing and multitude of miracles.  We have been to the huge church and monastery dedicated to him a few times.  His tomb is in a side room and if you're a believer then you put your ear up against the coffin and can hear him walking about.  So they say.  I'm obviously a non-believer 'cos I aint heard nothing.




Doesn't that look inviting.  A hammock slung under the grape vines with a view of the lights of the town of Methana across the waters on the mainland Peloponese
 



The tables all socially distanced.
The night we went there it was hot and sultry but here we found a slight breeze and a cooler and more comfortable atmosphere

The cooking here is traditional greek.  Besides the usual greek salad and tzatziki Kiki cooks rabbit and onions, rooster and hilopites (a greek makaroni) and the BBQ is always fired up to grill lamb, pork chops and sausages and the wine is their own or from Kiki's elderly mother.  

There is no printed menu.  The waiter reels off a list of sides and mains which you are expected to remember, but I never do.  Forunately I mostly eat the same thing, grilled bifteki (greek hamburger without the roll) and tzatziki.


For the finale homemade rose pelagonium liqueur. The alcoholic base is red wine







And a sweet made from grape juice. The juice has been boiled for hours until it is a thick syrup called petimezi. 

The sweet is made by Kiki, the cook and owner. It is a little sour and not too sweet. Called moustolevria




22 comments:

  1. That all looks and sounds amazing! So pretty all lit up too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really did look so inviting and not too many people either when we went up there.

      Delete
  2. I like what you say about belief. You only hear or see things if you believe. I have seen ghosts and some people believe me and others don't.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's belief and something else. Some people are just more sensitive to these things. I'm very earth based. I haven't even seen an ufo or a bigfoot or a ghost. Mind you, Im not upset about that at all!!

      Delete
  3. That looks like a wonderful place to sit and eat! Haha, I'd probably forget the menu, too, if a waitress just came and listed the items out loud, without any menu or board to refer to! -Jenn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They reel the menu off at the speed of sound. They darn well should have a written menu. No menu means no prices on show either!

      Delete
  4. That all sounds rather wonderful. Ain't life grand sometimes?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amazing what you can do with a few select photos and a few choice words on a blog post. Its not bad though

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. In the wintertime its indoors with an open fire. Just as good

      Delete
  6. What a beautiful place to go and spend the evening. I would need a written menu and then would probably ask more questions!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. By law you must have a written menu but I've seen one in any language. The waiters speak english but still most tourists want to study the menu.

      Delete
  7. What... no TV in the corner. That restaurant looks PERFECT; I like the sound of the menu too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, no tv, not even in the corner. I hadn't thought about that till you pointed it out. Theyre all working to hard to watch and foreigners dont want tv...unless there's a soccor match

      Delete
  8. I've never heard of Pelagonium wine, is it nice to drink? And I'm sure that hammock will be ultra comfortable over Summer, that's quite a view.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's the rose pelagonia/geranium. It has a very sweet smell unlike the other geraniums. It's fragrant without being too sweet or alcoholic

      Delete
  9. It all looks so inviting
    Kali oraxie

    ReplyDelete
  10. Is that the same pelargonium they use in spoon sweets? These local tavernas are just the business. They don't really exist like that in cities, but we have managed to find one or two in small towns while travelling. Hosts usually apologize that the up-market places are closed this time of year and we have found ourselves dining among the local card players etc. Your place sounds like the best of all worlds.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know it's a sort of geranium but the translation is rose pelagonia. It sure is the one used in sweets. Grows like mad and has pink flowers.
      Paradise taverna is family run but so are a few others on Poros. We always try and find places like this.

      Delete