My Favorite Things

Metaxa

For the uninitiated the Greeks make a wonderful brandy called Metaxa. Steve and I had a nightcap at the rooftop bar of the Electra Palace, our hotel while in Athens, and I noticed the bottle on the shelf. Actually, two bottles, 5 and 7, denoting how long that particular bottle had been aged. I opted for the 7, and made the mistake of asking the bartender for ice on the side as I couldn’t remember if I liked it “blossomed” with a bit of water or not. It had been years since I’d had it. He got a bit snippy with me and suggested I order the 5 if I was actually going to put ice in it. I didn’t use the ice after all as even the 5 was incredibly smooth. His loss, the 7 was more money.

Before a dinner with our family group of eight we had another Metaxa at the tiny but lovely bar at the base of Jeanne and Vic’s apartment in Athens. I scanned the shelves for Metaxa, and there on the very top shelf was a bottle of the good stuff, Metaxa Reserve. We asked the waitress for it and the bartender couldn’t find it, so I pointed it out. They both got very flustered. “Oh, no, you don’t want that, it is VERY expensive!” I asked how much, and they quoted me the price for what I’d paid for the 5 year old the night before. I think we made their night when I authorized them to pour it.

We decided when we got on the ship we’d try to do Metaxa in every port. Kea, a small holiday island not far from Athens was our first stop. One would think channel markers and lights would be an international language. In Europe they are opposite of the states. It’s not red-right-return there. Green should be kept on your right as you enter the harbor. It was after dark as we sat on the bow and entered the port, and Jeanne asked where the markers were. I pointed to the flashing green on our right. “It’s moving!” she said. No, Jeanne, we’re moving. Happily, she was not at the helm.

The port of Kea was hopping with an Athen’s ferry disembarking passengers and vehicles, and a strong wi-fi signal that sucked a significant number of our ship’s passengers into their mobile devices to check e-mail and news. But Kea had no obvious bar where we could order a Metaxa, and besides, our tour director Lina had brought a bottle of Mastica for us to taste, a liqueur from the island of Chios and from where Vic’s mother hailed, and so we thought we’d skip the Metaxa tonight. It was a good plan until we returned to the ship and Steve and I ventured to the top deck to see if I could access the free wi-fi with my computer. Sunny, our bartender did indeed have Metaxa 5. Shana and Victoria had gone to bed, so we were on our own, and opted for a drink. But Sunny gave me away to Shana in the morning. Busted.

After our dinner in Mykonos we attempted to look for a bar on the way back to the ship to enjoy a Metaxa, but since we ate early by Greek standards (we were returning to the boat around 10:30PM) and the restaurants were crowded with diners just arriving for dinner we opted to enjoy our nightcap on the boat. So snifters in hands we adjourned to the lounge chairs on the bow. Sunny informed us we’d killed the Metaxa, and as we were actually stuck in Mykonos for several days with a fouled anchor we wouldn’t be seeing any more anytime soon. He gave us a complimentary pour of cinnamon raki, which he said he’d made. We wondered if he had a still in his room.

At a grocery store in Syros we found Metaxa 5 and Metaxa Honey, which I’m guessing is a Drambuie-like liqueur. I was holding out for a bottle of reserve to take home. When we mentioned what we’d seen to Sunny he said there were several kinds of Metaxa, starting with the 3 year old. “Don’t drink that,” he said. “That’s only for funerals.”

Ask the Google

After the visit to Delphi, where people went to get their information from the priestess, or to, “Ask the Oracle”, it was decided that Google is our modern day Oracle. So every time someone asked a question Shana said, “Ask the Google”.

Greek Salad and Greek Yogurt

The combination of salad ingredients is very simple, so why doesn’t it taste the same at home? Gotta be the Greek air. And whatever they’re feeding the cows to get the yogurt to taste the way it does we need to replicate here. Having spoon sweets to top the yogurt with is an added plus.

The Colors of Greece

The Aegean is the most beautiful combination of colors; blue, green, turquoise, aqua, cerulean and whatever else you can think up. It changes with its depth, with the wind, with reflections. I could look at it forever. Bougainvillea in all of its gorgeous shades, vegetables at the market, the blue church domes, the brilliant white of the houses of the Cyclades, the spring green leaves of the fig trees, the deep color of the Cyprus trees and the dusty sage color of the olive trees; these are the colors of Greece. My eyes wanted to soak in everything at once. It’s truly a feast for the senses.

Time With Family and Making New Friends

Most of the Orphan family is on the left coast and we are on the right. Thankfully Jeanne and Vic visit their local cottage a few times a year and we get to see them. Victoria, Shana, George and Leo not so much, so spending time just hanging out with all of them is such a treat. The other members of our group were a delightful bunch and we enjoyed getting to know them, especially our four librarians who were our travel companions to Boston and our wonderful tour director Lina.

So I’ve put together my “highlight reel”, just click on the picture below. I hope you enjoy my favorite things.

This is the conclusion of my bombarding you all with my dishes about our trip to Greece. I promise I’ll go back to a more reasonable correspondence beginning next week, unless something really cool happens that I need to share, and then all bets are off.

Go traveling, everyone! It expands the mind and changes our world-views, I think for the better. And don’t we all need to feel better about our fellow citizens on this mortal coil?