Where to start with my Postcard from Greece? I was hoping to keep this nice and focused on one topic, but the truth is that my holiday was filled with so many different activities of such a varying nature it is hard to narrow it down… so I shall just have to tell you everything!
We flew to Athens on Ryanair which was horrendous. I can visualise the management in meetings trying to devise ways to make customers as uncomfortable and miserable as possible. The following morning all my airline gripes were forgotten- Athens has a very special place in my heart as I lived there during my teens when my father, who worked for the FCO, was posted to Athens back in the 80s. They were halcyon days spent swimming in the sea, sitting in Greek cafes drinking sweet coffee and speeding around at night dangerously on the on the back of mopeds. It was brilliant.
We managed to find an amazing Air B&B in Kolonaki which is the posh part of town - it maybe could be compared to Kensington in London. We enjoyed a family game deciding what the London equivalent was of every area we visited. (The famous Monastiraki is Camden Town but a few streets over and you are suddenly in an edgier area of Finsbury Park). I indulged in my usual holiday pastime of researching local real estate, contemplating where my fantasy flat in Athens would be located. I might need to sell a few more murals for that!
I have not been to Athens for 6 years, and this visit I found it just buzzing… I really can’t recommend it highly enough for a long weekend. We visited top notch restaurants, funky bars, alluring boutiques and of course, immersed ourselves in plenty of culture. I met up with old friends and went to a hammam where I got scrubbed within an inch of my life by a Greek man with a massive belly, had coffee with our kids' former nanny, whom I adore, and had long meals with cousins and aunties. One of my cousins very sweetly took Leo on a 'best gyros in Athens' tour in which they ate 6 each!
Left- lunch with my Greek friend Rosie who lives around the corner from me in Islington but who is coincidentally always in Greece at the same time as me! Right- delicious brunch from Ergon House.
Right- Post hammam glow with my old school friends. Left- Loli, our beloved nanny who is now a dancer and movement coach.
We wrestled the crowds and visited the Acropolis, which I haven’t been to since I was 18 when it was free to visit. It was worth the 20 Euros and all the hoi polloi as the view of Athens and beyond is just jaw-dropping. (On our last visit, I broke my foot on my way up there tripping on a pothole, which I am sure must happen a lot in Athens as the state of the pavements is diabolical - and don’t get me started on the graffiti which is everywhere!)
After a whirlwind 5 days in Athens, we jumped into a rented car and drove south to Sparta to spend the next leg of our holiday at my father’s house. It could not have been more of a contrast, swapping the constant noise of honking horns and sirens for the neighbour's squawking chickens and bleating goats. The countryside was filled with wonderful wild flowers and unlike when we visit in summer, luscious and green, with the many citrus trees in the garden dripping with fruit...
This orange tree has been grafted so one side grows Seville oranges and the other sweet 'Californian' as they are called. The air across the whole region is thick with the intoxicating scent of orange blossom at this time of year. It is pure heaven!
The lemon trees were particularly laden this year. and the scent from the pith is exquisite. We brought back two carrier bags of them to London, and I have given them as gifts to everyone! The blossom picture on the right is sour cherry . This is made into a delicious syrup called Visinada which is so good poured onto vanilla ice cream.
The farmers market was full of oregano freshly picked from the mountains. In this region it is blanched and roasted with the lamb on Easter day, almost like spinach. Wild artichokes (left) are in abundance which are horrible to peel but tasty to eat!
The highlight of the visit was a trip up the mountainside to the medieval town of Mystras (a UNESCO World Heritage site) to attend the Easter Monday church service. Pantanassa Holy Convent is still permanently inhabited by nuns, and the little chapel there built in 1428, still hosts a couple of services a year. We squeezed ourselves inside to listen to the priest, and lit a few candles and said prayers for loved ones who are no longer with us.
Left- Tamata, small votives of embossed metal plaques showing various body parts are placed around the altar asking for healing or expressing gratitude.
After the service, the nuns served us coffee, boiled eggs and biscuits and also small glasses of sweet liqueur infused with Mastika. Even my 17 y/o son loved it and declared he was coming every year to attend the service! This lovely nun (left) is called Akakia which means 'without evil' standing next to our friend Glynis who kindly took us to the church service.
You are never further than 2 metres from a cat in Greece!
We visited our favourite secret local beach which we had almost to ourselves (no Greek would swim at this time of year!) and had a fantastic lunch in the beach taverna where the poor owner served tables whilst clutching her 10 day old baby (it is her third!) which I found a bit traumatic to watch
Our other big event of the holiday was a hardcore and at times rather stressful 5 hour walk up Mount Taygetos. Greeks do not really go in for walks, so I did fear the paths might not be very well maintained, but was not quite prepared for the walk to be 2 hours longer than advertised and involving points scrambling along paths only a few centimetres wide with nothing to hold on to! The views were absolutely incredible so it was (almost) worth it.
The beginning of the walk when we were full of energy and the paths were good!
We visited 2 beautiful churches cut into the rocks, the one on the right was not for the faint hearted as the rocks rolled down the cliffside as we walked!
Carpets of cyclamen kept my spirits up as I contemplated my death by falling down a mountainside. We were lucky enough to encounter two wild tortoises wandering along. I nearly stepped on the second one he/she was so well disguised.
The descent down the mountain was particularly tough and seemed to go on for hours. The picture on the left was actually taken more than half way down! We lived to tell the tale and my legs are still aching 5 days later.
Of course no trip at Easter is complete without the arrival of some more kittens at my father's house. We could not agree on names for this litter... suggestions gratefully received!
Thank you if you are still reading... I fear I have rambled on somewhat this time!