American in Cyprus: Greece

Since arriving in Cyprus, we were hoping to have the chance to visit Greece. The oopportunity finally arose, as Renos and Vicky celebrated their wedding on July 12. We took advantage of the festive time and saw as much of Greece as possible while there. We flew into Thessolaniki and drove to Karditsa, located in the central part of Greece. This would be our home base for the next three nights as this was the location of the wedding. We arrived quite late during the night and were hoping to sleep in but the kids don't seem to understand that concept. On our first day we drove to the western part of Greece. Our first stop was the Perama Cave. Greece apparently has many caves and this one was spectacular. It has stalagmites and stalactites, which makes it look as if rock has dripped from the ceiling of the cave to make interesting rock formations. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside the cave. The tour guide said only spiders and bats could survive in the cave, but they are rarely seen. Of course, my eagle eye daughter Sofia, who is afraid of spiders happened to find one to point out to me.
We then drove past Meteora. A large rock formation with a monastery built on the top. It is a beautiful area and the village is built at the bottom of it with the base of the rocks actually forming the backyard for some houses. We stopped just to take pictures. From there we headed to the town of Ioannina. The drive there is through the mountains and most of the highway goes through tunnels. We were amazed at the number of tunnels we went through. We stopped counting after about 15, and some were several miles long. Ioannina has a pretty area along a lake that we walked through. Demetris talked to a local guy who recommended a "taverna" for us for lunch. It was off the beaten path, but perfect. The tables were set up outside and among other things, we had a delicious Greek sausage, chicken kebabs, and hand cut fries. The Greeks and Cypriots love their fries.
After all of that adventure, we headed back to the hotel as that evening Vicky's family was hosting both families at their house for a pre-wedding celebration. We didn't need to hurry back too much. The party started at 11:30 p.m. I thought that was a joke, as clearly kids were invited to come as well. It's a cultural difference as they think nothing of having a family party at that time. The family had closed off a portion of the street in front of their house to set up tables for a buffet and for dancing. We listened to lots of Greek music accompanied by traditional dances and the occassional plates being broken. Guess the neighbors don't mind late night parties on their street. I think the entire time we were in Greece the kids never went to bed before midnight. I gave up on bedtime.
The next morning we took it easy and hung out at the hotel pool. The rest of Demetris' family was there as well. After lunch we went back into tourist mode. We did not stray far from the hotel, but headed to the village of Trikala. This is a quaint area and we walked around the town center. We had some gyros for lunch, the best I have ever had. We saw an ancient castle and headed that way. There was a nice patio area there with a lovely view and a great place to have some ice cream. There are so many ancient sites in Greece, that this would be considered an "ordinary" one. That evening we again had a wedding party to attend for dinner so headed back to the hotel to freshen up. Naturally, we were the first to arrive as Greek dinner time is at least three hours later than American dinner time. We thought we were running late! It was worth it as the food was absolutely delicious. This restaurant was located in a small village in the mountains and had a spectacular view. We ordered several dishes to share, but the highlights were a slow cooked beef stew, Greek sausages, and a fish dish. It was a pleasant surprise for such an out of the way place.
Saturday was the big wedding event so we chose to stay at the hotel and enjoy the pool. The kids really wanted to play in the pool anyway. Driving around isn't that much fun for them.
Sofia was a "bridesmaid" for the wedding. The bride, Vicky, had her sister in the role of maid of honor and then there were three little girls who served as bridesmaids. The wedding traditions were so interesting. In the afternoon, all of Renos' family met in his hotel suite to "dress" him for the wedding. Since Renos is an only child, this responsibility fell to his male cousins, with the rest of his family watching. He puts his pants on in private, but the cousins (including Demetris) take turns with the rest of the dressing, such as the belt, shoes, socks, shirt, jacket, etc. When this is done, they also take their turns shaving him. The bride is with her family during this time but not sure what traditions they follow. Once he is all ready to go, the next tradition is a fertility ritual. They find a small child/baby to roll on the bed for good luck for the couple to have children. Poor Marissa was the youngest present so she got rolled about and cried the whole time. Hope it works for them. The wedding itself was very nice, but since it was in Greek I don't really know what happened. Seemed pretty similar to a wedding I am used to seeing. The reception was held outside on the grounds of the hotel where we were all staying. When we arrived there was a large loaf of a traditional bread on the table where the bride and groom were seated. As the party began, they took the bread and tore off chunks and threw them to family and friends. Apparently, this is a good luck/prosperity tradition that is particular to this region in Greece. Another late night for us, but I think the kids were getting used to it by now. Alex loved dancing and didn't want to leave at 2:00 a.m.
Now that the wedding was over, it was time to move to Athens to see a different part of the country. Family members had recommended that we visit Lake Plastiras on our way out and we did. It was very beautiful scenery. Demetris' Aunt Margaret and Uncle Yiannis graciously let us stay with them in the outskirts of Athens. We had a nice visit with them and settled in for the night.
Monday morning we headed into Athens. First, I have to say that boy was I glad to have Demetris with me during this trip. On top of being a lovely husband, he is also a great translator and even recalled getting around to many places which is impressive since he hadn't been there in about 25 years. It is really nice to have someone who speaks the language and can read the signs. Our first stop was the most iconic place in Athens: the Parthenon. The Parthenon is in Acropolis and sits on top of a big hill. Already in the morning it was about 90 degrees and no shade around. Add having Marissa strapped to me in the baby carrier and I was pretty much boiling by the time we reached the top. I sat under the one little tree we found with the kids while Demetris went off to take some pictures. A Chinese man approached us and through broken English and gestures indicated he wanted to take a picture with me and Sofia. They don't see too many people with our color hair so we were an oddity! Sofia wasn't too thrilled when he actually picked her up and plopped her on his lap. Even after he got out of the picture, his family continued taking pictures of us.
We ate lunch in the nearby, touristy area called Plaka. The only food we had in Greece that wasn't that good. The children were able to purchase some souvenirs with money they earned prior to the trip. We enjoyed the area known as Monasteraki much more. It is an older part of Athens that has many shops. We made a quick stop at the Parliament building to see the soldiers dressed in their traditional uniforms. The kids were getting a bit hot and tired so we hopped on the train/subway to take a break and a ride. That was exciting for them. Uncle Yiannis' birthday was today and we had a nice dinner made by Aunt Margaret to celebrate.
Tuesday we drove by the port in Athens. It gave us a look at a different part of the city. Then we were good parents and attempted to instill some education in our children. Our only museum visit of the trip was to the Acropolis Museum. It is a new museum and very nice, showcasing many ancient artifacts. We spent the majority of the afternoon there. Demetris knows me well and thought I would enjoy trying some Greek desserts. In the evening we walked about five minutes to a bakery close to his aunt and uncle's house and got some yummy treats to end the night. It was a pleasant night and we went to sleep with the windows open. About 3:00 a.m. there was a very loud BOOM that woke us up. It sounded like an explosion. The next morning we asked if they knew what it was. It was a bomb, we were told. They were not too shocked as it had happened once before. Apparently, right by the bakery we had visited was the home of the sister of a government official. This official had been implicated in stealing a great deal of money from the government. Previously a bomb had been set off at his home. His sister was now targeted because she also played a role in the scheme. This is a very nice suburban area of Athens and certainly not something we would have expected to happen. With that, it was time for us to leave Athens.
We needed to drive several hours back to Thessaloniki and a night time flight. Thessolaniki is a pretty area on the water front. We didn't have much time but were able to visit the White Tower monument and take a walk before heading to the airport. Knowing that we will be leaving Cyprus soon, we viewed the airport experience as a bit of a trial run to see how we would handle it. I'm happy to say that the kids were all great. They loved pulling the rolling carry on bags which was a big help. We had a great time in Greece, covered many miles, and hope to go to the islands next time!