Some thoughts, not necessarily linear and certainly not definitive

I loved being in Greece this time. The first time we were there (1983), I had a mild identity crisis because after being in Germany, Austria, Italy---Greece seemed less European and more Middle-East. This time, I decided that it's both. If you read the history of Thessaloniki, you can learn that it truly is a crossroads of many cultures. http://www.greecetravel.com/thessaloniki/

Regarding their economic crisis, I have a very unformed (uninformed?) opinion. Greek people are extremely hard working and also extremely generous. I cannot count the number of times we were given extra wine, watermelon, a piece of food to try, for which payment wasn't expected. Is that a problem? I don't think so. The generosity was so uniform that both of us felt certain that it was not feigned in the name of luring tourists. It is part of the culture. My grandmother used to bring pastries to the garbagemen and the mailman (and everyone else she encountered). There is nothing wrong with the Greek character. They are now victims of bad politics and international monetary policies.

The degree to which English is spoken is mind-boggling: more than any other country I've visited to date. You cannot do any job of any consequence in Greece without speaking English because it IS the lingua franca of all nations.

My spoken Greek seeped back into me as the trip went on. I haven't spoken Greek with any regularity since the death of my grandmother, 35 years ago. And it was a pleasure to use it, no matter how many mistakes I made. As in other countries we've visited, the effort is valued but it was even something more here because no Greek expects an American tourist to know any Greek.

My grandparents were actually residents of Asia Minor and had to leave there before the "population exchange" of 1923 (where Greeks left Turkey and Turks left Greece). A lot of the details in the family lore are fuzzy but all I had to say while I was there was that my grandparents had to leave Asia Minor and everyone got it without any further details.

I can't wait to go back.

The last day

On the last day in Greece, Greg and I decided to visit Agios Demetrious, (named after the patron saint of Thessaloniki, but started with a coffee at the Vibrato Espresso Bar--string players will understand :) 

We saw more Roman ruins en route. . . .

These mosaics are all that survive the age of iconoclasm (the deliberate destruction of the icons).

We also went into the Crypt which had some fascinating remnants.

We were both taken with the peacocks which are meant to symbolize immortality. 

This one was particularly splendid.

After sightseeing, we walked to the Ladadika district again for our lunch. Greek salad (no lettuce, cucumbers, tomato, onion, olives, sometime feta. 

What my grandmother (yaya) used to call kofte on pita bread. 

Chicken with lemon sauce, rice, carrots. 

I'm not a big dessert eater but these were really good!

I just like this water glass :) 

I had the 9.50 Euro menu which included bruschetta, cooked spinach, the chicken, dessert and a glass of wine. At today's exchange rate: $11.50!!! 

We napped for the rest of the afternoon, then packed for the trip home. On the last installment of the blog, I'll try to capture some of the emotion and thoughts I have/had about being in Greece. 

Thessaloniki, part 2

We took it easy on Monday because of the long week in Corfu. We took the hotel shuttle into the center and strolled amongst the shops. I needed a couple of things because a lot of what I brought, even light-weight capris, was simply too hot for the weather. I got a skirt and a dress which would get me through my remaining presentations. A bit after noon, we took the shuttle back and got a cold drink and a sandwich at a place next to the hotel. We went back to the pool, where we relaxed until dinner with some friends. We ate at a pleasant place in the Ladadika district and topped off the evening with a Metaxa!

Tuesday was filled with conference stuff (I presented two posters), but we did have a lovely dinner at a restaurant near the conference center. We shared a salad and each had the fish of the day--smallish and 12 Euro each ($14.50) but incredibly fresh!





Wednesday was a presentation day (I presented a session on Technology and Teacher Education) but we did have a nice lunch in the Ladaika district at a restaurant specializing in Crete cuisine. That evening we took a walking tour of Roman and Byzantine historical monuments of Thessaloniki.

Thursday was a VERY long day, starting at 8 am. with Greg's presentation on Sibelius's Finlandia. We attended several sessions in the afternoon and topped it off with dinner at the seaside restaurant with old and new friends from the conference. 

Two Americans, a Canadian and two Kiwis :) 

Thessaloniki. part 1

We left Corfu early Saturday morning (July 14) via bus/ferry and en route to Thessaloniki. The ferry ride was only about 90 minutes and was across the beautiful Ionian sea and docked in Igoumenitsou.

After a two hour bus ride, we stopped in Metsovo, a ski town to eat lunch. It was noticeably cooler there.

We also saw a wedding processional! Love this!!!

The remainder of the afternoon was via the engineering marvel of the highway--dozens of tunnels through mountains and sparsely populated villages.

We arrived in Thessaloniki around 5 p.m. and we were pretty much wiped out. Long week, long drive.

Greg and I shared a bite in the hotel restaurant and slept for 11 hours!!!

The next day, we took it easy by going to the rooftop pool from about 10-1:30.

The association provided a bus for us to the Concert Hall at 3, but then we had to wait about 3 1/2 hours until the opening ceremonies. It was worth it because they designed the program to represent the stages of life, punctuated by Greek folk music.

The only detour into commercial music was the Thessaloniki symphony playing a very brief Zorba the Greek.

Corfu

Yes, I know I didn't keep up with the blog after the first three days--Once we got to Corfu (Kerkyra), I was in a seminar from 8:30 am. to 5:30 p.m. every day. It was also INTENSELY hot. Yes, I know I live in the inferno of the south, but this was wicked hot. I walked to the Corfu Reading Society every day, only ten or fifteen minutes, but was dripping by the time I got there and certainly dripping when I got back to the hotel.  It was very beautiful, however, as you can see from the video.

We were very glad to visit Corfu because of its past history as a Venetian outpost---the architecture is very different than a lot of Greece because of this past. We were also told by a waiter in a bar that there are some leftover words--e.g. parathiro is window in Greece, but some in Corfu call it a finastre (finestre in Italiano). There are two forts (the 'new' and the 'old') and our hotel room had a fine view of the new fort. The 'old' fort is Venetian and there's a church in the enclave. The enclave also houses the music school.

 Corfu is quite the musical island--three town bands; 11 on the rest of the island! We did also see some string players. One of the conference sessions was at the Filharmonic Society. I ate at the restaurant next to this twice, once with one of my colleagues from the conference and on the last night with Greg.

We did get one afternoon off. We asked the manager of our hotel what was an easy day trip and she suggested we go to Paleokastritsa. We managed to find our way to the city bus station (2 euro each way) and were lucky enough to get a seat. The bus stopped several times along the way and took on riders on each one. I heard a British woman say that it was like being in India. Two of the older Greek people on the bus kept hollering at the driver to stop taking on riders. It was worth it when we got there and saw this view: 

We thought we would go to the monastery near there but decided to make it a relatively brief trip (just lunch) because the group was going to Vidos Island for dinner that evening (more on that later). We had lunch in the first place we saw and sat next to a woman from Wales, traveling with her granddaughter. She was quite the music fan and she and Greg talked about opera. At one point, I looked up and saw this (bolting out of the restaurant to get a pic): 

I was glad that we explored a bit of the island beyond the old town. We did get back late afternoon and took a nap before going to Vidos Island with the group (the conference I was attending was the International Society of Music Education Commission on Community Music Activity). 

This is a view of Corfu old town from the island: 

One of the best aspects of the conference was encountering one of my friends from Ohio State, Jonathan Bayley. Jonathan is a professor at University of Windsor and Greg and I really enjoyed being able to spend time with him again: 

There was a band and I requested "Maria me ta kitrina" (Maria with the yellow dress). 

My presentation at the Commission was well received. It was a pleasure talking about the program to such a receptive audience. 

On our last evening, we went back to the restaurant next to the Filharmonic Society and while we were eating, heard the band play such Greek standards as Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables. Apparently, they were preparing for a big concert, as relayed to us by this British family whose son (and grandson) played trumpet in the band when they were there on school holidays (they have a small house there). Here, they're talking to Greg after the dad (far right) took him up to the hall to see the band. I gave them my card and told them what a good trumpet professor we had at USC (Jim Ackley, always working for you :)

Athens. Day 3

On Saturday evening, we stayed awake until midnight and slept very soundly through the night until 9 a.m. We made a mad dash for breakfast (after a shower, of course!) and the 10:15 shuttle to Syntagma. From there we took the metro to Amonia Square from where we walked to the Archeological Museum. We had been there the only other time in Athens (almost 30 year ago) and remembered very little so we wanted to re-absorb the collection.

Poseidon

Musicians on wall decoration

Flute player

Funerary monument-mother with attendants

Theater mask

Another Poseidon

After a good visit, we walked back to Omonia square. This square is known for having some drug traffic, but on a Sunday morning, there seemed to be people just out and enjoying their day off. It was more shabby than the area around Syntagma, but very colorful.

When we got back to Syntagma, I turned on the cell service to use "Around Me" (iPhone app) and it picked up several restaurants. We walked into the first one we saw (it was hot and our legs were tired!) and it was perfect. The host was an Australian-Greek. Served us our squid and green beans with a "Here you go, ducks!", then turned around and spoke perfect Greek to his wife. Once in awhile, you have the perfect food for the perfect time and this was it.

Fasoulakia (Green beans, potatoes, carrots) cooked a lot with tomatoes and olive oil.

A small fish that I was interested in that the owner made for me, gratis.

Calamari! 

We took a cab back to the hotel and had long, hard nap (heat, physical fatigue). We woke up and went to the pool where we relaxed, read and looked at the Acropolis. When it started cooling down, we got into dry clothes and returned to the rooftop restaurant for a small, shared pizza.