A Peek at 'Paddy’s' Place ~ in Kardamyli

KARDAMYLI - Our time in Greece was spent not far from “Paddy’s place” as the locals refer to his home.

Paddy, is Patrick Leigh Fermor – the British writer; a near legend in Greece for the part he played in World War II in Crete.

He’s also a legend in some literary circles worldwide. You might know him from the series of books he wrote about his two-year trek on foot as a young man in the 1930’s from Holland to Turkey or from the numerous articles and other books he penned during his lifetime.

Around here his most well-known book is, MANI, Travels in the Southern Peloponnese.

Taygetos Mountains - Peloponnese

He came to The Mani – the vast, sparsely settled area in Greece’s Peloponnese by pack mule somewhere near the mid-20th Century. They didn’t have roads to the region back then and the trip required crossing the soaring Taygetos Mountain range. Note, that even the present-day road (in the photo’s lower left corner) through the area isn’t a super highway.

Kalamitsi in the foreground, Kardamyli in the back

It was The Mani, in an area called Kalamitsi,(the cluster of buildings to the right center above) just south of Kardamyli, where he and his wife, Joan, chose in the 1960’s to build their home.

We think a lot about his place and his history here each time we’ve visited the area. It’s the kind of place that writers consider hallowed ground; the place of pilgrimages. Paddy and Joan hosted many an event and guests – artists and writers among them -- at their home during their years here. A Google search will result in a treasure chest of photos that captured those times. Joan died in 2003 and Paddy at age 96 in 2011.          

Oh, to have been among those guests. . .

The old port - Kardamyli

Kardamyli (kahr-dah-mee-lih), where they made their home, has a population of about 400 residents and is one of the most beautiful places in the Peloponnese.  It might well be our favorite town in the area.

The Messinian Bay from Kardamyli

It is snugged up against the bluest of water in the Messinian Bay with the Taygetos Mountains serving as its backbone.  No question in our minds why it was said to be one of the seven cities offered to Achilles by Agamemnon.

The snow-covered Taygetos in springtime 

In his book about The Mani, published in 1958, Fermor wrote, “The quiet charm of Kardamyli grew with each passing hour.” 

One of my favorite buildings on Kardamyli's main street

He continued, “It is too inaccessible and there is too little to do there, fortunately, for it ever to be seriously endangered by tourism. No wonder the nereids made it their home”

(L - R) Fountain in Kardamyli's square, street scenes and view from a favorite coffee shop

Paddy would likely be surprised at the numbers of hikers – primarily from European countries – that are these days trekking to the area to experience some of those same old donkey trails he likely used to reach the area. They are now popular hiking routes.  He’d probably be floored to know that America’s well known tour guide, Rick Steves also offers a tour that includes a one night stop in Kardamyli. He’d be stunned at the number of modern bars and restaurants that sit side-by-side with those traditional tavernas in town. But he is correct – mass tourism, thankfully, hasn’t altered the area's charm.

Aquarella, one of the newest bars in town opened this spring

After last week’s post saying we’d gotten back in the saddle again and gone house-hunting after our failed home purchase this summer, I got a note from my blogging buddy, Vera Marie over at A Traveler’s Library (she shares our love of Greece and for Fermor’s books) in which she jokingly asked if we’d considered Fermor’s home.

Sadly, we’ve never gotten any closer to the home than from a roadside viewpoint high above Kardamyli.  I’ve zoomed in with each stop we make to get a better view of the house that matches those identified as his on internet sites. (My photos below match those identified as their home.)

Kalamitsi - Patrick Leigh Fermor's homesite

I  have to admit I would love to own Paddy’s place – especially after seeing photos on the internet of the home’s interior. I could imagine entertaining guests as he and his wife had done in this wondrous place.
But the home isn’t for sale.

All news reports say he left the home to the Benaki Museum in Athens and that plans are to one day use it as a writers retreat.  However, there is no reference to it on the museum's web site.

Patrick Leigh Fermor's home - Kalamitsi 

Last year a movie, Before Midnight, the third of the Before Sunrise trilogy was filmed in the area, and included scenes shot at Paddy’s. The DVD can be ordered from Amazon – I just did so as it might be the only way we’ll ever see this place close up!

That’s it for this Travel Photo Thursday. Thanks for joining us today.  And a big welcome to our new followers!

I have added a few of Paddy's books and the DVD to our Amazon carousel found on our home page. (Legally I have to tell you we make a few pennies from each sale from it and honestly, I have to tell you, we've never sold anything from it!)

Linking up:
Travel Photo Thursday at Budget Travelers Sandbox
Weekend Travel Inspirations at Reflections En Route
Mosaic Monday at Lavender Cottage Gardening

Greece ~ Unexpected Joys Off-the-Beaten-Path

We did get back in the saddle again last month after our Greek house deal fell through and resumed our search for homes and/or property in The Mani.  And I have to tell you, searching for real estate in a place with the history and mystery of the Peloponnese is simply a task punctuated by unexpected joys.

With our realtors, on our own and with friends our search continued

From olive groves to gorges, we spent our last few days in Greece exploring "possibilities' with our realtors and even with friends who were kind enough to escort us. We also set out on our own several times. The one thing that becomes very clear when searching for property is:

When you get off the beaten tourist path there is always a treasure to be discovered!

 

The Gulf of Messina and Kardamyli

High above the small village of Kardamyli on the Messinian Gulf where we were staying, is an equally small – actually, smaller –  ancient village called Proastio.



Proastio

Proastio is known for its many churches. You can find them in every size, shape and condition.

Our destination was an area just outside the village.  We set off on a rather bumpy dirt road because that is often where you find the most interesting of houses for sale.

It wasn’t long before we came upon a small brown directional sign that alerted us to a church somewhere ahead that obviously had some historical significance. 










By this point in our home search/purchase process we were easily swayed from our task. We decided to table our search to find and explore the church in this scantily populated area.


We parked the car under the shade of this ancient olive tree and set out in the direction of distant, but distinct, goat bells; their dull clanking calling us to the old church where the animals grazed. . .

As was the case in so many places we visited – wonderful, enchanting historic sites – we were the only ones there. In this case we had  two or three grazing goats who had greeted, then, ignored us.

Signage explained the structure was the old Katholikon of Agio Theodoroi, (Saint Theordoroi) and dates back to the 13th Century.  At some time in history it was severely damaged by an earthquake and restoration measures have brought it back to its present condition.  Sadly, its door was locked as its interior is decorated with murals also dating as far back as the 13th Century.

 

This newer church sits behind the old one but there were no signs to explain its more ‘modern’ history or age.

This carved stone basin just outside its door caught our attention.

What was it used for?

Holy water?

When had it last been used?


We peered and poked around – desires to look at real estate completely forgotten with this treasure to be explored. We didn’t touch the walls so fragile looking that it seemed the slightest touch could topple them, yet obviously strong enough to withstand centuries of wear and tear.

Our curiosity satisfied we returned to our original task. . .but we’ll long remember this topsy-turvy treasure that we discovered off the beaten path:

Katholikon of Agio Theodoroi

Have you had the courage to venture off-the-beaten tourist track? What was it you discovered?

We are giving a big shout-out today to our new followers and subscribers!  And another shout-out to those of you who recommended TravelnWrite to them! We appreciate all of you who take the time to read TravelnWrite very much~

Linking up:
Budget Travelers Sandbox – Travel Photo Thursday

An Enchanted Evening in Kardamyli

Our trip back to Greece’s Mani region this summer spanned a time period that included both our wedding anniversary and my birthday. . . what better place on earth to celebrate such occasions, right?

While our days were busy with ‘chores’ related to purchasing a house there (see last week’s post) we did give ourselves our anniversary evening ‘off’ and spent it dining at a hotel restaurant that came recommended highly on TripAdvisor and had also been included in as a Top Choice in Lonely Planet’s guidebook.

This wasn’t your run-of-the-mill hotel restaurant. The setting was one of the most magical we’ve seen in Greece ~ in the midst of an olive grove at the side of the sea. It just doesn’t get any better than that!

Restaurant Elies is part of a small bungalow-style hotel complex  of the same name one mile north of Kardamyli (also Kardamili) town.  The setting and the décor – from the blue and white cushions in the bar’s open air lounge to the yellow and olive green colored tables and chairs -- couldn’t have been more Mediterranean. We’d want to incorporate both of these ideas when decorating that new house, we’d decided. . .

As night approached, the restaurant transformed from its daytime casual to nighttime elegance with white table cloths and candles.

And the menu offered such a foodie feast it was difficult to decide what to eat:

We finally made our selections – fried giant white beans starter, sea bass on a bed of wild greens and rigatoni with a fresh basil pesto sauce.

Wish I’d photographed dessert but by then I was in such a state of (foodie) bliss the camera was long forgotten.  If you get to the area, we’d highly recommend this place as a ‘must visit’.

We’ll continue the story of our house buying trip to Greece on Thursday. . .hope to see you then!
For restaurant or hotel information:  www.elieshotel.gr
Linking this post up with Mosaic Monday and Foodie Tuesday

Catching a Daydream ~ That Greek Stone House

 

Dream Catchers ~

Ornamental hoops, woven with intricate designs and feather tails ~ their purpose:

 

The good dreams know how to pass through the dream catcher,

slipping through the outer holes and slide down the soft feathers

so gently that many times the sleeper does not know that he/she is dreaming.

The bad dreams not knowing the way get tangled in the dream catcher

and perish with the first light of the new day.

                                                                           -- Dream-catchers.org

 



DreamCatchers on sale in Stoupa, Greece

Hello, or Yassis, as we say in Greece.  Seems I have been away from the blog for a bit of time, doesn’t it? That’s because we’ve been busy for the last few weeks chasing that daydream of owning a home in Greece. In fact we were back there to seal the deal on a purchase. You might even say, we were there to catch that dream.
.

Regulars here know that we began the home search two years ago. We’d decided that The Mani in Greece’s Peloponnese would likely be the place; if we ever did take such a quantum leap.

 

We were serious enough this spring that we spent a good deal of our time there with realtors.  However, as I told you, we came home without a plan to go back any time soon.

 

 

What I didn’t mention was that a week or so after our return home, an email from a realtor about a particular ‘stone house on a hill’ that we’d visited ~  one with a view, and a small olive grove, surrounded by gardens, set the wheels of serendipity into motion. . .

 

Messinian Bay – The Mani, Pelopponese



Approaching Athens airport



In a short whirlwind month after receipt of that email, an offer was made and accepted, we’d sent a down payment, and our airline tickets were purchased.

We raced around gathering – and packing -- the required documents (including certifications of income, work/retirement, citizenship and marriage) to obtain Greek tax identification numbers and open a bank account; both are prerequisites to making such a purchase.

Following our return in late June, we ‘hit the deck runnin’ as they say, getting all that legal and banking ‘stuff’ accomplished.

Those things are done in The Mani’s big city, Kalamata (yes, same as the olives – they are grown in the surrounding area). So we had an added benefit of getting to know that town’s charms as well as get the process rolling.



View from our hotel - Kalamata, Greece



In fact, I must digress a moment and tell you that we were in Kalamata the night Greece won its soccer game and advanced in the World Cup series playoffs.  Cars and people filled the streets after the televised game ended at 1:30 a.m. celebrating as if they had won ‘The Cup’ itself. A parade of cars stretched for miles, horns honking, flags waving, cheering, singing. . .from our hotel balcony we had quite a show. What a celebration it was!

During the daytime we’d tick off our list: met with an accountant and then our attorney, our realtors, the tax people and bankers. Both sellers and buyers have plenty of paperwork requirements, it turns out. While we stood in a long line at the tax office, the sellers arrived and waited in another line for other paper work related to the sale.

Just ‘a document’ was needed but it would be there in a few days, so we moved from the city to the village of Kardamyli, the place we’d spent several days last spring. It was closer to ‘the stone house on the hill” anyway.

We’d met the owners last spring and went out to visit and get our ‘operating instructions’ for the house – its plumbing, electric, water as well as to take notes on olive harvest – a rather fun-sounding task we’d need to return for in late November. They were busy packing up belongings to ship back to their home in England, to where they were returning.

We began our research: finding the area’s grocery stores, furniture stores, the water office, the phone store, where gas stations were located, how to pay electricity, nurseries and garden companies. . .the days went rapidly but we managed to sneak in a quick road trip as we waited for the July 10th closing date. . .

. . .but sometimes catching dreams isn’t as easy as it sounds or as those dream catchers make it look.  Our daydream chase took some interesting twists and turns. I’ll continue our tale next week on Travel Photo Thursday. That’s it for today so head over to Budget Travelers Sandbox for more travel inspiration.  Thanks to all of you who continued to make regular visits even though we were somewhat out of touch while in Greece. Your notes, comments and emails were appreciated.  See you soon~

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Summer’s Sizzling in Greece

My youthful daydreams of lazing on a Greece beach during summer school breaks and dancing some Zorba style dances at picturesque tavernas into the wee small hours, have met reality.

Kardamyli Greece

We are back in Greece – in fact, have been here for just over a week and haven’t yet spent any time on the beach or dancing Zorba style: it is simply too darn hot!  (Somehow those long ago summer fantasies didn’t take into account the weather.)

What we are coming to appreciate is the Greek version of the siesta – that laid back time in the afternoon (hopefully spent in an air-conditioned room) during which time you can read books, gaze at the distant sea, make notes in the journal . . .or if the internet connection works, you can even write a short blog post.

Our time is being spent in the Peloponnese this trip for reasons I’ve written about in previous posts.  This week we are in the furthest most western ‘finger’ of this vast area and will have plenty of new country to show you in future updates.

We’ve spent a good deal of time traveling between towns so I thought today I would give you a sample of our time here.

We’ve had sporadic internet so we may be hit and miss the next week or so both in posting and in visiting our fellow bloggers – I will get back to you all as soon as internet becomes more available or we get back home.  Hope to link up today with Travel Photo Thursday over at Budget Travelers Sandbox!

Thanks for your visit – we hope your summer is sizzling with fun times and good travels ~

Greece: ‘That’ Stone House ~ Dwelling in Possibility

‘Dwell in Possibility’

                          -Emily Dickenson

 

Taygetos Mountains - Peloponnese, Greece

Our trip to Greece last spring had a two-fold purpose: one was the enjoyment of revisiting as much of this vast country as our time allowed and the other was to pursue a daydream – to search for ‘that’ stone house.

 

I wrote a post as our search began that seemed to strike a chord with those of you who suffer from wanderlust and “possibility” as we do. Many wrote and told us our tale had made you laugh –others sent words of encouragement to continue the search; the one started by following a couple of Albanians – one a home builder – up into an olive grove until our little rental car could go no further.

Our search did continue. We set off on our own – sometimes ending up in the most interesting places, usually near and sometimes in an olive grove. Often times not finding a house but always having an adventure, like the day we came face-to-face with this cow.  You know the thought going through her mind, “OMG! What are those crazed tourists doing here?!”

Homes we visited in the Peloponnese - 'The Scout' at work

We also spent two days of our time in The Mani, as this area of the Peloponnese is known, with two realtors – a valuable time in which we learned much about Greek homes and the area. One fellow was most congenial and the other seemed exasperated with the task of showing homes from the moment we met. At the end of a day spent parading through occupied homes and looking at construction shells – none of which caught our eye – Mr. Exasperated asked, “Just what do you want in a home?!?”  I snapped back, “I don’t know but I will know it when I see it. . .and I haven’t seen it!” (Daydreams can be difficult to articulate but you know them when you see them!)

Street Scene near Kalamata Municipal Market

While out exploring the normal tourist routes we added visits to grocery and hardware stores. . .just in case we should wake from the daydream and decide we really were going to buy a home. On Market Day we drove to the area’s largest city, Kalamata, (yes, those olives are grown here)  and shopped at its huge municipal market, making notes of the plant vendors along the route. We visited furniture stores. . .again, just in case.  These outings were fun and certainly added a different feel to the area than our normal tourist outings would have done.

We spent more than a week exploring this part of the country following looping roads to, and through, small mountain villages or to the beaches that dot the coastline. At the end of each day we retreated to our hotel, sipped wine at sunset and pondered buying a home. There were pluses and minuses and we probably exhausted them all on those quiet hours watching the day come to a close. ‘Were we too old?’ ‘Did we have another adventure left in us?’ (We did own homes in Mexico for 15 years – but then that was back some years ago. . .)

We didn’t fret about things like is there health care available and whether people spoke English here (those are questions we’ve been asked since we returned home – the answer is ‘yes’, to both in case you are wondering).

Our concern was the impact such a purchase would have on our current travel life – Would it open new avenues of adventure or limit our travels?

We also discussed the logistics and requirements. We’d learned that buying a home in a foreign country requires a few more steps than forking over a deposit  – in Greece a ‘stranger’ (as they call foreigners) must have a Greek bank account and have a Greek tax ID number.  Both of those were steps we could take just in case . . .but in the end, we didn’t.

A Map in the Lap and my travel journal - necessities of a road trip

Our days in The Mani came to an end. We headed north, looping our way back to the Athens airport where we returned the car and hopped a plane to Crete, then island-hopped our way back through the Cycladic islands and then back to Istanbul and home. We’d kept our eyes open to home possibilities in each of the Greek areas we visited.

We had at least moved those daydreams to possibilities. . .we could now 'dwell in possibility'. . .

As you might have guessed this story’s ending hasn’t yet been written. Although, we’ve finally answered those questions we pondered so regularly at sunset. I’ll tell you the answers and, perhaps, the ending of this daydream in a future post. Stay tuned. . . 


Thanks for the time you’ve spent with us today!

Linking up with:
Travel Photo Thursday
Weekend Travel Inspiration
Travel Photo Monday
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Patras to Nafpaktos ~ A Greek Road Trip

We spent last night  in the largest city in Greece’s Peloponnese: Patras. This city with a 3,000 year history is the port for ferries heading to Corfu and Italian port cities; a university town of some  200,000 residents.

"Highways' cut through towns in The Mani

The big city stay marked the end of our first two weeks in Greece; the first week spent travelling between small villages and the second in the village of Kardamili.

The town of Leonidio, Greek Peloponnese

We’ve been both spoiled  and smitten with those small villages as the result of our experiences there. The people we’ve met in the small towns both warmed our hearts and made us welcome.

A clever marker in the town of Agios Nikolaos (St. Nicholas) The Mani

Patras, was a shock to our slowed-down-small-town systems. “Pay me now” said the waitress at our hotel’s coffee shop as she served our afternoon cappuccinos.  Such words would never have been spoken in Kardamili and no eyebrows would have been raised had we sat for hours with those yet-to-be-paid-for coffees. 

The Scribe enjoys a cappuccino in the Leonidio village square

 
In visiting Patras, we finally found a place in Greece that didn’t capture our hearts.  In all fairness to the city,there was a country-wide strike occurring yesterday so many stores were closed.  University students filled the very hip, upscale coffee shops that line the streets.

The town does have perhaps the most beautiful Orthodox Church, St. Andrews, that we’ve ever seen and some stunning neo-classical buildings like the renovated Hotel Byzantion in which we stayed (and will tell you about in a future post), but the city has been marred with graffiti and that, mixed with some empty squares and storefronts, gave some parts of the city a shabby feel.

So we moved on today driving across the striking Rio-Andirio suspension bridge that connects mainland Greece to the Peloponnese. We are now in Nafpaktos, a beautiful beach town that still has a stunning Venetian built harbor, castle and fortress.

We will be here for two nights then on the road again. . .back to Athens on Monday and off to Crete that afternoon.  Hope you’ll be with us!

Porto Kagio - a town of five residents and we were the only tourists (more on that later)

The photos I’ve used in this post were taken during our first two weeks.  Linking up today with Nancie’s Travel Photo Thursday at Budget Traveler’s Sandbox. We finally have some good internet connection so bear with me if I bombard you with another post in a day or two!