Lefkada ~ Let the Greek island hop begin!

We must go and see for ourselves.

   -- Jacques Cousteau

As I wrote last week,when we set off on our Greek island-hopping road trip, we ‘knew better'. We knew we’d be part of the tourist masses swarming to the Greek islands in August. In our case we were heading north to Lefkada, (lef-KAH-dah) also known as Lefkas, in the Ionian Sea.

We did find ourselves among throngs of tourists but it wasn’t so bad at all. . .in fact the pulsating, vibrant Lefkada town was just the shot of city life I’d been seeking.

Havana Club - Lefkada town

But if you are in search of quaint Greek fishing boats and blue and white painted tavernas with octopus drying out front, this might not be the place for you.

In our case (as much as we love all-things-Greek) we are discovering that sometimes we need a break from all those Greek things. This town, with its distinctly Caribbean colors and a surprising number of bars offering a Mojito as the drink of the day, gave us that needed change of scenery.

The colors in Lefkada town were invigorating

The place also had a distinct Italian ambiance with a number of stores offering Italian made products – from Murano glass items and Italian leather goods to clothing.  (Its history, like so much of Greece, includes Italian occupation.) The bridge at the lagoon even looked like something right out of Venice – complete with selfie-taking tourists crowding onto it.

Bridge of Sighs - good sighs, that is - Lefkada town

“But, of course” (our favorite catch-phrase in Greece), there were plenty of tourist shops offering all sorts of Greek souvenirs, and plenty of Mediterranean cafes with menus that looked distinctly Greek.

Toe-tapping street musicians entertained nightly

Since most sun-seekers on Lefkada headed to the beach during the day, we had plenty of walking and shopping space in which to explore the town of some 9,000 residents. Then when evening rolled around the city’s pulse quickened as tourists and locals turned out in force and there was a street party feel everywhere we went.

(And we did stroll because most of the main streets in the historic center of town were closed to vehicular traffic in the evenings – a very nice and wise touch!)

Captivating carousel - Lefkada town

A musical group entertained near one plaza while a few blocks away, a merry-go-round that reminded us of one we’d seen in Florence, Italy enchanted kids of all ages.

Earthquake Memories!

Corrugated metal siding - Lefkada town

Lefkada island suffered damage back in the1953 Ionian Earthquake that leveled the capital city of nearby Zakynthos island and literally raised the island of Kefalonia 24 inches, according to accounts of the catastrophic event.

Sidewalls of metal to protect against earthquake damage - Lefkada town

So many of the wooden homes in the heart of – now, ‘historic’ – Lefkada town were damaged in the quake that as a safeguard against future seismic activity wood-sided homes and businesses now sport corrugated metal siding which only added to the Caribbean look and feel of the place.

But why Lefkada? A Room With a View

As the The Scout  was plotting out where our summer travels might take us, he happened upon a hotel in Lefkada, the Hotel Boschetto. The more we read about it, the more we wanted to stay there. And to stay there, we had to go to the island! (That is sometimes how easy our travel destination selection can be.)

Hotel Boschetto - Lefkada town

Boschetto, we were told by one of two Greek brothers who own the place, is Italian for ‘small garden’ and was once the name of the area in which the hotel is located. All that remains today is a small fenced the garden in front of the hotel, which is housed in a building that once sold oil from its street level and upper floors served as the home of Anthonis Tzevelekis, a well-liked civic leader and founder of the island’s popular summer folklore festival.

The International Folklore Festival of Lefkada has grown so large that if you plan to attend, reservations for hotels must be secured months in advance.

A room to remember at Hotel Boschetto - Lefkada town 

We booked the Junior Suite at the very top of the building for a rate of 145 euros a night. Each morning a waitress from the restaurant below brought coffee to our room and then we dined on a full  breakfast (included in the room rate) on the street level.

For those of you who like to compare prices, the rate is equivalent to $168US. To put the price in perspective a room with sitting area at the Fairfield Inn in my hometown of Yakima WA costs $204 a night in August – and offers a parking lot view, serve yourself continental breakfast and no room service.

Evening in August in Lefkada

The hotel which has been in operation for two decades really was the pull to get to get us to Lefkada. It is definitely a reason to return to the island that sits off the west coast of mainland Greece in the Ionian Sea.

And we will need to return as two full days didn’t give us enough time to visit the traditional Greek villages tucked away in the mountains nor to explore the many beaches that ring the island.

If you missed the part about how we got here; here’s last week’s post: Island hopping road trip

Our next stop is the island of Zakynthos, or by its Italian name, Zante, to the south. Hope you’ll join us next week when we tell you how we made lemonade out of a lemon of a stop there.

Thanks as always for the time you spent with us today and until we are together again, safe travels to you and yours ~

Linking with:
Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday – 
Best of Weekend

Island-hopping ~ A Road Trip in Greece

The journey, not the arrival, matters.

     -- T.S. Eliot

On the road in the Peloponnese

We’ll I just might disagree with Mr. Eliot on that statement after taking a rather posterior-numbing road trip to a Greek island last week.  The arrival was joyous, as after 6.5 hours in the car, it had seemed a long time coming. Especially when the travel time was estimated to be much less.

But the unknowns such as real travel time are what make road trips around here fun and interesting!

Despite the fact that ‘all of Europe travels in August’ (or so we’ve been told) we chose to set out on August 1st. We were living in Europe now and as the old saying goes, ‘when in Rome do as the Romans do. . .’

We headed north from the Peloponnese

We live south of Kalamata in the dark green region shown on the map above. The Scout had selected the island of Lefkada, (the dark turquoise island to the left of the Peloponnese) as our first stop.

While I usually just tell you about where we’ve ended up, I thought today you might like to join us on the journey itself. So hop in and buckle up: you are supposed to wear seatbelts in Greece.

Hi Ho Silver and Away. . .

Lefkada is part of the Ionian island group (named for the sea in which they are located). The better known island of Corfu – thanks to cruise ships stops – is further north. While Americans it seems have yet to discover the wonders of the other islands in the group, I can assure you they are magnets for European and Asian visitors.

Each is distinguished by its stunning beaches, charming towns are alive with shops, restaurants, tavernas and lounges and more remote villages still provide a touch of old-time Greece.

Onions anyone?

Just beyond Kalamata we headed west to follow the coastline north. Our route cut through agricultural country. It is harvest time in this area of Greece so passing trucks laden with onions or watermelons and fruit stands lining the road were not uncommon sights.

Pumpkins and gourds for sale

We were heading to Patras, the largest city in the Peloponnese, located on its very northern tip. There we would cross the Patraikos Gulf/Gulf of Corinth and continue north for another 2.5 hours, our route hugging coastlines, cutting through hills.

Always travel with a 'map in the lap'

To reach the mainland of Greece on this route, you cross the Rio–Antirrio Bridge. At 1.8 miles long it is the world’s longest multi-span cable-stayed bridge. It links the town of Rio on the Peloponnese to Antirrio on mainland Greece.

Approaching the bridge from Patras

It is absolutely stunning as you approach it, and it is simply breath-taking as you drive across it.

Crossing the bridge is a treat

For those who want to know more about the bridge’s construction, click this link.It is a toll bridge, the cost to cross each way is just under 14-euro.

Then on to experience another feat of construction in this area a few kilometers to the northwest: a tunnel that is nearly 3-kilometers long and that cuts through an entire hill. It is so long they offer a customer service stop and list radio stations on which to get emergency information should something happen in the tunnel. (Not my favorite part of the trip!)

Will there be a light at the end of the tunnel?

Our journey north took us past a massive lake, through pine forests, past barren, craggy hillsides and through delightful towns – the kind that you make a note, saying you’d like to know more about – and for many miles/kilometers we hugged the Ionian Sea.

Along the sea our route took us

Driving in Greece

A number of you’ve indicated you plan to visit Greece and many have asked or commented on driving.  So here’s just a bit of information for you folks:

The roads vary dramatically.  For some distance you might find yourself on a two-lane road, the type shown in the first photo.  The mainland and Peloponnese are also laced with an increasing network of divided, four-lane highways – these are toll roads and you’ll pay amounts ranging from 1 - 3+ euros at regular intervals to drive on them.

Not for the faint of heart or timid drivers

One of the more interesting road types – we first encountered this in Crete – is what we call 'that other kind of road’ which is still two lanes of traffic but also wide shoulders so you simply drive over the outside line and let others pass as they care to chance it.

A Word to the Wise:  This year the Greek government passed a law requiring International Driver’s licenses (permits) in order to rent a car. Travel chat sites and FB have been filled with debate on whether they are really needed or not – some companies yes, others no.

While the rental car companies may not ask for them, believe us (first hand experience) if the police pull you over for a random check of your car’s paperwork – they will want to see the permit.
In addition to the car's registration and insurance papers, the police wanted to see the driver's international permit. For Americans, they are easily obtained from the AAA auto club office near you in most large cities.

Island ahead. . .

As the afternoon was coming to a close we found ourselves on the causeway that links Lefkada island to the mainland. And next week I’ll show you some of the surprises we found here. Hope you’ll be back and until then, safe travels to you and yours! Thanks for joining us today~

Linking with:
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Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday – 
Best of Weekend

Expat Life: My Big Fat Greek Birthday!

The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.

--Frank Lloyd Wright

Sunset - The Stone House on the Hill

Some birthdays are bigger than others. And some birthdays are better than others.

My 65th birthday, celebrated in Greece on Monday, was one that will be remembered as being both bigger and better. Let me tell you why. . .

Why Bigger?

Age is a bad traveling companion.

-- Proverb

Hundred year old olive trees

There’s no denying it, 65 sounds old.  By most measures in today’s world, it IS old. Well, maybe not compared to olive trees here in the Peloponnese or Greece itself, but still. . .

Speeding towards Hydra island a few weeks ago

It is an age that comes with constant reminders of how fast one is speeding towards ‘the ultimate finish line’. About six months ago the first 'red flags'; the paperwork and forms began arriving to apply for retirement. In other words, I took the first steps towards becoming. . .ahem. . .a ‘pensioner’.  How can that be?!?! (The good news is that next month my first 'pension' payment will be deposited into my bank account.)

Our last forwarded mail packet included a letter from the U.S. government. Inside was my Medicare card. . .the U.S. government’s mandatory health-care program for senior citizens. The directions said to put it in my wallet and never leave home without it. Thus,I am now a card-carrying old person as the card I carry identifies me as a Medicare recipient! (BTW, it doesn’t cover U.S. citizens outside the country.)

A contemplative moment on Kefalonia island

With all those red flags of advancing age, a vagabond like me starts thinking differently about travel. I found myself one day last week calculating how few years I/we likely have left for travel and how many trips could reasonably be fit into those years. ( I didn’t like those numbers, so quickly quit thinking about it.)

Bottom line: No longer is the world at my/our feet, just waiting to be explored on future travels, someday.  Now, I am thinking of travel planning as a race against time:

 'Let’s go (or do) while we are still able.'
'We can’t keep putting off (certain activity or outing); we need to do it while we still have hips and knees that work.'
'Let’s save that for when we are really old gummers.'

Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.

-- Seneca, 4 BC Cordoba, Spain – 65 AD Rome, Italy

In recent years we’ve forgone those wrapped birthday gifts choosing instead a ‘birthday trip’ (what would you expect from travelers like us, right?)  A mid-July birthday falls in the height of travel season and the height of high temperatures, so we’ve learned to delay my trips to a more tolerable time of year. On the other hand, why put off travel even for a month or so? Perhaps we should go somewhere soon. . .

Gerolimeneas harbor - Peloponesse

Why Better?

'Aging is an extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been.'

-- David Bowie

The Stone House on the Hill - July 16th, 2018

So here I am, now living as an expat in Greece, thousands of miles from the world in which I’ve always celebrated my birthdays.  What to do?

Well, I decided to celebrate as I had planned to do a few years back.

[Back story for those of you new to the blog: We came to Greece to purchase our home in July 2014. Closing was set for the day before my birthday. I’d planned to celebrate the new home and the birthday at some Greek taverna, flinging my napkin and shouting, 'Opa!'. The deal fell through. We spend the birthday bouncing between the bank and hotel room, wiring our funds back to the U.S. Not the celebration I'd envisioned. Fast forward. . .]

So . . .I finally had that party at a Greek taverna. . .at the edge of the sea. . .within walking distance of our home.

Voulimeneas taverna overlooks this beach

And how glad I am that fate had forced me to wait because. . .

Let the party begin

. . .by now we know the tavernas in our area and I could pick one that holds a special spot in our hearts.  The family that runs the place have taken us (and every other expat they know here) under their wings and made us welcome, have helped us in times of need and who simply make us feel like part of their family.

The setting was perfect. . .Elena made sure everything else was as well

“Tell me how many people. Tell me what food you want. Do not worry.”  Elena said to me. It was that simple.

Bouquets came from my own Greek garden

. . .and now I have a garden so I could make my own table decorations using olive branches, sage, mint, geranium and rosemary cuttings mixed with bougainvillea and lantana blooms.

The Scout picked the lemons from our tree and I made the cake

. . .we could harvest lemons from our tree and I could make myself a lemon birthday cake.

Friends and neighbors helped ease me into 65

. . .and I could surround myself with friends and neighbors who make up my new world. Some who are new to our ex pat world and others who've helped us over the hurdles we've encountered along the way - some who've known us since before the house purchase. All who've enriched our expat experience.

Sunset from Voulimeneas taverna

And I concluded as the day came to an end:

Age is irrelevant. Ask me how many sunsets I’ve seen, hearts I’ve loved, trips I’ve taken,

or concerts I’ve been t. That’s how old I am.”

-- Joelle

That’s it for this week. Wish I could have invited you all to join us – what a party that would have been!  But we do hope that where ever your travels – in real life or armchair – take you this week that you will find a reason to celebrate something.  Fling a napkin into the air and shout, ‘Opa!’ – you’ll feel 10 years younger, I guarantee it!

Linking with:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday – 
Best of Weekend

A Traveler Looks at Home

“Where we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.”
  --Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Lake Chelan - The Scout's hometown

These two vagabonds-soon-to-be-full-time-expats have been uncharacteristically focused on home this summer. We are packing up and preparing to say goodbye to our current home in Washington State so that we can spend more time at our home in Greece. We’ve interrupted our ‘slogging’ out of accumulations only to make a couple of quick road trips back to our hometowns on the other side of the state.

Past home, present home, future home

Our Kirkland home

The juxtaposition of all those homes – past, present and future – got me to thinking about how many times the average American moves in his/her lifetime. The answer I found was 11.4 times (as of 2015 statistics).  We seem to be way behind even if we include those fleeting years of college housing.

While searching out that information, another statistic, from a 2012 project at George Washington University, caught my attention:

“About 1.3 million American seniors now live in nursing homes.  70 percent of them rely on Medicaid to pay the bill, which means they are low-income or have otherwise spent down their assets. The average cost of a nursing home private room tops $83,000 a year.”

It put this transition of ours into perspective, reminding me that we are blessed to be young and healthy enough to grab this extraordinary opportunity to live differently for awhile in our home on the other side of the world.

“You can go other places, all right – you can live on the other side of the world,

but you can’t ever leave home."

                                                       -- Sue Monk Kidd, The Mermaid Chair

Living Differently

We’ve had interesting responses when we speak of our plan to live in Greece for a year. Some cheer us on, others say they’d seen it coming, and some are sent reeling at the news.
“But where will you live?” they ask.
“Greece” we answer.
“No, I mean where will you live here?” 
“Well, Greece for awhile . . .”  Beyond that we have no answer – we don’t know where we might end up. And that is the interesting part; we have options but no set plan, yet. (And that makes a lot of people uncomfortable.)

Washington State's Mt. Rainier towers over the Selah Valley 

Home

It’s a tiny word with huge connotations. It was change we wanted when we moved from our home in the heartland of Washington State to the hustle and bustle of the Seattle metropolitan area. The Scout was taking a job in ‘the big city’. I was leaving a good job and would be seeking employment. We didn’t have any close friends in the area. We spent days searching for a place we’d eventually call home.

Seattle skyline from Puget Sound (tallest bldg. is Columbia Tower, Smith Tower to the right)

We settled in a suburb with a small town feel to it. Somehow 30 years have blown past during which time we’ve worked at and retired from great jobs. This has become ‘our world’. One in which we are wrapped in the friendships of dozens of people.

I remember crying at the thought of our move to the big city – even though I wanted to do it – because we were leaving ‘our world’ and all that was familiar. I could cry now at the thought of the friendships and experiences we would have missed had we not left the comfort of our previous homes.

Our road trips back to Central Washington this summer were good reminders that contrary to the old adage, you can go home again. As we’ve traveled those old familiar roads we’ve met up with friends, many who’ve know each of us long before we knew each other. Visits with them are filled with old memories and laughter. . .stories and reminiscing about good times back in ‘that world’.

The Scout at Nefarious Cellars - site of his parent's old apple orchard - Chelan, WA

'In life, a person will come and go from many homes. We may leave a house, a town, a room, but that does not mean those places leave us. Once entered, we never entirely depart the homes we make for ourselves in the world. They follow us, like shadows, until we come upon them again,

waiting for us in the mist.'
                                               – Ari Berk, Death Watch

The route to our hometowns takes us through the Kittitas Valley

It all has reminded us once again that we can have many homes in this lifetime and each will be a special chapter in our life’s story.  It really isn’t the where we are in the world, but the what we do with the experience there that matters.

“Home isn’t a place, it’s a feeling.”

                                             -- Cecilia Ahern, Love, Rosie

The Stone House on the Hill - our future full-time home

“Travel does not exist without home....If we never return to the place we started, we would just be wandering, lost. Home is a reflecting surface, a place to measure our growth and enrich us after being infused with the outside world.”
                                                       – Josh Gates, Destination Truth: Memoirs of a Monster Hunter

Summer scene in our present home: Kirkland, WA

An acquaintance asked if we were getting ‘scared’. . .at the thought of living in Greece. Since we’ve been doing it part-time for two and a half years, it isn’t like we are leaping into the unknown. I’ve chuckled over the question since it was asked and decided the answer should have been,  “No, we are scared of not going while we can.”

Summer scene in our future home: Agios Nikolaos, Greek Peloponnese

“Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.”
                                                   – Basho Matsuo

That’s it from the home front – (yes, pun intended). We have some tales to tell you yet about France and Switzerland so I’ll be focused on those in the coming weeks.  Until then we thank you for your time and interest in our next adventure. We hope your travels are good ones.  We are curious, though, how many homes have you lived in and which were your favorites? Tell us your story in the comments below. . .

Linking this week with:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday – 
Photo Friday
Weekend Travel Inspiration

Life in Greece: “Do You Ever Eat at Home?”

“I am just wondering,” asked my friend Elana, “do you ever eat at home? I mean, do you cook?”

It was a valid question. She'd been at The Stone House on the Hill a couple days and never eaten a bite there.

Stoupa Restaurant has views of the sea and the village

It made me laugh and I answered in the affirmative but she likely didn’t believe me. From the moment she and her husband had arrived we’d traveled in high gear from one location to the next as we tried to have them experience all our favorite eateries.

With even the heartiest of appetites and the best of good intentions, with so many places from which to choose, it just wasn’t going to happen in the few days they were with us. They ended their visit not once eating a meal at The Stone House on the Hill.

Is it the food or the views that bring us back to this tavern in Kardamyli?

When discussing houseguests with our ex pat friends who live in our slice of The Mani we often ponder the difficulties and dilemmas of how many places can we take our visitors before we all succumb to that heavenly near-coma state brought on by overeating.

With a typical visit lasting three or four nights, we have to squeeze a lot of eating into a short amount of time.

Moussaka and chips to the left; seafood pastitsio on the right

What, Where and How much?

Actually Elana’s question was one asked by many. Eating – the what, when and where – is one of the biggest curiosities we’ve found that people have about our life in the Greek Peloponnese.

* Do you have a grocery store nearby?
Yes! A large supermarket, several bakeries and the ‘fruit man’ makes regular runs through the villages selling fruits and veggies from his truck.
* Can you get rose wine there?
Yes! White, red and rose – served in pitchers in quarter-, half- and kilo amounts is the most economical at restaurants (never more than 6-euros for the largest) but sometimes we ‘splurge’ and buy a bottle (10 – 20-euro restaurant price) and drink to our heart’s content for far less than in the U.S.
* Are there restaurants near you?
Yes! Definitely!

What is Greek food?

In the United States we came to know Greek food as being a ‘Greek salad’, a gyro (yh-ero, not JI-roe) those pitas wrapped around meat, French fries, tomatoes and onions and slathered with tzatziki sauce. Or the multi-layered traditional Greek dishes, moussaka (layers of aubergine, potato, minced meat (hamburger) and topped with a bechamel) or pastitsio, (layers of pasta and meat or fish dish with bechamel).

Easter's traditional meal - roasted lamb

Little did we know of the wonders of the varieties of Greek dishes: their stifados (slow-cooked, stew-like dishes), their grilled lamb, pork and beef, their beet root creations, oh, . . .how the list could go on. A plate of giant beans is ambrosia when eaten in a Greek taverna. The pastas and pizzas rival those produced by the Italians to the north. The fresh greens, tomatoes used in salads – not to mention that slab of feta (which rivals gold prices if purchased in the US) brings exclamations from all our visitors.

Salads we have known, loved and eaten

Sometimes I am not sure if it is the cuisine that makes these places our favorites or if it is the settings or the warmth and charm of the owners. Perhaps it is the lovely combination of all those factors.

A favorite restaurant of ours is housed in an old olive press in a nearby mountain village

Eating at Home

Truth is we do eat at home. Quite often.

As I said earlier, tree-ripened fruit and just-picked vegetables are in abundance. The ‘fruit man’ makes a regular run through the villages several times a week. Several fishermen sell their catch at the harbor each morning. Just across the street from the harbor there’s a meat market, a bakery is a few steps away. Kalamata, the big city an hour away has a large municipal market operating two days a week and Aeropolis, a bit closer and to our south operates a Saturday market.

For less than 10 euro. . .

And it is fun to try new recipes. Converting ingredient amounts to the Metric systems is a bit like solving a puzzle and challenges the brain. Although sometimes it is nice to just ‘whip up’ a salad for casual deck dining.

The bowl and serving tongs are gifts from friends

Or when the autumn or early spring chill keeps us indoors, it is fun to light a fire in the fireplace and serve up a helping of something slow-cooked during the day.

We don't eat this 'formally' most nights.

So a note to future houseguests: bring loose clothing and an adventuresome appetite as we plan to have you sampling some incredible food served in the most picturesque locations you’ll ever find and at prices so incredibly low that you, too, will ask,

“Do you ever eat at home?”

Thanks for your many comments on last week's post about down-sizing and de-cluttering.  It is nice to know we aren't alone in this tedious task! We are taking a break this week in the declutter and downsizing efforts and are off to visit The Scout’s hometown in Central Washington State.  I’m writing a freelance article about it and we’ve got some researching to do! I'll tell you about what we find in a future post.

Hope to see you back next week and until then safe and healthy travels to you and yours. And - as always - our thanks for being with us~

Linking this week with:
Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday – 
Photo Friday
Weekend Travel Inspiration
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