TP Thursday: Amsterdam Autumn

A seemingly 'bad' flight connection can often be turned into a 'good' travel experience, such as our overnight stay in Amsterdam last October.  Unable to get from Poros, Greece to Seattle, Washington in a single day, we found ourselves with less than 24 hours to see as much of Netherland's capital as we could such a snippet of a stop. 
We marveled at the multitudes of late-night diners, shoppers, strollers and bikers as we wandered the lively streets into the late night hours. We reluctantly returned to our hotel for a bit of sleep before getting up early the next morning to continue our explorations of the neighborhood. The streets that had been filled with people only hours before were nearly empty as we strolled along the canals before heading back to the airport. 

This photo was taken not far from Anne Frank's home, now a major tourist attraction that sadly we didn't have time to visit.  We will get there one day - when we have more time than a 'bad' connection provides.



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TP Thursday: A Poros Morning

It's been a year and still the memory of the stroll we took on Poros is as brilliant as was the morning we took it.

The day simply dazzled the senses. We wound our way from the harbor, climbing higher into neighborhoods on narrow pathways that looped between houses; the shutter's snap, the sound of  birdsong and an occasional dog’s bark were all that broke the silence.

This Greek island, about an hour from Piraeus (Athen's neighboring port city), is part of the Saronic Island chain near the Peloponnese coast.  You can see on the map the narrow strip of channel that separates Poros from Galatas.

We’ve spent a  lot of time this last year rememboring Poros: the people we met, the dogs that befriended us, the places we ate, the long walks we took, the hours spent watching boats and ferries come and go, and we speculate about the possibility of returning for a much longer stay. . .weeks. . . perhaps a month. . .perhaps more.  It could be done, we think.

There are places like that in the world that draw us back to them, the Greek islands of Crete, Symi and Poros among them. 

What about you?
To where do you dream of returning?

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Poros: The Perfect Greek Taverna

In 1963 a childhood trip to the movies in Yakima, Washington introduced me to Greece.

It was Walt Disney's "Moonspinners" that sparked my love affair with Greece and firmly placed it high on my 'to visit someday' list.  Luckily, our travels there in recent years have confirmed this country is as enchanting as I believed it to be so many years ago. I am spellbound at the sight of it's old windmills.  Watching a line of working burros lumber past, I whisper,  'just like the movie'. 

The one thing that hadn't met my idealized expectations was a 'movie-perfect' Greek taverna:

You know, it's the kind of family-owned place where the owners make you feel like you'd eaten there for years, the food is home-made; a place where the owner sings Greek songs, maybe does a little Zorba toe-tapping (because he is moved to do so, not as part of a tourist show). Oh yes, of course, the owner needs to be a fisherman as well to complete this idyllic place I sought out.

This fall we found my 'perfect' Greek taverna!

Apagio Taverna run by Liz and Spyros Papadopoulou on the Poros waterfront actually exceeded my expectations because not only did it meet all my requirements, but Spyros is also an artist.

Spyros caught this guy in the morning
and served him to us that night

The food here was so good, the warmth of welcome so sincere and the place filled with such a joie de vivre that we returned three of the four last nights we spent on Poros (and skipped one night because we 'had' to make one last visit to our gyros place, written about in the previous post.)

Each night was the same:  a warm greeting from Spyros and Liz, time spent telling us about the fish he'd caught earlier in the day, then we were left to leisurely ponder the day's list of homemade offerings while munching from a basket of fresh baked bread and sipping wine poured from the small pitcher in which it was served.  Spyros hummed. . .sometimes he sang, he stretched out his arms, snapping his fingers and doing a little dance while we continued to ponder our order. And occasionally we'd hear him raise his voice in the kitchen - it all added to the ambiance.

"Our" table was next to the art display

His paintings which filled the wall were inspirations he had while out fishing.  

And each night we reluctantly left after a few hours of dining and conversation with not only our bodies nourished, but our souls as well.  Hugs and kisses were in order as we departed on our last evening. We told them we would be back. . .and, of that I am sure!

Photos:  Were taken by Jackie Smith, 2010, permission required for reuse. Zorba dance is a link to YouTube.com If you like that clip, we recommend getting the movie; it is great!.

"It's About What You Leave Behind"

For us, travel is as much about people as it is places.  As 2010 comes to a close we recall some of those incredible folks and the fascinating conversations that we 've had with them as they went about their day-to-day lives.  Each encounter has enriched not only our travel experiences but our lives as well. . .

We were off to indulge in some of our favorite gyros at a place in Poros just around the corner from the Hotel Manessi. We were nearing the end of our stay on this special island only an hour by fast ferry from Athens.  Time enough for one more gyro dinner before we left. 

On this particular evening we had more than good food - we had an art display next to our sidewalk table. And even better, an opportunity to meet the artist who sat sketching, surrounded by his finished pieces.

I was taken by one of his prints, a night scene of Poros, as it looked exactly as the city had the night before under a full moon.  I purchased it for 20E and kicked myself for having left the camera in the room as it would have been great to take his photo.  "Not to worry," he assured me, "if I am not dead, I will be here tomorrow."



Me and my artist  friend Vasilas Poriotis
Joel Smith photo, (c) 2010

 The next day's early afternoon downpour had me fearing that Vasilas Poriotis may not have opened his portable gallery, but there he was in the late afternoon under one of the restaurant's sprawling umbrellas; sketching away, framed by his finished pieces.  With photos taken we took him up on his suggestion to sit awhile and visit. (His fluent English he credits to the Greek school system and his one-time marriage to an English woman).

 As we sat at the edge of the busy harbor front road, Poriotis, described himself as a "low-art" self-taught artist whose finely detailed work features buildings and street scenes. We chatted about his work and his life, both of which focus predominately on this Greek island.

As our visit came to an end, we told him that we hoped to return to Poros in the near future and hoped to find him still there.  He used his "if I am not dead. . ." phrase again, but this time added:

"I am not focused on the end - I am not afraid of it when it comes. . .it is what you leave behind that matters," and with a sweeping gesture over his work, added, "and I have left something behind. "It is important to leave something behind."

Dog Days of September - Greek style

We couldn't resist the charms of the street dog we named Amiga, after a similar charmer who came into our lives during the Mexico days. . .

Amiga, our Poros friend

  And because our paths crossed during our brief visit, Amiga is now one of our travel treasurers - those memories that will linger long after we've returned to the Pacific Northwest.

Amiga and a fellow street dog entertained us

Our Grecian Amiga seemed to appear one evening while we were dining.  And the next day she showed up as we walked along the quay; much further south of where we had been when we first met her. She seemed so well-fed and cared for that we didn't suspect she was a street dog until last night when she brought several of her 'street friends' to entertain us at the restaurant where we were dining and ultimately was chased away by the owner.

Then she decided she'd be my 'guard dog' and watch -- or sleep on -- my Bagallini purse. (Another use for those all purpose bags!) All the street animals, cats and dogs, were well cared for on this island.  I suspect it is through the animal welfare efforts. This donation can was next to the visitor information booth :

Bus,Train, Plane, Bus, Boat: Poros

Flying Dophin High Speed ferry - last leg of our journey here

Our Big Adventure has begun.  This post is being written in Poros, Greece, an hour from Piraeus by fast boat; 2.5 hours by slow boat.  We arrived here 23 hours after leaving Kirkland WA. During that time we traveled on our trusty Metro bus to Seattle from where we rode the Link train to Seatac Airport, then flew Delta Airlines to Amsterdam, KLM to Athens, caught a bus to Piraeus and then the high speed ferry to Poros (pictured above).

I have to admit that at about hour 18 we were asking ourselves if such travel is worth it.  We could have stayed home, slept in a comfortable bed eaten better food and not looked like human paper clips trying to sleep in a Delta Airbus 300 or a KLM 737 plane.  As we dashed (quite literally) to three different transfer desks in Amsterdam's airport trying to acquire boarding passes, the question again came to mind.

But then as the KLM flight left the soggy gray skies of Amsterdam for the Aegean's blue skies and sunshine, we knew we were on the home stretch.

Hotel Manessi  Poros is the larg building on the right

 Our hotel, Hotel Manessi,is footsteps from the ferry landing, and just across the channel is the Greek mainland.  We watch the car/passenger ferry yo-yo back and forth from early morning to late at night. We've sipped Mythos beer, eaten the best gyros we've ever had, visited the monestery high up in the pine-blanked hillside, walked for miles along the waterfront and find that it is almost time to return to Piraeus and start part two of the Big Adventure.

The weather turned cloudy and rainy our first full day here - note the cloud cover in the photo below, however, today the sky is bright and the weather extremely humid.

Sunset from our deck

Octopus drying in the afternoon sun will be someone's dinner tonight

Greek cats on Poros lead happy lives it seems