Back in the Village

 We are back in the village. Not the Greek village, the American one.

Main Street Manson, Washington

Still shaking our heads at how rapidly the last year sped past, we are even more amazed that we are already at a midway point in our annual stay here. 

The Stone House on the Hill in Greece

Our expat life is one that involves keeping a toehold back in our homeland. Thus, we have a house in Greece where we live the majority of the year and one in America that we use for a bit of time each year. This American home has diversified -- and benefited -- our portfolio and provided a perfect getaway spot while serving as the 'fallback plan', should our health or Greece's residency requirements ever dictate a return to the States.  

A morning at home in Manson

Frankly, we like both places and are grateful we can be a part of each. We like having options.

And I know many of you reading this are considering options for expat life. There really is no one way of living an expat life; some choose to pack up and leave a country for good while others keep a toehold as we have done.  Some rent, some buy, some build. There is no one model that works. Your options are many and you need to choose what best fits you.   

Commuting between our villages

That said, we've learned over the last few years that a dual lifestyle, 8,000 miles and several time zones apart, isn't the easiest of lifestyles. It certainly never gets boring. It is far better than Sudoku at keeping our aging brains from going bad. 

Speaking of distance, the commute between our villages is a long one, usually spanning two days with some 14 hours of that in the plane. The good news is that we are able to fly from Kalamata to Seattle, but with a stop overnight in London. It cuts some three hours off our car travel time by not flying out of Athens. Still the journey and time zone changes take a toll on the brain and the body which slows us a bit for a few days no matter which direction we fly.

Mercer Island and Lake Washington approaching SeaTac

Because our time in the States is limited to a few weeks, we pack a lot into those weeks. There are simply tasks that must be done during each visit. And countless friends we try to see while in the area. Our calendar for this trip was full before we left Greece. 

 

Walk in vaccinations - easier than Greece

Long time readers may be surprised to learn that we still don't qualify for Covid booster shots in Greece (as we don't have their equivalent to a Social Security number, required for the shots) so that is high on our 'to do' list here. I block out a couple 'sick' days for them as I feel their impact. My trip to the dentist later this week promises another couple of days of reduced activity. Both shorten what is already a short window of opportunity.

'Cub' newspaper reporters still friends 40 years later

A life of all work and no play wouldn't be fun, so we also will have attended two reunions, hosted house guests, wined and dined with friends and had numerous coffee klatches by the time we return to Greece.

American Culture Shock

Our bank branch closed in our absence

The most amazing thing about our return to America is the dose of culture shock we get with each visit.  This year's tasks - to change banks and mobile devices - are almost tying Greece's red tape and bureaucracy. We're realizing once again that things 'ain't what they used to be'.  

A 'quick stop' at the new bank became a marathon session of showing identification and signing papers. "We don't like it any more than you do," said our young bank executive, "you can thank the Patriot Act for it." I honestly had to think a minute to remember what the Patriot Act is. . .hint, it was brought on by the events of 9-11. 

Lake Chelan in Manson

An attempt to upgrade our five-year-old U.S. mobile device should have been a task completed in the hour or so I allotted to it on the afternoon of our arrival in Seattle. 

Now, nearly two weeks into my quest, we are still without a new device. The biggest shock to me is that I can't call the phone company, . . .sorry, the term is now, 'service provider', and talk to a human. In Greece we walked in the phone store, bought a phone and picked it up two hours later after they had transferred my old device's contents to the new one. Done and dusted.  Here I've texted, chatted and interacted with 800- numbers and mechanical voices. 

Our visit this week to a Verizon (the service provider) retail store finally involved interaction with a real human; one with dyed Greek-blue hair, who was just about to order the phone we wanted. . .then she checked my phone number and said my service plan didn't allow her to order the phone.  Do what?!?!?!

So, true confession: I've resorted to the only option left for an American consumer with limited time: I am ordering from Amazon. In a week I will have a new phone delivered to the doorstep. 

Harvesting Americana

Harvest - a perfect time to be in agricultural areas

Our two villages are located in areas similar in geography and topography. One blanketed with vineyards and orchards, the other with olive groves and vineyards. Harvest of apples and grapes is underway here and by the time we return, we will be heading into olive harvest in Greece.  

My favorite vendor, Fran, at the Manson Farmer's Market

We've grown accustomed to - and love - the laid-back pace of our village worlds so I don't think living back in a metropolitan suburb as we once did in the States would ever again appeal.  We like the concept of walking to the grocery store or to the coffee shop/kafenion in our village lifestyle along the sea in Greece and the shores of Lake Chelan here. 

With that I will sign off as our first houseguest arrive today. I'll have more from this slice of American life in the next week or so.  Thanks for being with us and wishes for safe travels to you and yours~

The Mail in the Telephone Booth

 'There is mail in the telephone booth at the Kafenion,' wrote a neighbor on Facebook last week. 

Mail delivery in the Mani, Greece

While that probably sounds odd to those of you reading this, it was good news! It meant mail was being delivered again!  

Mail delivery, summer protests and road work are my topics this week.  While vastly differing subjects, each provides a look at real life in Greece this summer of 2023. This one is for those of you who turn a critical eye to my reports and photos of beautiful sunsets, of the quaint village settings and those featuring the fun times we have with friends here, and ask, 'But, what's it really like?'

Agios Dimitrios village

The dusty, abandoned booth in the small village of Agios Dimitrios, at the foot of the hill where we make our expat home in the Greek Peloponnese, seems to be one of the new 'substations' for mail collection.  Other mail drops (almost literally) are said to be somewhere outside the small grocery store in nearby Agios Nikolaos village and at a taverna in Stoupa village, just down the road.  

Of course, figuring out which of those places one might find one's mail. . .well, that it yet another story. Because our mail is addressed to a business (Mani Money) in Agios Nikolaos, it doesn't come to the phone booth near us. While they continue to deliver parcels to Mani Money, we are told, letter-sized mail isn't being delivered there. Those are going elsewhere. . .somewhere.

You've Got Mail. . .maybe, or maybe not!

You can't make this stuff up.  It happens in Greece.  And we expats find ourselves becoming so inured to it that we discuss the logistics of finding our mail as matter-of-factly as we do the weather.  

Now some techno-enthusiasts are probably wondering why 'snail mail' is even important these days.  It is here because many still receive phone, electric and water bills via snail mail. Believe it or not, a number of banking, government, and other official transactions often require us to present such a bill as part of our identification and authorization process. That paper copy has come in handy more times than you can imagine.

Delivery is also key to successful mail order, as on-line shopping is a means of commerce used by many of us living in this rural area. 

Mail at Gregg's - in the good old days

Many of you longtime readers, recall 'that back in the good old days' our mail was delivered regularly to Gregg's Cafe in Agios Nikolaos. In fact, it served for several years as our mailing address. We'd go have coffee and sort through the mail, picking up our own on an on-your-honor system.  The cafe owners kept a watchful eye out for us. They knew it - and us -so well that once my friend Marti received an envelope from Washington State addressed simply to 'Grandma' at Gregg's. 

That system crumbled when the village closed for Covid.

 

Covid shut down the village and mail delivery Gregg's pictured on left.

Our new delivery model operates as a self-serve, on-your-honor system.  Of course, if you see mail addressed to a friend now, you are likely to collect and deliver it as they may otherwise never find it again.  With the new self-service system, old mail is picked up and new mail replaces it. There isn't yet a timetable for when the new arrives and the old goes away.

 

Me in Covid days at the Stoupa post office

The new haphazard system was instituted after the real brick and mortar substation in Stoupa was closed this spring and its two employees let go. The original explanation had been that the operational contract had expired and a new one not yet awarded. Later media reports told a different story: several post offices were closed throughout Greece as a result of cost cutting measures. There was no indication they would be reopened. 

The Mani and our villages

For the time being, we are somewhat 'mail-less in the Mani'. But there are bigger things unfolding in Greece this summer, like. . .

The Towel Movement  

The Towel Movement, while you may not have read about it elsewhere in the world, is a headline- making topic in Greece.  It is the name given to a growing protest against what one might call, 'privatization' of Greek beaches.  The movement's epicenter is two Cycladic islands, Naxos and Paros, where citizens have issued the call to take back beaches. Technically Greek citizens have the right to access and use beaches when they please. In reality access has been limited on many popular beaches.

Stoupa's beach fills with sunbeds in the summer - all for rent

Over the years, beach-front hotels, tavernas, bars, and eateries have taking over beach areas in front of their establishments. They place sunbeds there which are rented out by the hour or day.  The businesses are required to pay for a license to operate a certain number of them.

Many here recall when for the price of a drink and some food one could use a sunbed. Now you pay rent and the cost of the food.  So, this summer it seems some beachgoers in some areas of Greece have had enough. They want their beaches open -and their cry is being heard by media and government officials. Their movement has been labeled The Towel Movement.

On the flip-side (of 'the towel') others observe that the beds are popular and being used, so what is the fuss? Most are removed in the fall and beaches return to their natural states.

Pantazi Beach just below us - in August 2023

In our area, Stoupa's main beach and its nearby cove beach, Kalogria, historically have served up the most options for sunbeds. But this summer Pantazi Beach, the beach just below us in Agios Nikolaos, welcomed Cube, a new beach bar and eatery. It offers sunbeds for rent as does the long-time Pantazi Beach Bar, operating at the opposite end of the beach.  And between the two, a beach vendor set up shop at water's edge offering kayak and SUP board rentals. 

All seem to be popular as the beds are often filled, and the beach is alive with the sounds and laughter of sun and sea seekers.

Pantazi Beach 2020

For the record, we aren't beachgoers, other than to sip coffee or krasi (wine) at a table at one of the two Pantazi beach bars - it is from there we will see how The Towel Movement shakes out. 

On the Road Again

The mail delivery might be topsy-turvy and the Towel Movement soaking up the public's attention, but our immediate focus is on being back on the road again.  Crews moved into town weeks ago determined to fix a section of the road along the sea that floods every time we have a major storm.  Over the years, the street surface has warped, and underground pipes have surfaced and broken. 

Road closed, take a right here. . .

The repairs though required closing the road that serves as the main north-south access road between Agios Nikolaos and Agios Dimitrios villages.  A smaller track road can't accommodate large delivery trucks and municipal garbage trucks.  

Someone was thinking outside the box when they came up with a brilliant, if slightly different, detour route. And I doubt if any environmental or shoreline protection agency was consulted before using:  The Beach. A rocky sort of area at the south end of the municipal parking lot.

The beach - a two-lane detour route; road to the left, sea to the right

Amazingly, the two-lane sand and rock road has worked well. Drivers have been courteous and cautious as they make their way past each other on a surface that could easily break a shock absorber if not traveled gently.  The repair work continues, siga, siga, slowly, slowly, just like we drive on the detour!

And that's enough 'behind-the-scenes' look at expat life in Greece for this time around.  We will be back with more travel tales and reports from Greece and hope you will join us again and bring a friend or two with you! Until then, wishes for safe travels to you and yours~

Greek Expat: To Be or Not to Be

To be or not to be an expat in Greece?  

From the correspondence and conversations, we've had with quite a number of you in recent weeks, that seems to be the question du jour. 

 

Saturday night out on the town in our Greek village

A number of folks we've chatted with are hitting the just-retired-and-ready-for-a-lifestyle-change phase of life. Other are simply thinking it is time to stretch themselves a bit and try something new. 

Life isn't always a beach for an expat

And from what they've told us, it seems like I have managed to make expat life in Greece sound pretty inviting, invigorating, and downright enticing in my writing about life here. 

And it is. . .IF you are serious about making lifestyle changes and experiencing a new way of living. 

We chose expat life because we wanted to live differently; to turn off the auto pilot button of our retired lives in suburbia U.S.A. and plunge ourselves into a new world where nothing is done like it was 'back home'. Now, six years later, I can assure you that we got what we came for!

That is crazy!

Can you face constant change and new ways of living?

I was telling an American friend who is considering expat life a few of the nitty-gritty details of daily life here and at least a half dozen times he responded, 'That is crazy!' 

Well, not crazy, I would caution, simply different. And if you can't deal with different, you may want to refocus those expat dreams.

While on the topic of crazy, a Canadian couple told us, 'Our friends think we are crazy to pursue this dream. . .'.'

Six years later glad we listened to the heart and head

How well we remember those looks from friends when we said we were going to move to Greece. They didn't need to ask, "Are you crazy?" their rolling eyeballs pretty much asked -- and answered -- that one for them. Some of those folks are still waiting for us 'to come to our senses' and return to the old lifestyle.

Living Differently

We do live differently here than we did in the States. And, as with all things 'different', that can be both good and bad.

A horta (wild greens) hunting and harvesting we went

A new country definitely means a new lifestyle. And a new way to function day-to-day. Shopping when all items from food to fashion labeled in Greek can be a challenge.  New flavors and foods (which are a novelty on a vacation but can become a tad bit repetitive when an expat). New medical care systems, doctors, dentists. New language. New customs. New ways of measuring distances, weights, and temperatures (if you are an American). New everything can be both exhilarating and exhausting.

Learning is often times priceless. The photo above shows us horta (wild greens) hunting with our Greek friend, Maria.  We'd have never learned the art of harvesting wild greens back in the suburbs of Seattle. The skills we've developed, the joys of participating in centuries-old traditions - all decidedly different - add a richness to the expat experience.

Conversion charts like these become everyday guides

We caution those we've talked to that no matter how green the grass looks to be in Greece, it will require mental adjustments to live here beyond getting used to the daily routine changes. Every country has its issues and those seeking the greener grass of this other side may find themselves in for a great disappointment when they realize that: 

 

Sunsets from our Greek home, an added bonus

As North American expats, 'third country expats' as we are known, you can't vote, so you have no say in the big picture, politics and politicians.  It is a curiously refreshing circumstance from my point of view, but it has been frustrating for others.  

A point to clarify is that I am speaking of a residency-permit-holding expats of which most of us are. We are residents of Greece and not citizens of Greece. Those of Greek descent who move back here are able to obtain citizenship which does allow them to vote.  

However, resident expats do pay taxes, just like citizens.  If you buy a home, you will pay annual property taxes. Car owners pay annual road taxes.  You will pay 24% tax on most goods and services, including gas for the car, 13% on others.

More residents mean more garbage and less water

The country's leaders talk about addressing issues of sustainability, conservation and the like, while our local officials struggle to strike a balance between an influx of expats and the infrastructure that was built to support a small fishing village of a few hundred residents. If water shortages, power outages, infrequent loss of wi-fi and overflowing garbage cans cause you stress -- all of which are realities here, -- you might rethink being an expat in Greece.

Several years ago, I wrote about the municipal water supply drying up in our slice of the rural Peloponnese in August when tourism peaks here. In has shown improvement, but we still have periods during which time no municipal water is coming to the house.  

A village homeless cat

Actually, garbage collection, water supply and animal rescue have all vastly improved overall since we moved to the village but are far from what they could be and are certainly nothing like the systems we had 'back home'. Of course, we pay nowhere near the taxes we did back there, so you might say we get what we pay for.

We do recommend coming and living in an area of Greece for a few months to experience these day-to- day realities before packing up and relocating here.  

It's Greek to Me!

Are you able to function in a country where many people speak English but where there will be situations in which you resort to pantomime, translation tools on the mobile device and having others translate for you to communicate your needs and desires? 

It is Greek to me!

We are making strides in 'speaking Greek' but are still light years away from really 'speaking Greek'.  But we have a cadre of Greek friends now who will correct us and cheer us on as we haltingly place an order or try a sentence or two of greeting.

It is frustrating when you buy an over-the-counter medication and then can't read the directions for use and laughable when trying to follow packaged mix directions using Google Translate or Google Lens. Functioning in a land where you don't speak the language is a fact of expat life that needs to be considered.

Expats not Missionaries.

 

Road construction warning sign at the construction site

You will be baffled by customs and practices, but you will remind yourself that you came to live differently, not to bring your way of life to a new region.  

The road construction stop sign in the photo above, is a good example of 'different'. We are used to construction detour signs for miles in advance of the work. Here the sign is placed at the point of construction and in this project, it was up to you to figure out  that you needed to drive through a parking lot to get around it. 

We walk a fine line here in wanting to help better the area by suggesting other ways of doing things, like in this case, maybe more advance warning signs. We realize it isn't our role to impose imported behaviors on a Greek community that has gotten along just fine for centuries without us. 

When it doesn't work out

Most of our expat friends have flourished in this new Greek world we've all chosen.  A few haven't. They recognized that either it wasn't what they had anticipated, or the desire to be 'back home' overpowered their desire to live differently.  They've moved back to their home countries.

The Stone House on the Hill tucked behind bougainvillea

And that is the nice thing about being an expat - it doesn't have to be a lifetime commitment to living differently. We tell expat wannabes about the escape clause we gave ourselves when we caught our daydream: we would give 'it' five years. If our Stone House on the Hill. If it wasn't what we wanted to continue, the 'for-sale' sign would go up.

The Stone House on the Hill - a place called home

And then we add with a wink, that next year marks a decade of home ownership here and we've no plans to change that anytime soon. 

For those who'd like to talk more about expat life, please don't hesitate to contact us! And to all of you, thanks for being a part of our adventure.  Until the next time, wishes for safe travels to you and yours ~

Basking in Those Halcyon Days in Greece

Oh, those Halcyon Days in Greece!  No, not those summer days that most people associate with the word. . .but the summer days of winter!     

Sunset Pantazi Beach on a winter's eve

The summer days of winter are quite literally defined in Greece as the Halcyon Days. We are in the midst of the most amazing winter weather that we've ever experienced in our slice of Greece. These days are also known as Alcyonides in Greece; a time often considered a mini-summer break or early spring that takes place in winter. Occurring randomly - most often between December 15 and February 15 - they bring blue skies, sunshine and no wind.

Halcyon days in Greece

The dictionary meaning of halcyon is to describe 'calm, peaceful days' and is often used by writers and poets to refer to an idyllic time in the past. I can assure you this writer is using the term to refer to the here and now of expat life in the Greek Peloponnese.

Morning coffee in December

I began this post on December 15 after having walked home in shirt sleeves from a morning coffee at Pantazi Beach. Located just below our hillside home, it is about a 20-minute walk away. It is so close that we, and others who live in the area, consider it 'our beach' (as do the thousands of tourists who return repeatedly to it to spend hours of their vacations on it each summer). 

On that mid-December morning we'd sat at the side of the sea, the sun bright overhead and the sky and water alternating shades of brilliant blue. The temperature was 71F/21.6C. Later in the week we returned for wine at those same patio tables to watch sunset (opening and closing photos of this post).

Pantazi Beach on a December day

But I quit writing for fear of jinxing a weather that seemed 'too' perfect. I suspected that it couldn't last long, and our usual wet, chilly weather would return as soon as I published this piece. Our Halcyon Days don't usually arrive until later in January. Yet, here we are in the first week of January and the weather has continued to be as perfect as it was in mid-December.

Christmas Morning 2022

The Halcyon Days made our Christmas Day gathering at the beach a post-card perfect one. Expats have a tradition of gathering at 'our' beach for coffee, snacks, conversation and to celebrate the season. Most of us come from climates that don't encourage beach gatherings for Christmas. This year a couple of people swam, others wore shorts and shirtsleeves were comfortable. Last year's gathering was completely different as it was a blustery, cold day. That gathering was brief, unlike this year's that stretched from late morning into the afternoon.

Christmas 2021 - a contrast from this year

And Legend Has It . . .

First week of January 2023 - Agios Nikolaos

'Yes, of course', or nai fysika, as we say here, Halcyon Days, like so much of our Greek world, began back when Greek gods ruled the earth. Let's put all scientific explanations for this weather phenomenon aside and focus on Greek mythology - it really is a much more charming explanation, because. . . 

. . .Alcyone, who was daughter of Aeolus, the god of the winds, was so distraught over her husband's death in the sea, that she threw herself in the ocean to join him. The gods were so moved by her act, that they turned them both into Halcyon (alcyon) birds. Birds similar to present day European Kingfishers. The two nested in the ocean. Aeolus was so pleased that he calmed the waters until their eggs hatched.

Halcyon Days in Agios Nikolaos

While poets have been writing about those wistful kind of Halcyon Days for years, I happened upon a poem attributed to Chetta Achara, apparently the nom de plume of a person whose been writing poetry since 1992 that certainly seemed to fit the story told above:

Halcyon

At the winter solstice,

It is said,

The mythical bird

Mates in a nest floating

On the sea.

She charms the wind

And the waves

Into calm.

 

Our olive grove - Halcyon days 2023

We are definitely enjoying the Halcyon Days of winter at our Stone House on the Hill. We've spent hours working in the olive grove and gardens - in our shirtsleeves. Wild iris is blooming in groves and along roadsides. Cultivated flowers, among them, roses, lavender, freesias, and geraniums are in bloom.  Admittedly while basking in this wonderful weather, we are a bit concerned at the lack of snowpack (as in, none) in our Taygetos Mountains and the lack of rainfall here.  It could make for a very dry summer. However, rain is in the forecast.  Our Halcyon magic may have run its course for the winter.

A toast to the New Year

I will return to our travel tales from Thessaloniki next time, but for now, we wanted to toast the New Year with you wrapped in the warmth of our Halcyon Days.  Safe travels to you and yours. As always, thanks for the time you spent with us today ~ come back soon and bring friends with you!

The Americans ~ Eight Years Later

 Actually, it is Amerikanos, (Ah-mear-E-kah-nos). Greek for the Americans, plural. 

'There, up on the hill,' says the Amerikani 

We usually say it as part of the phrase, 'the Amerikanos up on the hill' while pointing towards the hill on which our house sits.  It serves to differentiate us from the other Amerikanos who live in this area. And you might be surprised at how many do live here now. So many, that it isn't unusual to not know some of them. What a change that is from when we first arrived!

Eight years ago already!

It was eight years ago this week that we purchased our slice of the Greek Peloponnese. Little did we know at the time we purchased what has become known as our Stone House on the Hill, that it would ultimately change the course of our orderly life back in the Pacific Northwest corner of the United States.

Venice, two hour's flight, not two days away any longer

Back then we reasoned that a house in Greece would provide a base for exploring more of this country and other European countries, Africa, and the Middle East. We had expanded our travels on this side of the Atlantic after leaving our work life behind.  This Greek-base, we decided, would allow us to travel more often and go further.

We wanted a project and definitely got a few!

Truth is back then we were rather bored with that orderly life. We needed a project, something to do besides ease ourselves deeper into old age. This home certainly gave us a 'project' as the home was in need of updating and a bit of repair. As it turned out, each of the completed projects gave rise to new projects and continue to do so.

One last fling or perhaps a few more are in store. . .

And the purchase would constitute a - sigh - 'final fling' before we got too old to have such adventures. Age was among our considerations as we talked ourselves first out of, and then, into the house purchase. We wondered if we were then too old for such a leap into the unknown. Since we are still here, I guess we weren't - we are glad we took the leap!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes. . .in our world

Development comes to the Mani 

As David Bowie sings, there have been ch-ch-ch-ch-changes in the Mani, since we became a part of it. Development is running wild in this once remote and little visited region of Greece. Both private home and rental accommodation construction continues to be on a fast track. It is difficult to find year-round rentals now in our area as so many have turned their homes into Airbnb's. One, a recently constructed Mykonos-style home on the hill above us rents for 1,000 euros a night. 

British writer and long-time Kardamyli resident, Patrick Leigh Fermor, who predicted several decades ago that the remote and rugged Mani would never attract tourists, would likely not recognize the place now.  Tourism is on an upswing.  

Hiking is drawing outdoor enthusiast here

We have local businesses that offer hiking and biking tours of the area.  A new launch site for parasailing has been constructed in a hillside village a few kilometers away.  Our beaches were filled with visitors up until October.  

New restaurant brings change to the village

Change doesn't always come easy. An upscale restaurant opened in our village last spring following an extensive refurbishment of a wonderful old building on the waterfront.  From our perspective, it is a delight to sit inside and admire the stonework as the previous traditional taverna had only outside seating. Yet, some continue to grumble about the change.

New 5-star hotel - Kalamata waterfront

Up the road an hour away, our big city of Kalamata is becoming the poster child for change: a new 5-star hotel in a refurbished early 20th century building offers a restaurant with a Michelin-starred chef at its helm.  Two abandoned flour mills on the waterfront are also being turned into hotels - one a 5-star and one a 4-star.  Next spring the city is the European site of a conference of travel bloggers, actually, 'content creators' (as they call us now). Some 350 are expected to come visit and write about 'our town'. 

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes . . . in us

Adapting to the Mediterranean lifestyle

At the time we bought the house we told ourselves we'd give 'it', the fling, the adventure, the house, whatever we called it, five years.  If we were ready to move on, move back or give it up we would.  Those years went fast as a blink of an eye.  

During which time, we began changing and adapting to our new adopted world, so much so, that we decided we wanted to live here as expats.  We are just entering our sixth expat year here and have a residency permit allowing us another year after this. 

Our world at night

We've quit setting timelines. We will be here as long as we are able and continue to want to be here (or as long as the government allows us to be).  I know a lot of you reading our blog are considering moves to Greece and other destinations in the world, so I would close with a quote attributed to Paul Coelho, 'Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute for experiences.'  

Thessaloniki bound

For those who responded to my teaser in the last post, you were correct! We are soon off to Greece's second largest city, Thessaloniki. Our decision to go there is driven partially by its beautiful Christmas decorations and partially by the call of its culinary reputation.  I'll report back on both next time!  Thanks for being with us today . . .in fact many of you have been with us through our entire Greek adventure, and we've loved having you with us!  Thanks to you all for your continued support and encouragement!!