goodness, all around

Kourouta

Life here is good. And so is the olive oil and the fruit and the people. And sun. The economy isn't good, and there are signs of that and talk of that too, but with how full the cafes are and how busy the shops seem, you wouldn't necessarily know. Well, let me at that one more time; coffee culture here trumps coffee culture in Canada - they know how to drink it, how to make it their own way, and, more than anything, how to take their time enjoying it. To-go cups? Nah, never. Here, you find a good spot, order up a freddo cappuccino or Nescafe or espresso, and spend at least an hour not finishing your drink. We did just this (though with the kids and with a restless mama (miles of beach were calling!!) it was a bit of a challenge) - yesterday, after a trip to Nik's parents' place in Kavasila, 45 minutes or so south of Patra. They have orange trees and lemon trees, they make their own olive oil, wine and tsipouro, and the first four things I just mentioned there we sampled, and man oh man they are good. Because the kids fell asleep on the way home from the beach, we didn't stop by the village to pick fruit or visit the chickens, pig or cow, so Nik brought us some bounty today: two huge bags of oranges, a bag of lemons, eggs, white wine, red wine, and four litres of olive oil - ! I've been trying to cook up some scheme in which we can bring a barrel of this stuff home with us, it's that good. No, it's not good; as Steve's coach said the other day as he was handing us a bottle of his homemade olive oil, "It's not good. This isn't good. It's great... the best." And it is. Dinner tonight involved fish (cooked in olive oil), rice, broccoli, beet and feta salad (with olive oil) and bread, dipped in olive oil. The best.

Hendrik with  lemons fresh from the tree

old buildings | for rent signs everywhere | city square
fountain | abandoned building | full cafe!
an act of kindness (!) | Alana and Steve | Hendrik and Heather

I could be writing a blog a day, and since I'm not, I'm missing things. Saturdays brings a market to our front door (literally), and it's awesome. There are fruit and veggies, fish, clothes, household goods, shoes - and things are the right price. We came home with bags of fruit and food and spent less than $10, and our haul included fresh strawberries. Are you jealous yet? They were delicious.

saturday market

We are slowly adjusting to the time change here, and with Alana sleeping through the night most nights (knock on wood for me), it's all good. We head to bed at the same time - 11ish - and wake up between 10 and 11, or at least that's been the norm these past few days. Steve's team plays on Sunday (I think) in Thessaloniki, against PAOK, and it's a must-win game for them. I have more to write about (how much things cost, what people say about the crisis, the weather this week (20s!), our neighborhood, our place, more on the food), but I need to get pictures up and get to bed....

story time, grocery go-carts, climbing a tree (!), apres shower giggles, sibs

Nik with fruit, Hendrik with wine

.... signing off from Patra!