A short travel blog of Greece: Pelion, Meteora, and Athens

[MokaPot]

On 6/29/2021 at 7:14 AM, shain said:

 

Really beautiful photo, @shain.

 

[shain]

A break from beach-skipping for the day. A stop at the village of Tsagkarada. Famous for its huge plane tree. A 1000 years old, I've been told, it's one of the oldest trees in Europe.

Panoramic view.

 

 

 

 

I could imagine no better place for a mid day coffee and dessert.

Frappes and portokalopita. The latter not as intensely orange-flavored as the one we had the other day, neither did it have the toothsome phyllo texture, rather it was more like a basbousa in texture. Still quite good.

 

 

Followed by a short walk around town.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 4, 2021 by shain (log)

[gfweb]

A lot of trees wouldn't tolerate being paved-around.

 

Good tree.

[Katie Meadow]

On 6/12/2021 at 7:52 AM, shain said:

Later that evening.

Cold coffee, a simple apple cake with raisins and lots of cinnamon. Beautiful location and view.

One doesn't have to ask for water when sitting at a restaurant or even just for coffee. Makes since with the climate.

It reminded me of Naples, where people were running around making coffee deliveries to the nearby vendors and shop owners. They were always holding trays with cups of strong espresso accompanied with a cup of water.

 

 

My memory of the water in Greece is that it was the best I've ever tasted. NY water is good. Bay Area water is very good. But the water all over Greece was delicious. 

[shain]

4 hours ago, gfweb said:

A lot of trees wouldn't tolerate being paved-around.

 

Good tree.

 

It seems like the area around the tree is raised (see the picture of the downwards path, it's the right wall). It was likely built around the tree to flatten the slopped ground.

I'm certain that its roots are going far into nearby streams and underground aquifers.

Edited July 5, 2021 by shain (log)

[shain]

4th beach of the day, by Ntamouchari. 

Seems like there are some good swimming spot for good swimmers, the water is quiet, deep but rocky.

It was very bright and blue.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 5, 2021 by shain (log)

[ambra]

What a lovely trip! Thanks for sharing!

[TdeV]

18 hours ago, gfweb said:

A lot of trees wouldn't tolerate being paved-around.

 

Good tree.

 

14 hours ago, shain said:

 

It seems like the area around the tree is raised (see the picture of the downwards path, it's the right wall). It was likely built around the tree to flatten the slopped ground.

I'm certain that its roots are going far into nearby streams and underground aquifers.

 

There's a pillar on that stone patio, is it holding up part of the tree?

 

Thanks again, Shai, for the bright spot you add to my day.

[shain]

2 hours ago, TdeV said:

There's a pillar on that stone patio, is it holding up part of the tree?

Yes, there's a large pillar behind the man in the first photo, which supports a massive horizontal brunch.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, shain said:

Yes, there's a large pillar behind the man in the first photo, which supports a massive horizontal brunch.

 

A massive horizontal brunch sounds more Roman than Greek.

 

...sorry, I couldn't help myself.

 

[shain]

9 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

more Roman than Greek

 

LOL, I should not be composing sentences at times when I should be going to sleep

Though I might still be missing some historical/cultural reference here 😬

Edited July 6, 2021 by shain (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

24 minutes ago, shain said:

 

LOL, I sh not be composing sentences at times when I should be going to sleep

Though I might still be missing some historical/cultural reference here 😬

 

I apologize again.  Romans are known for dining to excess in a horizontal position.  I'm not about to go searching at the moment, but I have read there exists a guide book in Greek and Latin for Greek tourists visiting Rome.  It includes a section on Roman restaurant etiquette.  Be sure to leave a tip for the slaves.

 

[shain]

Last beach for that very busy but beautiful and relaxing day.

This one is small and quiet, with very pleasant water that we found warm enough to get knee-deep in.

And we also made a friend along the way. He was laying on the road by the houses higher up the. We couldn't pass by without giving him some petting, and so he decided to follow us down the road to beach and join for a sweem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[heidih]

Lily incongruous to me but the pup- what a teat and I can almost feel the relaxing water though I'd have floated  

[shain]

After a very long day, it was time for late lunch at the lovely Synantisi restaurant, in the beautiful village of Kisos.

 

Complimentary house made tsipouro - pomace distilled drink, which is often (but not in this case) flavored with ouzo. This one was of good quality, so while we both usually prefer the anise flavored version, we could appreciate the brandy-like grape flavor that came through.

Good quality toasted bread with olive oil, oregano, seeds, dried cranberries.

Olive tapenade.

Local dry rose.

 

 

Mushroom pie. Deep fired filo filled with mushrooms pepper and cheese pie. This was the only weak meal in this lunch, mostly because of miss understanding, wince we expected it to be of the more traditional baked variety as opposed to deep fired; and because of the filling, which we expected will be of chopped mushrooms, but was more like roasted vegetables and cheese.

 

 

An incredibly tasty dakos - barley rusks soaked with minced fresh tomatoes, olive oil, soft and rich flavorful feta, floral and tangy capers, sharp oregano and a hint of chili. The rusks themselves where both soft and crisp, and very falvorful with rich toasty grain flavor.

 

 

Very tasty  and unique dish of chickpeas in a sauce rich with spices (mostly turemric, fenugreek, cumin, paprika) with onion, orange peels. A dollop with thick somewhat sweet tahini, with some spcie. It feels mostly like Indian curry, but also really not, with flavors that suggests Sicily and the middle east.

 

 

Grilled pork chop with oregano, good fries.

 

 

We were stuffed to the brim and wishing we had a second stomach.

And when then (the very friendly) waiter came carrying a plate of dessert.

We couldn't really get even a single bite in, and they were kind enough to let me snap a quick picture and place it in a takeaway container for us.

Panna cotta with candied apricot (I think, can't remember for sure) flavored with orange and a bit of cinnamon.

 

 

[heidih]

The cranberries surprised me! The barley rusks inspired me in a panzanella way. The chickpeas as well as I have some waiting for inspiration. It is heating up here so mezze type variety appeals. Thanks as always.

Edited July 10, 2021 by heidih (log)

[shain]

 

 

 

Randomly noticed a small waterfall along the road. 

 

 

[johnnyd]

Betcha two drachma that's sumac on your chickpea dish.

I'm with Heidih: mezze style is informing my menu all week now. Beautiful blog!

[shain]

4 hours ago, johnnyd said:

Betcha two drachma that's sumac on your chickpea dish.

I'm with Heidih: mezze style is informing my menu all week now. Beautiful blog!

 

Thanks! I think the dusting was paprika. I didn't notice sumac on any dish we had during our trip (though sumac can often be a background flavor).

[shain]

With such a substantial lunch, we opted to have just a drink for dinner.

A slightly chilly night, we sited at the balcony of a small but popular cafe/pub.

Rakomelo, warm anise flavored raki or tsipouro with honey, cloves and a plate of snacks.

 

 

[shain]

Breakfast the next day.

Nothing fanncy, but a nice spread.

Semolina custard with cinnamon. Spinach pie. Bread with cheese. Yogurt, jam, olives. Orange juice and coffee. Dry cake

 

 

 

[Duvel]

11 minutes ago, shain said:

Rakomelo, warm anise flavored raki or tsipouro with honey, cloves

Thats pure raki (e.g. at 40 vol%) ? Or diluted (but then it would be turbid) ….

[shain]

2 minutes ago, Duvel said:

Thats pure raki (e.g. at 40 vol%) ? Or diluted (but then it would be turbid) ….

 

It was potent, but still somewhat diluted, I don't think that we could have handled that amount otherwise. I see that commercial products range from 20% to 35% ABV. I'd guess this was around 30%.

Not sure about it staying clear, maybe because it's warm. 

[heidih]

You've mentioned dry cake a couple times Do people dunk it maybe?

[shain]

9 hours ago, heidih said:

You've mentioned dry cake a couple times Do people dunk it maybe?

 

Perhaps. The Greeks do have some very dry cookies which I assume really are dunked. But it might just be that they weren't fresh, possibly previously refrigerated. This is a small hotel, they probably don't go through a lot of cake.