Sunday, 18th August, 2024
Warm but overcast start to the day. Didn’t sleep too well last night – a rather humid night which obviously spooked the seagulls. The day is at peak packing. I try to keep out of it as much as possible.
In the garden, the more you pick things, the more they are encouraged to produce. Last picking of green beans has so far brought this season’s production to around 8 kgs and the quality is excellent. Good job I like them so much but can’t eat all these before we go away. Another job for Chef – blanching and freezing beans. There will be plenty more when we return.
Tomorrow will be a long one. Time can be stretched both backward and forward. It is called Time Dilation. Einstein posited in his Theory of General Relativity that the gravity of a large mass, like Earth, warps the space and time around it. In the real world, while the standard measure of time remains consistent and precise, our perception of it is highly personal and subject to distortion. This elasticity can be attributed to a variety of factors including attention, memory, emotions, biological rhythms,and, particularly, age.
A fascinating book by Carlo Rovelli called The Order of Time starts with an interesting fact: Time passes faster in the mountains than it does at sea level. You’ll have to read to find out why although there is an article here that might speed up the process. (See what I did there?)
Monday, 19th August, 2024
Time goes on. The morning is bright and warm. M&K are flying back to Florida this morning and we wish them a safe journey. We are flying to Athens and glorious sunshine, Greek Language and People. There are just two weeks left of Summer and of UK school holidays.
Officially, tonight is full moon – a rare, Super Moon – but it was virtually there last night. If you can gaze on it tonight, do. You won’t see another one for 14 years. I hope I can still see it at the age of 87.
Back to our favourite hotel in the hubub of Athens Plaka district. Looking forward to our first real Greek Salad for a week or two. You can make it at home but it’s never the same.
Tuesday, 20th August, 2024
Athens is Athens is Athens. We get into it instantly. We have been using this 5* Hotel for 40 years. They have upgraded us to the top Suite this Summer. Our Lounge has a bottle of iced champagne and a tray of chocolates. We have been offered a ‘free’ Dinner in the new restaurant and virtually anything else that we want.
I take this in my stride while Pauline feels distinctly uncomfortable. We have girls running round after us which embarrasses Pauline but is quite normal for me, as you would expect, Dear Reader.
Kevin contacted me to ask how our trip was going. For a man of god, I rewarded him with a photo of the Metropolis Cathedral. It is an iconic symbol of the evil combination of church & state.
At 7.00 pm, the temperature is 33C/92F. We are going out for Supper in our shorts but still sweating. The contrast between the Hotel – 5* Luxury – and the roadside Taverna – rough & ready utility – couldn’t be more stark and yet that is delightful. While I am eating a lovely Supper of Sea Bream, Greek Salad, Oven Potatoes and a carafe of wine, I am watching the little children with their parents exploring the art of restaurant eating. It’s delightful and an experience I missed.
Wednesday, 21st August, 2024
Very hot night which didn’t fall below 27C/81F although the air-conditioning denied it. A super moon is all very well over Worthing Pier but it looks so much better above the Acropolis.
Went to bed early last night and slept for ever. Woke up to a beautiful morning offering hope of a lovely day.
Tea outside on the veranda with BBC Radio4 Today on my iPad and then up to the Roof Restaurant for Breakfast.
It is an International Buffet Breakfast which is biased towards Greek cuisine. A huge spread of scrambled eggs, fried eggs, boiled eggs, bacon, mushrooms, smoked salmon, cheeses, salad, 15 types of bread, croissants, pastries, cakes, crème caramel, fresh orange juice, any type of coffee you can think of …. and much more. I’ve noticed that we increasingly favour savoury things over sweet as we’ve got older. Strangely, although I love salad, I can’t imagine it for breakfast but some nationalities eat it every morning.
Newspapers and coffee back in our Suite and then I’m told I am going shopping for leather belts. The Plaka is well know for its leather work. I want a red one, a blue one and any other one that takes my eye my fellow shopper tells me. Great!
We’ve been going to this particular Leather Shop in the ancient Plaka Market area of central Athens for so long we are on first name terms with the owner, Georgios Keramidas. Our house is full of bags, sandals and, particularly, belts. And today, we have three more to take home. Pauline always has to have new holes punched in them because her waist is too small for the Greek-American market.
Thursday, 22nd August, 2024
A weird event last evening while sitting out in the totally crushing heat of the darkness on our veranda drinking coffee after returning from a restaurant Supper that included Κολοκυθοκεφτέδες. I know, you eat them every day, Dear Reader, but I have to mention them because they became the central topic of conversation.
Alright, Κολοκυθοκεφτέδες (Kolokithiakeftedes) or Courgette Balls are delicious and we have been making and eating them for years. Last night, I was contacted by members of the former students Whatsapp group asking what I was up to. I made the mistake of actually telling them.
Peter Holgate, who was on holiday in Northumberland, immediately said his garden had a glut of courgettes and would like to try making them. Chris Tolley in Leeds said they sounded good. Dave Wetherley in Bolton joined in and Kevin on holiday in Spain couldn’t avoid joining in. It suddenly struck me that five old men spread around Europe were actively discussing …. courgettes.
Life is a strange thing. At 11.00 pm last night, Pauline was being asked to dig out a recipe for Courgette Balls to supply a bunch of old men. I’ll be moving them on to Revithiakeftedes or Chickpea Balls next.
The temperature didn’t fall below 26C/79F over night and is already reaching 32C/90F just after breakfast this morning. In the Breakfast Room, people are offered a table outside overlooking the Acropolis and, of course, first time tourists leap at that experience. Very soon they learn that the air conditioned restaurant is where they need to be just to survive the meal.
Out walking today, the temperature will reach 37C/99F and everything has to be done in short bursts. Talking about short bursts, Greater Manchester had a cloud burst this morning. I was sent this view of flooding on Rochdale Road at 8.00 am just as I was retreating into the cool of our Suite.
While I was writing my Blog, I was contacting all my brothers and sisters to remind them that today is Mum’s birthday. She would have been 101. She died at 86. Those 15 years cover the whole of my retirement so far. I am having to read and write in between short bursts of walking. It is not only incredibly hot out there but, today, we reached 37C/99F which is really energy sapping. I’m having to change shirts constantly.
Friday, 23rd August, 2024
Another hot day prefaced by an terribly hot night that didn’t drop below 29C/84F which is warmer than usual. The Hotel weather screen says that we will be experiencing extremely hot days for the next three at least. Of course, in England it is Bank Holiday so the weather will be dreadful in the North at least. Strong winds and heavy rain the MEN predicts.
Here in ancient Greece, I’m feeling my age. As young ones zip everywhere oblivious to the extreme heat, I have to more consciously than ever pace myself. I am embarrassed by it.
I grow old … I grow old …
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock – T.S. Eliot
Everywhere you go in Athens, ancient history appears integrated into modern life. Outside our hotel, ancient ruins found below the pavement aren’t dug up or covered over. They are exposed, highlighted and protected for posterity.
Around every other corner are remains of ancient buildings. Just up the road from our hotel is a large, rambling site which is slowly being cleared and restored and has been for years because Greece isn’t a rich country and doesn’t have lots of money to support this kind of action.
The site is historically so important. It holds the remains of an almost 2000 year old Library constructed for Roman Emperor Hadrian in AD 132
Tonight we are enjoying the complimentary Dinner out that our hotel have offered us for being such good customers over the past 40 years. The hotel restaurant – Zohos – is new and established in the garden. It used to be a breakfast area before the Pandemic but now the menu is gorgeous.
Tell you later what I chose, Dear Reader, if you haven’t been blown away in the summer gales.
Read a sad story in the MEN yesterday that was connected to a friend, a girl who used to teach Maths in my school. I have referred to her before because her Mum and her partner, who was also a teacher in my school, have had to go into permanent Alzheimer’s Care Homes. At around that time, Julie Bamber discovered that her son’s partner had terminal cancer. That is basically what this news story focusses on.
Saturday, 24th August, 2024
A lovely evening last night. We chose to have our complimentary Dinner in the air-conditioned Dining Room rather than outside in the garden. The temperature was 32C and mosquitos were biting. The experience was interesting and enjoyable although it wasn’t a restaurant we would normally choose. It was absolutely typical Greek cooking trying too hard to be posh. The food was small portions of over intricate, over arranged, over impressively sounding dishes. If we’d been paying, it was also over priced.
All dishes were for sharing in the Mezés style. We had:
- Home-made bread with herb butter
- Mini Crab rolls (The rolls not the crabs)
- Marinated, multi-coloured Tomato & Kassos Island Goats Cheese Salad
- Baked Potato with grilled Octopus, Samphire & Tartar Sauce
- Cod Fillet Rolls with Tomato Relish, Raisins & Rosemary
- Onion Tart with Lamb Prosciutto, Almond Paste & Onion Jus
- Orange Cake with Fennel Ice Cream
- Walnut Parfait Sandwich with Chocolate, Rosemary & Salted Caramel Ice Cream
If you think that was a lot for two people, Mezés style is lots of small, taster amounts so it is less worrying than at first sight. It wasn’t cheap (in Greek terms) but €200.00 is not outrageous. The wine, as usual at around €50.00 a bottle of fairly average wine is too much and I wouldn’t have paid it. But, of course, I didn’t and it was a lovely reward from the hotel. In the same way, we were delighted to be upgraded in our Hotel Room. We had paid £3, 500 for a Superior Suite for the week. On arrival and because I have been a member for decades, they had upgraded us to the top level Suite which should have cost £5,500.00 for the week. A lovely start to our stay.
Isn’t time a strange concept, Dear Reader. we have been here for just 5 days and yet I was eating Dinner at 5.30 pm (UK) last night. In Greece, it was 7.30 pm and my body/mind was already attuned. This morning, I woke at my normal time 5.30 am without an alarm but in UK its was only 3.30 am so my body clock had automatically adjusted itself. What it doesn’t adjust to so readily now is the temperature. We have reached 38C/101F and I can assure you it is rather debilitating.
I have been forced to retreat to the air-conditioning of our suite to watch the South Coast once again beat United.