Today, I did not take a single picture.

That's right.  Not one.  Not even a cell phone picture of my dinner!

I did spend most of the day on the R part of RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, elevation) for my doubly sprained ankle.  I woke up quite sore today, especially that blasted ankle - really no surprise after walking 10 miles on it 2 days after trying to break it.

Rain also helped force me to slow down a bit, so most of the day was spent in cafes and tavernas, just taking in the town and enjoying what I consider to be the best food on earth.

Dinner was really the bright spot in my day.  I went back to the same restaurant I've been to for the last 3 nights, since the food there is so wonderful and the place is spared of tourist mobs.  The weather this evening was cool, with a consistent breeze - perhaps a little too cool to sit outside in short sleeves - but the only tables available were on the sidewalk, so I happily sat down, excited about one more meal in my favorite restaurant.

Immediately after placing my order, a young woman about my age approached my table and asked "Are you alone?" Nodding, she invited me to join her table (near the fire, another bonus), since "Eating alone is no good."  Both of the girls (Helene and Amandine) were French, both traveling prior to school starting back up later this month.  I must say, great food is even better with great company, and we certainly adopted the Greek dinner pace.  Nearly 3 hours and few new culinary experiences later, we parted ways.

Speaking of culinary experiences, this area has some interesting specialties.  One is a very specific white wine called 'Retsina', the flavor of which is supplemented with pine resin.  This sounds thoroughly awful, and I tried it thinking I would absolutely hate it.  As it turns out, it's quite good - the pine flavor is clear but not overpowering, and I actually think it masks the things I dislike about white wine in general.  I'm not sure that I'd bring a bunch home with me, but combined with good Greek food and a great atmosphere, it's fantastic stuff.  The fact that it's one of the "house wines" that almost all tavernas and restaurants here have (wines tapped straight from the barrel) and you have the makings of a truly great and very Greek specialty. 

I've also had the pleasure of eating Moussaka (sort of a Greek take on lasagna, with aubergine and potato instead of pasta, and one of my staple foods here), Souvlaki (Which is actually almost any meat grilled on a skewer), locally produced grilled pork sausage (one of my favorites), lamb ribs, pastitzio (tube type pasta with meat, tomatoes, and cheeses, baked), dolmadakia (stuffed grape leaves, or as they are known here, 'vine leaves'), and tzatziki (a yogurt based sauce made with cucumbers and garlic).  So far the only disappointment was the lamb.  Red meat, alone, in large quantities, is very uncommon here, and as a result I think the art of 'medium' has been lost, and things like lamb really suffer when cooked 'well done'. 

Of course things like Greek salad, feta cheese in all its guises, and gyros are both common and delicious, but these are somewhat common even at home, and actually aren't far from 'authentic' where you can find them.


I spent most of the latter part of this evening sewing.  I managed to replace a button, repair a belt loop, and fix a 3" tear in my backpack.  My fingertips are definitely throbbing, and I have a new respect for anyone who volunteers to sew on a regular basis.  A drunk monkey could have done a neater job than I did, but I'm a function over form kind of guy :)