Comestible Treats Of An Unfortunate Flatulent Type Nature

You must think our odysseys are all about eating ………. well, I suppose a large part they are, but there again, we do love a foreign comestible, especially if it’s something unusual we’ve never tried before or hard to find in the UK.

Now, we are certainly not strangers to the odd cherry, in fact they would actually be my fruit of choice were they not quite so expensive at home…..

……. but when we’re on holiday, it’s time to through caution to the wind, especially when as Darrell is oft to say “It’s not like spending real money”. So while I am away I have indulged greatly in my most favourite of five a day fruit, even if they do have a tendency to make me everso slightly gassy, of which I am trying my best to be discreet ……

…… which isn’t really helped by my consumption of sour cherry juice as well, another holiday favourite that is hard to find at home! I find that I sometimes have to go in the sea to have a good pop off …….. what am I like?

A Return To Spinalonga

An odyssey in Elounda wouldn’t be complete without taking a boat over to Spinalonga (The Island).

We’ve been before and read the book …….

…… but that was before we’d immersed ourselves in all twenty six, one hour episodes of the Greek TV series “To Nisi” (twice, over ) ……..

….. once last Christmas and then a monster binge just before we came away.

Without Victoria Hislop’s book we would never have gone on to learn the true history of the island, in the main being one of the last active leper colonies in Europe until it finally closed in 1957.

https://greeking.me/blog/crete/item/255-the-story-of-spinalonga

The most emotional part for us was walking through the long tunnel into “the village”……….

….. as it had featured so strongly in the series. You just can’t imagine how awful it must have been to pass through knowing that you may never see your family or leave the island again

To be honest, in some ways we felt as if we were intruding ………

……. and not a little voyeuristic ……..

…….. which is why we tried to avoid the many large guided tour parties to explore and take it all in on our own …….

If ever there was a place on earth that should to be haunted it would have to be Spinalonga ……

……. it’s so beautiful ………

……. but feels so sad at the same time.

However, without wishing to sound irreverent, when we were discussing this, Nigel did wonder if there was any ghostly activity in this sort of heat would there be a noticeable  Derek Acorah (RIP) spooky and dramatic drop in temperature?

Before we left, we lit a candle in the church, perhaps our favourite part of the island ……. each lost in our own thoughts ……

….. wondering if we will ever return to a place we are all so drawn to.

Who can tell, but I know Darrell is already planning another viewing of To Nisi when we get back home ……. what is he like?

More Unbelievable Food Of The Gods ….. Free Pud

As if discovering yesterday’s Greek walnut cake wasn’t heaven enough, our odyssey just keeps on getting better and betterer …….

……. because when we went out for dinner last night, instead of being proffered a customary mini carafe of raki  ………

……. we were presented with a wonderous bowl of lukumádes to share instead! OMG, OMG, OMG, we have dreamed of said dessert ever since we sampled their delights in 2018 http://mumsmonkey.blogspot.com/2018/07/nigel-finds-greek-treasure.html.  Sadly, the hotel has changed hands since then and is now a  posh “boutique” hotel and the lovely old lady and gentleman no longer there

What can we say? They were to die for.  We ate them really, really slowly, embracing each and every mouthful, our hearts sinking a little when the bowl was finally empty and almost licked clean ……. if it hadn’t looked awfully rude we would have been tempted to ask for more, but instead we thanked the waiter profusely when he returned, sending our compliments to the chef.

Let’s hope it isn’t another four years before we can sample their delights again. Darrell has promised to scourer the shelves of Aldi when they next “do” a Greek Week, just in case they have a mix or something, hopefully to tide us over until our next adventure!

Off The Richter Scale of Noms

Yesterday, thanks to a little foray to the very “local” local bakery we discovered and sampled ……….. drum roll please ……. karithopita

…… or Greek walnut cake, for the very first time!  OMG, let’s just say we’ll never, ever, be the same again, comestibley speaking as it’s changed our lives as far as sweet syrup soaked cake, spiced to perfection with  crunchy walnuts is concerned.  In fact it was so syrupy I swear we left a sticky trail of drips all the way from said bakery to our sunbeds!  What are we like?

It truly is the food of the Greek Gods, totally off our Richter scale of noms, in fact, scoring it would be just be an insult. We shall now be availing ourselves of an ample portion of this true delicacy each day for the rest of our odyssey, as Darrell says, calories don’t count on holiday …… and then, no doubt dream of it’s delights long after we return home.

Checking Out The Lamps ………

Checking out the menu boards on display outside the various tavernas is tres de rigueur as part of our evening promenade, as we saunter along the “strip” looking for a suitable establishment for our evening meal.

…….. and tonight it was the thought of trying the oven baked lamp that reeled us in, well it would have looked rude not to, wouldn’t it?

Unfortunately, the lamp wasn’t available, but the lamb we were offered in its place was off the scale!

What are we like?

A Case Of Mistaken Greek Identity

Poor Nigel was absolutely convinced he’d spotted a gentleman in a red swim hat bobbing up and down ominously in the sea at the end of a row of buoys.

There were no raised arms or flailing about, but nevertheless, I think Nigel, in his head, was preparing to make an rescue of a heroic Baywatch type nature.

He had us all staring out to sea, along the said line of buoys, even I was getting a little worried.

Until Darrell, putting down his copy of Victoria Hislop’s One August Night and popping on his posh polarised sunglasses……..

……. was able to confirm it was just different coloured buoy marking the end of the rope and not a gentleman in need of help.

…… and with that validation Nigel felt he was able to stand down and have a little delve in amongst his lunch bag. What is he like?

A Trip To Romantic Plaka

Last night we decided to take a taxi on a romantic “pilgrimage” to the small village of Plaka just up the road, as featured in Darrell’s most favourite book The Island by Victoria Hislop.

We’ve been before, but since Darrell has re-read the book several more times during our incarceration in meltdown  ………

……. and we all very much enjoyed re-watching the Greek television series of the same name (with English subtitles) before we came away, it was a must ………

…… to see all the beautiful places we’d seen in the scenes on screen.

Even second time around it did not disappoint …………

……. in fact, it may have been even more romantic!

There was also a little mooching to be done, first in the world famous Green Shop, where everything they sell is in hues of green, blue and aqua and where several considered purchases were made, turquoise being all our favourite colour.

A little further down the road, well, it would have been rude not to add to our collection of evil eyes wouldn’t it?

Then throwing caution completely to the wind we decided to have an evening of traditional Greek puddings ………

……. OMG, they did not disappoint either, we sat gazing in wonder across the sea to the island of Spinalonga and the rugged mountains in the distance, in companionable silence ……

An evening more perfect I don’t think we could ever have ……… it was …… emotional!