On August 24th, I
married my best friend, a man who must have been destined for me. We've never
had a cross word. Not once. He thinks my ears are cute. He laughs at my quirks,
which we’ll leave unnamed. No
matter how certain I am about a question, he’s always right. He doesn’t have any quirks. He
thinks ice cream and chocolate are food groups. He’s just so darned
cute.
We are blessed.
A post on our wedding will come later. In the
meantime, I want to tell you about Greece. Elie and I spent three
glorious weeks in the Greek islands—Paros, Santorini and Crete—celebrating our
marriage with good food and sunshine. Seems a fitting way to start our
life together.
We arrived at our first island, Paros, in the early
afternoon, after an overnight flight from the U.S. to Paris, and then Paris to
Athens, and then Athens to Paros. It’s not a short trip. We arrived
to a tiny airport—a white, blue-trimmed building sitting on a runway under
a cloudless sky. That's a good way to beat jet lag.
We picked up our cute little car and found our way to
the hotel, Yria, just south of the main port town of Parikia. It wasn’t hard. Paros basically has one road that
circles the island. You
almost can’t get lost.
We were greeted with a welcome drink while we relaxed
on the veranda, just one symbol of the hospitality of the people on the
islands. Everywhere we went, the Greek people greeted us with warmth and
kindness, going out of their way to ensure we were having a good time, and
falling in love with their country. Whether it was the gift of a honey
dipper (for our honeymoon) from a store owner or someone who walked us through
town to personally show us her favorite restaurants, we found generosity of
spirit everywhere we went.
This spirit of generosity extends to the way the
Greeks eat. The Mediterranean
diet—rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruits and vegetables,
and wine—has gotten a lot of press over the years, most recently for its
ability to prevent heart attacks, strokes and deaths from heart disease.
While traveling the islands, the reason for the region’s fame for vitality and
longevity became clear. First, the diet on the islands epitomizes the
‘eat local’ movement. There’s not a great deal of diversity among
menus—tomatoes, peppers, olives, zucchini, potatoes, lamb, goat, and cheese,
cheese and more cheese—because restaurants serve what’s grown locally.
That means food is fresh, and handmade. Second, there is a genuine sense
of community, of taking care of each other. You see this best when you
look at the cafes, filled with older men drinking coffee, swinging worry beads
and playing backgammon. There are few retirement homes in Greece.
As people age, they move to live with their children, and they spend their days
with friends. Research shows this sense of community—of belonging—leads
to longevity.
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| farmers market in Elounda |
In short, they eat real food and share it with those
they love.
But the food is not light. The traditional
comfort food of the islands is rich and hearty, because they were mainly
farmers and fisherman who worked hard and needed the calories to get through
daily life. Now, life is not so hard, but the food remains the same.
The richness comes almost entirely from olive
oil. Greeks consumes an average of 24 liters of olive oil per person each
year, compared to only about one liter per year for Americans. Some
sources show people in Crete consume as much as 30 liters of olive oil per
year. I believe it. Every single meal in Crete was made with extra
virgin olive oil, even the baked goods. Olive oil was on every table—and
it was good. In
fact, Greeks take their olive oil so seriously, every restaurant menu tells you
exactly what kind of oil is used to make the dishes. Pretty cool.
While the food is rich, salads and vegetables are the
mainstay of the diet. I
feel like I ate 101 Greek salads while we were there. They are on every menu, with some
variation of fresh tomatoes, cucumber, thinly sliced green bell pepper, olives,
sometimes capers, red onions (but not for me), copious amounts of olive oil, a
little red wine vinegar, freshly dried oregano, and a huge wedge of feta cheese
or the local mizithra cheese, made from sheep or goat milk.
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| a sampling of the 101 Greek salads |
The islands, especially Crete, are also famous for
their wild greens, which include dandelion, wild arugula and wild fennel. Historically, when times were tough,
the people would head to the mountains and forage for wild greens for
nourishment. Today, you can
still see the grandmothers with their knife and bag, gathering greens for home,
although they are also widely available in the markets to buy. You’ll see them on menus as a ‘salad’—boiled
greens drenched in olive oil, and often paired with boiled potato and zucchini.
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| buying wild greens at the farmers market in Elounda |
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| boiled wild greens, served with potato, zucchini, olive oil and lemon |
Pies are popular in Greece—but they’re not what we
think of as pie. It usually
means a savory filling wrapped in phyllo dough or another homemade pastry
dough, always made with olive oil.
Cheese pie is a traditional late-morning snack of
homemade phyllo dough stuffed with mizithra cheese and baked until golden.
It's often topped with sugar before serving. We had the
pleasure of watching cheese pies being made at a small shop in Chania. It
takes years of practice to learn how to toss the dough, stretching it so thin
you could read through it.
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| the unbaked cheese pies, with a huge bowl of handmade mizithra cheese |
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| the finished cheese pies, which are sold by the gram |
There’s also fennel pie, a Cretan specialty, almost
like a quesadilla with sautéed fennel and fennel fronds inside.
And Caesarean pie, which is a pastry stuffed with
spicy cured beef, tomatoes and graviera cheese. We had a version at Thea, on Paros,
that was out-of-this-world.
The diet in the islands developed from necessity, and
since most of the islands’ people were fisherman, fish is a mainstay. Whole fish, simply grilled or fried
with lemon, olive oil and oregano, is delicious, and can be found in every fish
taverna, freshly caught and delivered that day.
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| fishing boats, like these in Elounda, can be found at every port town |
On the western coast of Crete, the cuisine does not
center as much around fish, because over the past centuries, most of the people
lived in the hills away from pirates and marauding invaders. Instead, they became farmers and
foragers, learning to raise goat and sheep, for milk as well as meat.
They use the sheep and goat milk to make delicious,
creamy cheeses, from the tangy ricotta-like mizithra to the aged manchego-like
graviera.
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| a family-owned cheese shop at the market in Chania, featuring wheels of graviera at the top |
And they put cheese on and in everything. There is usually a special section on
the menu, just for cheese and cheese dishes, like saganaki. Saganaki is basically baked or fried
cheese, so anything can be made into a saganaki—shrimp saganaki or spinach
saganaki, below.
Our favorite cheese dish was the boureki—a casserole
with layers of potato, zucchini, mint and mizithra cheese that’s baked until
golden brown and delicious.
You can’t speak of Greek food without talking about
wine. Grapevines grow
everywhere on the islands, and they have hundreds of varieties of grapes,
making wine tasting interesting and fun. Most people seem to make their own
wines, or community wines. When
you visit a taverna, you’re likely to have a glass (or carafe) of wine made by
the owners. Everyone has
their ‘house wine’ which is the only wine available by the glass. More than likely, it will be poured
from a large water jug and it will be good. If you want choices, you have to order
a bottle of wine.
The Greek people’s spirit of generosity extends to
mealtime. Greeks show their
love through food. Portion
sizes are huge, and they take personal offense when you don’t eat everything on
your plate. By the end of
the trip, Elie and I were stuffing food in my bag, just to finish the meal
without offending the proprietors—and not come home stuffed ourselves!
And when you think you’ve finished your meal, you’re
not really finished. Every
meal ends with complementary dessert and raki,
the traditional hard alcoholic drink. After
a while, we stopped asking them to please not bring us dessert and raki. It’s futile.
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| loukoumades, like beignets dipped in honey, are a popular dessert and snack |
So, obviously our days were filled with eating. The rest of the time, we read books,
sunned ourselves, napped, and explored just enough to keep things
interesting.
Here are a few recommendations of things to do and
places to eat, when you visit the Greek islands.
Paros
You can drive around the perimeter of Paros in about
an hour, so nothing is very far away. We stayed at the Yria resort, just south of Parikia, the
largest town.
The town of Naoussa is a quaint, seaside town with
winding whitewashed streets that invite you to get lost in their maze.
You’ll find a confusing tangle of streets among most island towns. It was
purposeful by design, to help the townspeople to hide and escape when they were
attacked by pirates or invaders. You feel the impact of history very
closely when you’re there.
Rent a scooter on Paros. The roads are fine, and there’s not as
much traffic here, as on the other islands. We took the scooter up to Lefkes for
the magnificent views and to walk a bit of the Byzantine trail.
On another day, we took the scooter to the port at
Pounta, and took the ferry to Antiparos, only a seven minute crossing.
This was one of our favorite days. We turned left out of the port and
rode to the other side of the island, to Ag. Georgios. We had lunch in an idyllic fish
taverna right on the water, with a golden retriever trying to catch fish below
us.
Elie talked to a boat captain who offered to take us
to the sea caves, and where we could go swimming. After lunch, we climbed aboard (with
the golden retriever) and motored to several shallow caves before anchoring in
a beautiful cove. We
changed into swimsuits and jumped overboard into the clear, turquoise water. After we dried off, the captain handed
us little plastic cups of homemade wine, poured out of a large water jug. It was delicious.
As for restaurants, we had some of our favorite meals
on Paros. Don’t miss Levantis,
in Parikia, which serves a creative, lighter version of traditional Greek food. You won’t find light meals like this
everywhere. The roasted
tomato salad with arugula and grilled haloumi wrapped in grape leaves is on my
list to recreate at home.
Thea, which sits at the water’s edge at the port at
Pounta, is known for its wine cellar and for the exquisite sunsets.
We loved it so much we ate there twice. Both nights, we had Costas chose our
dishes for us, and he brought me wines to match. I’ve already mentioned the Cesarean
pie. But our favorite dish
was beef, pork and lamb kebabs in a spicy tomato sauce with lots of green
peppers, served on top of a fluffy pita with yogurt. So simple and good.
At Yemini, in Naoussa, we sat outside in the
whitewashed alley, laughing at the very polite, well-kept cats who kept coming
to ask for our leftovers. We
had a delicious appetizer, layers of eggplant and tomato sauce topped with
mizritha and baked and served like a lasagna.
Santorini
If you go to Santorini, stay in Oia (pronounced
ee-ah). The town is unlike
anything you have ever seen before in your life, and even the pictures don’t do
it justice. The town is
built into the cliffs high on the northern edge of the caldera, a volcanic
crater flooded with ocean water. Many
of the hotels, restaurants and shops are built like caves, tucked into the
sides of the cliff, with paths snaking through and connecting them to the main
pedestrian street at the top. All
of the buildings are whitewashed, and trimmed in that iconic blue of the
islands. With the ocean as
backdrop, it is truly spectacular.
Our time in Santorini was perfect. We stayed at Canaves, which is an exquisite but
completely unpretentious and relaxed resort, right at the beginning of the
pedestrian walkway in Oia.
So relaxed, Elie would walk to reception each morning
in his robe to order us breakfast (room service on our patio!).
One of the highlights of our time in Oia was a
catamaran cruise around the island. We
motored to the volcano (which is still active) and went swimming in the warm
sulfur springs around the volcano’s edge. We anchored at two other beaches for
swimming and then ended with a traditional Greek lunch on the boat before
heading back to the port.
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| view of Oia from the water |
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One of the thousands of churches on the islands, this one at the volcano off the coast of Santorini.
Look closely and you can see goats roaming on the rocky hill. |
On another day, we rented a cute convertible mini car
and went exploring. We visited Akrotiri, an ancient preserved settlement
that was destroyed by a volcano, and then sunbathed at Perissa beach, unique
for its black volcanic sand.
We stopped at Fira, the other main town on the
caldera, for a late lunch. Since
we had the car, we made a diner reservation at Selene, about 20 minutes from Oia in the
village of Pyrgos. It was
worth the drive. The quail
starter, served with a soft quail egg I could have taken a bath in, was
exquisite. As was the
langoustine. And for me,
the server opened bottles of wine, just to pair a glass of wine with each dish. It was a lovely experience.
We also loved Ambrosia,
which has a small rooftop patio, perfect for a romantic dinner. Here we
had a prawn appetizer in an incredibly unusual and delicious sauce made with
mastic, a popular liquor.
And 1800, is another great restaurant, right on
the pedestrian walkway in Oia. It’s
housed in a historic mansion, where you can dine in the garden courtyard, or on
the rooftop.
Crete: Elounda and Chania
Crete is a large island, so if you visit, be sure and
give yourself time, preferably staying on both sides of the island. The
two sides are quite different.
In Elounda, we stayed at Elounda Mare,
the epitome of a refined, elegant resort. No walking around in bathrobes
here. At Elounda Mare, you’ll feel very grown up.
I’m afraid we can’t quite give Elounda a fair
impression, because we had three cloudy, windy, chilly days in Elounda, which
drove us to the spa (poor us) and inside for room service and movies (again,
poor us) for much of the time we were there. So, we didn’t get out and experience
as much as we would have, had the weather been beautiful.
But don’t miss Agios Nikolaos, which is a bustling
town, great for walking and exploring.
For dinner, we really
enjoyed The Ferryman in Elounda, so much so that we went
twice. The lamb slow cooked in rice was amazing, worthy of recreating at
home.
The drive from Elounda to Chania is gorgeous, with
breathtaking views of towering mountains on one side and clear, turquoise ocean
on the other.
We absolutely loved Chania. We stayed at Casa Delfino,
in the heart of the quaint old town. Chania has been conquered by the
Romans, the Turks and the Venetians (among others) so the architecture is
fascinating, feeling a bit like Venice or Florence.
Note: If
you’re driving to a hotel in the old town, be sure and call ahead and ask where
to park. The old town is
pedestrian-only, which we found out only after driving into the middle of the
pedestrian streets. Thank
goodness Elie is a great driver. And calm.
There is a lot to explore around Chania, including an
ancient settlement, Aptera, and many beautiful beaches. We
went to Phalasarna, a breathtaking beach about a 45 minute drive from Chania to
the west coast of the island.
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| Phalasarna Beach |
One of the best things you can do in Chania is to
travel off the beaten path to some of the mountain towns, where you will
encounter traditional, handmade Cretan food. We went to Aetofolia, perched in the
tiny village of Somonas with sweeping views to the sea. The proprietor, Mrs. Katarina, cooks
and serves you herself. Her
homemade bread alone is worth the drive. We had goat stewed with green beans
that reminded me of country style green beans from Kentucky. Country cooking is the same
everywhere—making delicious food from simple, humble ingredients.
In the Turkish section of Chania, don’t miss The
Well of the Turk, which serves creative versions of traditional
Cretan food. Be sure and go
inside to see the well, but eat in the quaint courtyard.
Oinopoieio is around the corner from The Well of
the Turk, and is also quite good. Tamam is very popular, and has tables on the
pedestrian walkway, as well as inside in an old Roman bath.
Chrisostomos was our favorite restaurant in
Chania. As with most of our favorites, we ended up eating here
twice. As with any restaurant, the experience is usually greater than the
sum of its parts. The restaurant is tucked into the back of the harbor,
so it doesn’t have a view and no outside tables. But, it’s cute
inside. The menu is nothing fancy—just traditional Cretan food done
really well. Great service, good wine, and a room full of locals.
Perfect.
The entire honeymoon was perfect, actually. We couldn’t
have asked for a better way to start our married life together.
A big thank you to Ronnie Liadis of Liadis
Travel,
for helping us to plan the perfect honeymoon!
