Food Fare

Traveling in a foreign country is always challenging on a number of levels, not the least of which regards nourishment, especially if you have "special dietary needs" such as vegetarians require (at least half our group is vegetarian). For that reason, we had our own cook along on the trip, and for 2/3 of the time in Greece, she prepared our meals (with help from the musicians).

The rest of the time, we were on our own. Not being a vegan made it easier, but I must say, we are rather tired of bread and cheese (delicious as that was) and hard boiled eggs (at least they weren't runny) by the time the trip ended...

I am one who likes to capture every ounce of the experience, so I often took pictures of the food and, as a result, can visually share the gastronomical delights (or not) we partook of throughout the tour.

Photos above: "The best pizza in NYC" that we ate prior to taking off on the tour. Eggs at the Camberra Hotel in Ephesus.




















Wheat Thins and Cheese Whiz that was first confiscated at Paris security and later retrieved by my sister. The security agents took it from my nephew, not knowing what it was, and then tasted it and tried to keep it!















Family and friends eating our own food at the Two Hearts Campground in Galissas, Syros.















The orchestra director (right) and her husband eating at the camp with a former concert mistress of the orchestra (now traveling as an alumni singer).















Typical breakfast for me at Hotel Benois in Greece.















My niece (right) and a friend helping to separate the wraps for delicious falafal sandwiches at the camp.















Vegetarian fare at Camberra Hotel in Ephesus that the staff prepared for us while we waited interminably for our buses to arrive from Romania to take us to Istanbul.















The delicious soup appetizer from the Camberra Hotel.




















My nephew and sister having a last ice cream cone in Ermoupolis, Syros. He said this was the best ice cream he's had in a long time. It was delicious. We partook of it several times during our stay.















Orchestra members enjoying fresh-picked peaches for lunch in Ephesus.















Enjoying pasta at a restaurant in Galassas.















An outdoor restaurant in Ermoupolis that made a wonderful Greek salad. The bread and pasta was excellent, too.















My last breakfast in Greece.

I have no pictures of eating in Turkey because we did that on the fly...no sit-down meal except for the one that our merry dozen ate at El Torrito near the Grand Bazaar. It all was an interesting gastronomical experience for sure =)

Jigity Jig...

Home again, home again. I am happy to be home, but this trip was a great experience. The first two weeks were completely peaceful. The last four days were crazy, chaotic, completely fascinating and full of adventure. I can't begin to explain it all here, but suffice it to say that traveling anywhere outside of Europe is a challenge, no matter if you're on your own or with a group of 81 musicians.

The orchestra I was traveling with has been doing this for 35 years, and done at least 75 tours all over the world, but there are always unforeseen situations...but, oddly enough, it is often that craziness that we remember, long after the tours are over and done. This tour, there were seven of us who have been involved off and on with the group for more than half of those tours and several others for at least a third of them.

We awakened by the 5 a.m. call to pre left the lovely Hotel Benois in Greece on Monday afternoon and for the next 4 days spent most of our time on the road, or on ferries. 6 hours from the island of Syros to the island of Samos. Another couple of hours on a ferry to the mainland of Turkey. Another hour or so on buses (81 people require two buses) to Ephesus. And hours of waiting in between. Arrival at our hotel in Epehesus was sometime around 2 a.m.

We fell into bed and slept soundly until we were awakened by the 5 a.m. call to prayer. We finally got up at 7 so we could go to the ancient ruins of Ephesus before it got too hot. Only problem: we had to walk some 2 miles. It was a HOT two miles, but we finally arrived, and the sights were worth the effort.

We took a little side trip to a Turkish carpet making school and got a tour (and a bit of pressure to buy, of course). It was quite interesting though, and the carpets were beautiful, albeit quite expensive. They gave us some delicious Turkish Apple Tea, and later, I bought some to enjoy at home.

Tuesday afternoon, we were supposed to make our journey to Istanbul, but the buses that were coming from Romania did not arrive until 8 p.m. and then the drivers had to sleep, so we did not leave until 1 a.m. Wednesday and then drove all night and all morning from Ephesus to Istanbul. It took 12 hours, the last part fighting traffic and being lost in tight little side streets with two giant buses. Our relief at finally arriving at our Hostel was tempered by our first glimpse of the Chill Out facilities. I prefer not to dwell on our dismay, though, as the 4 hours (as opposed to the entire day) we had left to sightsee were frantic, but well worth it.

We saw three main sights: The Blue Mosque (loved it), the Haigh Sophia (a little disappointing inside but outwardly beautiful), and the Grand Bazaar (overwhelming and a little frustrating, perhaps mainly because we were so exhausted). We were going to see the Turkish Baths (and even experience it), but I chickened out at the last minute. I found out later that they were closed to women by then, so I didn't really miss out after all.

After a night in the somewhat dicey hostel, my sister, nephew, and I took our leave from the group and made our way to one of Istanbul's four airports to fly home via Paris. Flights were uneventful, and we got star treatment in Paris, with a jetway-to-jetway escort that included a rush through security and bypassing a couple hundred people in line to board the plane for our last leg home. Let's just say that we appreciated Air France's TLC.

I got home home at about 10 p.m. Boston time, but it was 4 a.m. Turkish time, so that made four days in a row of very late nights and arduous travel. To say I fell into an exhausted sleep would not be exaggerating. It was good to get here. Good to have a shower in my own shower. Good to see my cats (they were thrilled to see me). Good to hear my parents' voices. Good to be able to say that in spite of the problems here in this country, there really is no place like it. Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to see the places I've seen on this and other trips. We are blessed. There's nothing like travel to help you realize and appreciate what we have to be thankful for in this country.

Beyond the Sunset

My nephew indulged me and went for a walk just about sunset tonight. We walked down a road to the opposite end of the beach across from our hotel and we watched the sun set in its spectacular glory. I told him this would be our last sunset in Greece, which made me a little bit sad. It's been nice to have such a relaxing time with little or nothing we had to do. Our next four days will be busy with travel and sightseeing and shopping. But for a little while, we just enjoyed being still and appreciating the beauty of the setting sun...

Ships Ahoy!

We've seen quite a number of ships and boats and yachts, as you might imagine. A couple of nights ago (Thursday I guess), when we went into Ermoupolis, we saw several huge yachts and sailboats moored along the harbor's edge. There was also a cruise ship anchored in the bay. It was the two enormous yachts, however, that caught our attention.

They were both out of George Town, Grand Cayman Islands. One of the violists googled it and found that when it was last purchased, in 2003, it cost 23 million euros. That's something close to $36 million!!! It had a crew of 5 twenty-somethings, two girls and three guys, all tan and fit of course. It really was beautiful. The other, even bigger one, was a yacht for hire, but I don't know the details of that one.

Ermoupolis is the major shipping port of the Cyclades Islands. It is also the metropolitan capital for that group of islands, besides being the capital of the island of Syros. It's a very busy port, with tankers and freighters coming and going, besides all the tourist vehicles (ferries and yachts, etc.). We've enjoyed watching them move in and out of the harbor.

Photos: an old row boat that we pass on our way up to the campgrounds for meals; various yachts in the Ermoupolis harbor; a cruise ship protesting the fact that the British Museum continues to hold on to the Parthenon marbles that Elgin "stole" back in the 19th century. All efforts to even buy them back have gone useless. The British Museum claims that they can preserve them better than the Greeks can. The Greeks believe that the marbles belong at the new Acropolis Museum that should open next year. This cruise ship made me laugh at its blatant politicking =)

Churches and Concert Venues

Yesterday, I finally got to go into the Orthodox Church near the concert hall in Ermoupolis. My sister, brother-in-l aw, nephew and I went to town early to walk around. The three of them continued a long, steep hike to the top of the city and the other, bigger church there. Here's what we saw.

The ceiling in La Piccallo Scala (concert hall); the Greek Orthodox Church behind the concert hall (outside and in) and the Orthodox church high at the top of the city (outside and in).

Family, Friends, and a little Music on the Side

I thought I'd send along some pictures of us tucked into the scenery for those of you who are wondering how family is faring. There was no rehearsal yesterday as the conductor wanted the musicians well-rested for the concert that started at 9 p.m. The group responded by hanging out at the pool most of the day...and getting a little bit red around the edges as a result. Even I got burned because I stayed out longer than normal =(

Photos: Julie and David reading and checking out the Red Sox score; Virginia-Gene talking with Patrick about getting a timpani for the second half o f the trip; Laurie, Jessica, Kerry and Patrick; Rondi at Ermoupli Harbor last night; the orchestra warming up (Lauren and Jerry in the center); Katie going for a ride in the dune buggy with Patrick yesterday (I went with him in that this morning!); Lauren and Jerry at the pool; Beth at supper last night; Julie and Lauren on the deck yesterday.

Peaceful, easy Feeling

There's nothing like a whole day stretching out ahead of you with absolutely nothing you have to do but read, sit out in the sun, relax, enjoy the good company of family and friends. My sister keeps asking me if I'm bored, and I keep saying "absolutely not!" I am loving being able to just sit and read. In the daylight no less! It's a rare treat, let me tell you.

Right now I'm reading Mike Lowell's memoir of his fight with cancer and winning two World Series with two different teams in the space of four years. I gave this book to my nephew for his 8th grade graduation present and since I've already finished the books I brought along, I've had to start on the ones others have brought. It's quite interesting, I must say. I don't read a lot of sports books, but as these books go, this one is enjoyable.

Today, we made our own games to play-- battleship, the dot game, others like that. We also watch the hotel cat play with lizards (she's doing it right now as I type, in fact). I don't think I could live this way forever...but for now, it's exactly what I need.

Today's pictures are of some of the cats we've observed and/or made friends with. There are many, many of them everywhere, most of them thin and battle scarred. The one with the kittens lives at the campgrounds where we eat most of our suppers. The first day she had just one kitten with her, but now she has three. They are getting fatter because we keep feeding them =) The one sleeping on the stone wall is the one who lives at (or near?) the hotel and keeps catching the lizards.