Weekend Trip

The volleyball team won their game 3-0 this weekend and it was against the number one team, so they got Monday off again! Rusty's teammate, George Papadopoulos, (I love Greek last names...Rusty also has a Rizopoulos and a Mitropoulos on his team), had his dad, Mike, in town visiting from LA. George invited us to go with them to Piana, the village his dad grew up in. We left after the game on Saturday night and got to Piana at about 2am. As soon as we got there we went to a restaurant that Mike's friends owned. Yes, we went out to eat at 2am! Although I started yawning halfway through dinner, I guess the Greeks are rubbin off on me because I am gradually becoming a late-nighter haha. The food was great- it was my first time trying lamb. I mean, I couldn't leave Greece without trying lamb! I wasn't a huge fan, but it wasn't too bad. We left the restaurant around 4am! 

The village was small and set on the side of a mountain. The streets were barely wide enough for one car to fit through. I would cringe every time we drove up to the house and Mike's Mercedes would come within inches of a wall on either side of the car. Now I can understand why some of the Greek islands use donkeys for transportation.

The next morning we got up and went to what I think of as the community center. It was actually a restaurant/ coffee shop type place, but it is where all the men in town meet for drinks. Rusty jokes that Greek men are chatty cathys haha. I have mentioned it before, but I always see Greek men hanging out in groups, drinking and chatting for hours. But anyways, we hung out there for a little bit and then went to Mike's cousins' house, which was right up the road,  for lunch.

Lunch was delicious, and like every meal on the trip, filling! Out of the group of five, only Mike's cousin spoke English, but they were all so friendly and gave me a Greek dance lesson after lunch. It was something like eight steps forward, while crossing over as you step, and then two steps back, but somehow I still wasn't able to get it haha.

Later that night we went to a party for the whole village. It was celebrating Carnival, which is like a mix between Halloween and Mardi Gras. The holiday began on February 20th and lasted until March 2nd. Rusty and I kept hoping we could wear our Greek Halloween costumes again, but the opportunity never came. We kept waiting for a day when everyone would dress up, but each day only a few people wore costumes. We arrived to the building the party was being held in. There was a bonfire outside. Inside, there were rows of long tables filled with people. The party was being catered by the restaurant Mike's friends own, so we ate another huge meal, and then put my dancing lesson to use. An older man came and got Rusty and I and led us up to the front of the room where people were dancing. We joined in the circle and tried to follow their foot steps, but I'm sure we stuck out since we never actually caught on. After dancing, they had a raffle and then a live band played music.

George, Rusty and I walked up to the "community center" place to hang out with people closer to our age. They were all sitting around a table, so we joined them and chatted for a bit. Mike came to pick us up around 1am and George wanted to stay, so Rusty and I went with Mike back to the house...like I said, I am gradually becoming a late-nighter haha. 

The next day we drove around, so we could sight-see. We drove up the mountain to a small building that was used during a war. Inside, there were pictures of famous generals and little cases of ancient Greek clothing. We walked across the street to a church, where we lit candles and placed them in sand. I just now Googled the meaning of the candle and it says online that an upright candle represents those who have been enlightened by Christ. From the church, we walked right up the street to a coffee shop. It was a cool place. It was rustic inside and kind of reminded me of a ski lodge. 

Drinking mountain water

On our way down the mountain, we stopped at another church. It was locked, but you could crack the door open just a couple inches and see ancient writing on the wall. We kept driving towards the bottom of the mountain to see a cave, that Mike said was famous because there's a story about a creature that was half man, half goat who lived there. After taking pics of the cave, we went to lunch at the usual restaurant. Right now in Greece, most people are not eating meat until Easter, so we ordered seafood. I am not a huge fan of seafood, so I stuck to the Greek salad, bread and tzatziki sauce- which is my new favorite thing here in Greece, it is so good!  I did try octopus though, which looking back surprises me because the little suckers on the tentacles freaked me out! 

It says 1717 in the top right corner, so I'm thinking that's when it was built?

Tiny Door

After our day of sight-seeing we went to dinner, at the same restaurant of course, and met up with another one of Mike's cousins, Ted, and a few other guys. Ted used to live in the US, so he spoke English well. 

We headed back to Lamia early the next morning since George and Rusty had volleyball practice that night. On the way back, we stopped in a small town called Tripoli, and met up with Ted again. We all went to a coffee shop and had donuts and then to a butcher and got meat and cheese to take back with us. Mike generously gave us a ton of cheese and sausage. 

We had a fun time on our trip and are grateful for the Papadopoulos' hospitality!