Crete: the isle of the Minoans, the isle of fantastic food, beautiful beaches, authentic villages, picturesque landscapes – and seventeen Ryan Air flights per week.

Crete really does have it all. It is big – very big – and requires resetting one’s geographic ‘clock’ to allow more time to get to one’s destination. But the rewards are well worth the drives…

With 8 people in tow, the island holiday takes on a decidedly positive flavor. Costs are shared, laughs are had, and fond memories are created. Deciding where to have dinner does prove to be a challenge, but splitting the bill by 8 means that we have been consistently surprised at the great value and low cost of this holiday.

We are staying in the little village of Gavalohori, a 30-minute drive east of Chania. I can confidently report that Gavalohori is one of the most ‘authentic’ Greek villages I have seen yet. It is tiny, with 2 tavernas, 1 kafeneio and a general store. There is a beach nearby, and the Lefka Oroi mountain range as a backdrop. There are families who have lived here for generations, in houses that look like they’ve been standing forever.

Between swimming, eating & drinking, and hanging with friends, it seems like the typical island holiday doesn’t involve much activity. Sure, you can visit an ancient site, or browse in the shops – but at the end of the day, sitting still and sharing with friends is what an island escape should be about. And in my world, this is a good thing.

And there are a lot of tourists here. Everywhere – including lots of Greeks. But the size of the island means that it never feels over-crowded. And truth be told, I am happy to see full restaurants and crowded beaches – maybe it means that tourism numbers are back to normal. Maybe it just means that ‘doing nothing’ was also on the agenda of everyone else who is tired of the everyday in Europe.

Until next week,

Jack


In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

Call me uncaring, but I find it annoying to have to dodge trains (trains!) at every corner around Thiseio, Plaka, Monastiraki, Acropolis.

And the ding-ding-ding of that bell!

I was at Moma last night (still one of my favourite places to eat and hang out along Adrianou St.), enjoying a glass of wine with 2 friends. The night was perfect – warm, breezy and relaxed. In mid-sentence, I heard the bells. The bells signalling an end to all things breezy and relaxed. The bells that are followed by “…and on your left you can see the ancient Agora…” Followed by a giant wave of people jumping out of the way so that the overloaded choo choo train can interrupt our lives for 30 brief seconds (I counted) as it makes its way around the pedestrian streets. Repeat this every 10minutes.

But it gets better. As it turns out, you can run but you can’t hide. There are multiple choo choo trains that seem to follow me around. I am dodging moving locomotives at every turn. I can’t win.

I really hope that everyone who takes those trains really appreciates the ride, really loves the commentary, and really see everything the want to see. And then I also hope that each of them experiences the ‘choo choo train dive’ as they leap out of the way of the next tour.

End of rant. Now back to summer. :)

Until next week,

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

With air conditioners taxed to their maximum, and fans spinning out of control, the midsummer ‘get out of Athens’ feeling is creeping up… For those of us still in the city (and there are many of us these days!), the question is how to enjoy our days and nights while dealing with this heat. For me, the question has become ‘who is arriving or departing today?’ – as I deal with an influx of friends and travelers at my place.

Moving into the city centre has meant that I’m now the preferred destination for friends visiting Athens. I’ve been lucky (!) to have a series of visitors in town for the past month or so. I’ve got my city tour down pat – Plaka, Monastiraki, Acropolis (entrance fee not included), Syntagma, Kolonaki, Exarheia. And even a trip down to the seaside for those who have the time. Nights out in Gazi, in Plaka, at Plateia Karitsi, etc are also included in Jack’s Athens Package. I love to show people my Athens.

The trouble is, they love it here. And they inevitably tell their friends, who also jump on a plane headed for Athens. And before you know it, you have a house full of people with cameras in hand, who can’t wait to see what they can see. At this point I have sweat through all my t-shirts and most of my sneakers. And we’re only at the end of July. Surely it can’t get any hotter…

In my next life, I will own a bed-and-breakfast. With air conditioning.

Until next week,

Jack.

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

To all the beach snobs out there, I have a wonderful compromise. We ended up going to the beach at La Cabana, and the taverna next door called ‘Ellados Eikones’. I was impressed. This is located at the end of Akti Alimou (Alimos Beach) – where the old Blue beach bar used to be. Look for the La Cabana sign.

The beach itself is lovely – organized, pebbly (not rocky), very clean, with ‘deluxe’ beach chairs and even a net set up offshore to keep out all the unwanted stuff… crystal clear water and a wonderful view. The snob in me was actually rather satisfied.

The dinner afterwards at Ellados Eikones was equally good. Their motto is ‘think Greek’ – and the place lives up to that promise. The design has a wonderful island style, very relaxed, rustic even, but elegant. The menu is delicious, the music is Greek, and Thursday-Saturday nights they have live Greek music. Without exaggeration, I felt like I was not in Athens. I loved it. It’s certainly not the cheapest taverna I’ve been to, but the quality of the whole experience is definitely a step up from average.

So to all my fellow beach snobs who trek far south in search of the perfect beach – I challenge you to give this one a try. Who knows, maybe you’ll duck out of work early one Friday night and see us there…

Until next week,

Jack

Ellados Eikones
www.ellados-eikones.gr
 

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

One of my cousins loves to enter contests. And, as these things go, someone must win. She won a 3 day island cruise with Louis Cruises. And she took me along. Greek islands – great. Cruising – great. Free –really great! So off we went…

The route took us over 3 days to Mykonos, Kusadasi (Turkey), Patmos, Crete and Santorini. The destinations were super. Very different flavours, with a little taste of each along the way. At each destination, there were organized excursions one could do (for an extra fee) – visiting places like Ephesus, Oia, Knossos, etc. Or you could simply go ashore and explore on your own.

Life onboard the ship was nice. These ships are not the giant cruise ships that we normally think of – we were told that the capacity was around 1500 people, spread across 9 decks. The ship had 2 swimming pools, several bars, 3 restaurants, a ‘performance’ theatre, a casino and even a nightclub. How can you go wrong?

The passengers were from all over the place – North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Australia – and lots of Greeks as well. There were lots of families, older couples, young people, and even a Contiki tour group. The crew and staff were also from everywhere – speaking every language imaginable. This was a different mix of people than I expected – really nice.

Food onboard was not bad. The nightly entertainment (‘the show’) onboard was even bearable. I wouldn’t call it a luxury cruise, I wouldn’t call it the trip of a lifetime. But I would certainly call it a great way to see a lot in a short time. A perfect solution for travelers who want to ‘island-hop’ without worrying about hotels and flights and ferries. People seemed to really enjoy themselves. Judging by the constant clicking of cameras and smartphones and ipads, everyone loved everything they were seeing.

Cruising the Greek islands – add it to the list of ‘maybes’ for a short summer break.

And since I can’t really argue with ‘free’ - I’ve decided to start entering contests. All of them.

Until next week,

Jack
 

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

Hydra is one of those islands that one might easily overlook. The 70km trip makes it one of the closest islands to Athens, among the Saronic island group. It’s one of those places that is so close and so easy, that I have always thought “Oh yes, sure, one day we should check it out…” I mean, so close to Athens, how much of an ‘island’ could it be? Let me tell you, it is a Greek island in the best sense of the word!

The 90-minute ferry ride was uneventful – €25 each way for the high-speed option. Arriving at the island, my first impression was that of a typical Greek island – the pretty harbor, the town built up around the port, the cafes and tavernas lining the portside path, etc. All the thing you’d expect on an island – but remarkably well-kept and ‘prosegmeno’ as they say.

The thing about Hydra that really makes it special is the fact that there are no cars or motorcycles on the island – by law! The only motorized vehicle I saw was one of those small mini-garbage trucks – which I guess is a good thing. Otherwise, your only transportation options, quite literally, are a) your feet or b) a donkey. Super!

The town itself is lovely – without the bother of roads and cars, the whole place is like being in another time. Everything seems freshly painted, lovingly kept and very clean. In typical island style – there is a photo-op around every corner. Only in Hydra, there are not motorcycles or drivers to crowd your shot!

There are a few beaches, several of which are accessible by taxi-boat from the port. There are a couple museums and sites of cultural interest. Cute shops with clothes & jewelry – definitely a step-up in quality from the typical island kitsch. And there are a few great café-restaurants perched on the cliffs around the town – with perfect views of the great blue sea. Needless to say, these became my main points-of-interest during my stay.

Think about it: leave your house in the morning, have lunch & coffee on a gorgeous little island, and be back home in time for dinner. In these tough times, where full-fledged island vacations may not be in everybody’s cards – a daytrip to Hydra will make you feel like you are truly ‘away’.

Until next week,

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

Living in Athens really drives this point home. In the past week, I had no less than three ‘timing errors’, based on my apparent lack of temporal interpretive ability (ahem!).

I had planned to meet a friend for coffee – ‘this afternoon’ – at a place ‘10 minutes away’. This afternoon meant 7:00pm. 10minutes away meant at the speed of sound.
Needless to say, the concept of time varies across cultures, and Greece is one of those places where this actually plays an important role.

- It’s 10 minutes away
- Let’s meet this afternoon
- See you in a few minutes
- Let’s go at 2:00 (or, more usually, ‘around’ 2:00).
- It starts in an hour
- I’ll be there at midday
- I’ll leave around 6:00…

These may have very different meanings to a North American, an Asian or a Mediterranean person. And to those of us who live in a double- or triple-culture headspace – well, it’s a wonder I get anything done…

Of course, the day of the week also matters, and of course the nature of the meeting – is it professional? Is it coffee? Is it dinner?

Telling time seems to be a not-so-simple thing in this world. With all my watches and gadgets and sense of timing – I just never seem to get it right.

So I’ve given up. Let things happen when they are ready to happen. Now or never.

Until next week sometime…

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

The Top Ten Things I Love About Living in Greece

1. When I buy vegetables from the market, they have still have dirt on them.
   
   
2. When I take a cab home at night, 9 times out of 10 the cab driver waits until I’m in the door to drive away.
   
   
3. 7:00 pm is still considered afternoon.
   
   
4. At least once a day, I see a motorcycle or scooter driving the wrong way down the street. And no one seems at all concerned.
   
   
5. Something about the way the sunlight hits the landscape here makes the whole place seem magical.
   
   
6. My neighbors have become my friends and know and care about the details of my daily life.
   
   
7. Coffee with a friend lasts two or three hours, and I have never once talked about stock options or liquidity events.
   
   
8. When I walk down the street, I’m greeted with γεια σου κουκλα μου, γεια σου αγαπη, γεια σου ομορφη (hello darling, hello love, hello beautiful) by old men and women.
   
   
9. Shortly after meeting someone, I am invited to their home or apartment.
   
   
10. Greek summer.

Thanks for this!

Until next week,

Jack

Wherever we’ve come from, whatever our social or cultural background, showing up on the doorstep of a new country creates challenges and experiences that are at once difficult and self-affirming. And sharing those challenges – laughing or crying about them – brings people together in unexpected ways.

The other night, at the rooftop party of XpatAthens, I had the pleasure of meeting a bunch of new people – from a surprising range of backgrounds – who all shared this major thing in common. And it was great.

• The American accountant who moved to Greece on a whim, and now never wants to leave.
• The South African consultant who travels around the world but calls Greece home.
• The Greek-Canadian who discovered a passion for writing guidebooks – for children.
• The singer who lives in Las Vegas but can’t wait to return to Athens.
• The young Greek guy, raised in the UK, who now works as a diplomat.
• The Brit who fell in and out of love – and stayed.
• The Australian yoga instructor who chose Athens over Melbourne.
• The young Greek girl who is moving to New York to study English – and who will have the same expat experience over there.

On the surface, these people may have nothing in common. But one step below the surface, we all have so much shared experience. And this is the level that counts – the level where we are all, at the end of the day, more similar than we first assumed…

Until next week,

Jack

Not sure what to believe these days. Not sure if I should believe anything – or maybe everything? I turned on the TV news this week – unusually - and found the same ‘talking heads’, yelling about the same hot issues, shaking their fingers at the same names and throwing around familiar accusations. Even the good news sounds like bad news.

I’m not a TV news watcher - I tend to get my news from a ‘carefully selected’ and ‘broad range’ (or so I like to think) set of online news feeds. I scan the major headlines in the morning, and click on those that are interesting.

What I love the most are those social media sites that share and highlight the good news, the positive stuff, the happy little details of this or that group, or this or that initiative, that are going on everywhere (everywhere!) around Greece. XpatAthens, GoodChannel, ReThink Athens, Startup Greece, Human Grid, The Collective – the list goes on and on...

I imagine I am not alone in admitting that I am decidedly tired of hearing bad news, and have chosen instead to increase my daily dose of good news. After all, if even the ‘good’ mainstream news sounds like bad news, then what difference does it make that I know all about it? As it turns out, there is more than enough really fantastic news out there to keep us occupied for every one of those post-breakfast, pre-workday minutes we spend clicking around for information…

But I do wonder about the rain in the forecast. Maybe I’ll see what my smartphone has to say…

Until next week,

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…