Okay, so I finally have some down time and free, high speed internet so I'm going to town. I'm currently writing from Istanbul. It's been an absolutely incredible experience so far and the most foreign I've ever had. Getting to Istanbul was of course another adventure in itself. Here's how things went.
We left for Turkey via Mytlini on a small ferry for the port town of Ayvalik. I didn't think I was actually going to get out of Greece. At the passport check they held me there for almost 15 minutes and grilled me on how long I'd been in the country and how I arrived. This was all due to passport control in both Rome and Athens failing to stamp my passport. After a phone call to who knows where, a copy of my passport and fax to again who knows where they determined that I wasn't a threat to national security and let me through. Getting into Turkey was completely opposite. We just had to wait 5 minutes for a visa officer to arrive to issue us our visa and then he even telephoned the hotel we were staying to arrange for us to get there.
I've arrived in Turkey during Ramaddan and it's truly fascinating. I feel really naive in that Wednesday was the first time in my life I had even seen a Mosque! The call to prayers are gorgeous. A man sings over a speaker system at the Mosques and fills the entire area with song. In Ayvalik during sundown they played gorgeous flute music for about 15 minutes. We were a bit startled walking to dinner because an explosive went off right in front of us in celebration of sundown. Later that evening like around midnight a drummer marched through the streets and at sunrise more music and prayers = a bit startling when you're sleeping.
Anyway, communication in Ayvalik has been the most entertaining of my life. Nobody speaks English and all I have is a page of Turkish. We did manage to get bus tickets to Istanbul however. A 10 hour ride! We had no idea it would be so difficult to reach Istanbul. The nice thing is that they were constantly offering water and soda and candies and snacks. It was more like a flight than a plane ride. America's capitalism was felt when we pulled into a Starbucks for one of our pit stops! I think that's enough for now. I'll tell you more about Istanbul tomorrow!
Friday, September 28, 2007
Mytilini
Okay, so I truly did find the food mecca of the world. It is in a small little village on the island of Mytilini called Molivos or Mythma. I have never tasted anything more delicious in my life! The fried zuchinni flowers, spanicoppita, and couscous with lamb were some of the best things my tastebuds have ever encountered! What was even more spectacular was the yogurt and honey. I suppose I am already biased towards yogurt, but this is incredible. I do not think one has truly lived until they experience yogurt with honey on Mytilini.
Just when you thought things could not get better, I discovered the Holy Trinity of sweets. We managed to befriend a Greek pastry chef who we warmly referred to as Grandma since she said my eyes were exactly like her grand daughters. We frequented her shop enough that she started offering us coffee for free. Anyway, back to the Holy Trinity. Go to Grandmas in Molivos and order a Greek coffee, pistacchio gelato, and a custard that I can not remember the name of but was sort of like a custard baklava. Now the order in which you eat these is very crucial. You begin with a bite of the custard, a teaspoon full of the gelato, and finally a sip of the coffee. Aaahhh....pure heaven. Make sure to rinse with water every so often to keep your taste buds fresh!
If you truly want to experience Grandma's cooking make sure to have her make a crepe for breakfast...indescribable. Finally sample her blueberry custard pie and fruit tart with a subtle hint of lemon and basically enjoy whatever she creates from her hallowed ovens!
Unfortunately there are opportunities to go astray on the island, but if you stick to the town of Molyvos you can't go wrong. In fact I almost forgot about Betty! Go to her restaurant and she'll bring you into her kitchen so you can choose what you'd like to eat. I had an orzo, with beef, tomatoes, and onions, all baked in a clay pot with gobs of fresh local goat cheese bubbling on the top! I will be shocked if I ever find a city that pleased my taste buds as much as Molyvos. I never thought an Italian could utter such words!
Just when you thought things could not get better, I discovered the Holy Trinity of sweets. We managed to befriend a Greek pastry chef who we warmly referred to as Grandma since she said my eyes were exactly like her grand daughters. We frequented her shop enough that she started offering us coffee for free. Anyway, back to the Holy Trinity. Go to Grandmas in Molivos and order a Greek coffee, pistacchio gelato, and a custard that I can not remember the name of but was sort of like a custard baklava. Now the order in which you eat these is very crucial. You begin with a bite of the custard, a teaspoon full of the gelato, and finally a sip of the coffee. Aaahhh....pure heaven. Make sure to rinse with water every so often to keep your taste buds fresh!
If you truly want to experience Grandma's cooking make sure to have her make a crepe for breakfast...indescribable. Finally sample her blueberry custard pie and fruit tart with a subtle hint of lemon and basically enjoy whatever she creates from her hallowed ovens!
Unfortunately there are opportunities to go astray on the island, but if you stick to the town of Molyvos you can't go wrong. In fact I almost forgot about Betty! Go to her restaurant and she'll bring you into her kitchen so you can choose what you'd like to eat. I had an orzo, with beef, tomatoes, and onions, all baked in a clay pot with gobs of fresh local goat cheese bubbling on the top! I will be shocked if I ever find a city that pleased my taste buds as much as Molyvos. I never thought an Italian could utter such words!
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Ferry Ride Inferno
Hi all!
I don't have too much time so I'm going to be quick but my ferry ride to Lesvos last night was maybe the single most miserable experience of my life! The weather ended up turning foul and we basically were sailing against gale force winds and through a storm. Our seats were on the deck so we had to seek shelter inside at the lounge are. At the bar the sodas kept flying off of the shelf and even the refrigerator was lurching forward! To make matters worse I think it's mandatory to smoke if you're greek! It was like 12 hours of being in an ash tray! I felt like I was going to be sick sitting on the bar stool so I retreated to a stairwell which was also full of smoke and tried to focus on not throwing up. This proved to be hard as every second a new person came running by towards the bathroom to puke. Luckily I didn't throw up and managed to live through the event. Sorry I can't be more descriptive at this time but Lesvos has turned out to be worth the trip in a culinary sense! I may have gone through hell to get here, but I'm in heaven now! Gotta go!
Nick
(sorry no pictures until I return i don't have access to download them!)
I don't have too much time so I'm going to be quick but my ferry ride to Lesvos last night was maybe the single most miserable experience of my life! The weather ended up turning foul and we basically were sailing against gale force winds and through a storm. Our seats were on the deck so we had to seek shelter inside at the lounge are. At the bar the sodas kept flying off of the shelf and even the refrigerator was lurching forward! To make matters worse I think it's mandatory to smoke if you're greek! It was like 12 hours of being in an ash tray! I felt like I was going to be sick sitting on the bar stool so I retreated to a stairwell which was also full of smoke and tried to focus on not throwing up. This proved to be hard as every second a new person came running by towards the bathroom to puke. Luckily I didn't throw up and managed to live through the event. Sorry I can't be more descriptive at this time but Lesvos has turned out to be worth the trip in a culinary sense! I may have gone through hell to get here, but I'm in heaven now! Gotta go!
Nick
(sorry no pictures until I return i don't have access to download them!)
Monday, September 17, 2007
I'm still alive
Hello everyone! Sorry I've been incognito for so long. I'm currently on the island of Milos in the Cyclades and waiting to take a midnight ferry to Santorini, also in the cyclades. Rachael and I did a one day whirl wind tour of Athens and have been basking in the Greek sun. I don't know if I've ever been this tan in my life! I also haven't burned which is amazing. Hopefully I'll be more consistent with my internet usage from now on, but who knows.
Hope all is well!
Nick
Hope all is well!
Nick
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)