Breakfast.
We sort of kept lingering because we didn’t want to leave this magical place.
We really loved sitting in this village square, watching the life of the village. Mike took some photos from the balcony of our room and we walked around a little more to take a few more.
The bus to Sparta pulls in and there's a line of people apparently going to Sparta. The usual old Greek men are sitting on benches.
Later, I will regret not buying my souvenirs here. I was so afraid I'd find something better later and not have any money left. Oh well.
We really just like sitting here.
It's so peaceful.
But we finally finished our breakfast and payed our breakfast bill and the bill for "Rooms to Let" and then packed up the car one more time to leave Mystras. We probably would have stayed if we didn't have the realtives expecting us! But then, we made one more stop in Sparta because Elena wanted us to see the Museum of the Olive which she had visited back in February.So we stopped at the Olive Museum on our way through Sparta. Elena had been there with her study abroa
d people.Olive press.
Oil lamps, with modern light.
According to the chart, you can use every part of the olive tree!
Somehow Elena hadn't signed the guest book in February so she added her name to the list!
Then back on the road to drive to Tripoli --- not quite sure what the deal was with this truck... I guess that's the sheep dog?
Before we got to Tripoli, we turned and drove around to get the feel of Kerasitsa. Well, Kerasitsa--or I should say-- the house where my father was born is literally on this main road. So we stopped and took a few pictures at the church and in the street. The old house has been "updated" since 1988 and I probably wouldn't recognize it but for the church being there and of course, this sign on the wall!
The sign has been there for a long time...at least since 1988. I think it was there in 1979 when Tom was there...not sure about 1968 when Sue was there. It says something like Street Where the Americans Lived.
And, of course, if ever we're not sure if this is the right place, there's this marker at the door of the church. The Chicago Sons of Kerasitsa helped build the church! That would be my grandfather, among others!
Then we went in to Tripoli and drove around the city looking for a hotel. Called 3 places that were listed in Elena's book and then ended up at the Arcadia because they had availability. We checked in and called George. We went down to wait for him and he came and but then we decided we’d wait for him to come back—I think Georgia and Soterios were not ready for us.
We rested for awhile while waiting for George to come back. Watched “Splash” on tv—in English with Greek subtitles. That was kinda weird.
Finally, we meet George and followed him to Kerasitsa and made another stop at the church and house where Ang was born.
The front of the church.
(Just FYI--Kerasitsa is my father's birthplace, aka home of the Adamopoulis family. George and Laki are the sons of Georgia & Sotirios Andreanopoulis....and their village is Episkopi, basically around the corner or across a field in the old days. My dad's mother was an Andreanopoulis.)
Then we drove the short distance over to Georgia and Sotirios' house. This is a new house, built since we were here in 1988. It's on the same property as the old house.
Soterios wasn’t there at first and so we just sat on the porch and visite
d.After Soterios got home, Georgia brought out pastries and coffee and her amazing cherry cordial.
Eventually, we went in for dinner....
I "help" Georgia with the pork and potatoes.
While we were sitting outside, we had seen Georgia go out to the chicken cages--apparently she was collecting eggs for dinner. They were SO AMAZING!! She just boiled and sliced them and dressed them with a light vinegarette.
Just a simple tomato salad. Then for dessert, more pastry and coffee.
In my second favorite story of the night...Mike makes Sotirios very happy when he picks up his pork and eats it off the bones. Mike was much happier as well.
After dinner, we sat around the table in what I consider to be Greek-style, because that is what we always did in Chicago at the Greek relatives. It was actually pretty hysterical because of the language issue. But it felt very comfortable. I got out my genealogy stuff hoping to ask some questions, which was probably silly, given the translation problems. Finally, Soterios says to me, "Elizabeth already did this!" Of course, that is Betty, my Mom. So that was the end of that discussion. Then I open the computer to show them pictures of various people and try to "c
atch them up"--another laugh because they are quite up to date, thanks to Jane Corson, "Iawanna" who calls them every week! Sotirios decides to try and call her, but doesn't get through.Mike loves talking about Apple Computers. Elena has heard it all before.
Then, the highlight of the evening. Sotirios tells the story of when my brother Mark came to visit and how they were all sitting around "visiting" and it was time to go, but no one knew what to do.
Finally, George says, "STAND UP!" and of course everyone stands up. I know the story right away, as soon as I hear Sotirios say "Mark." George translates for us, but I already know the story!
I'll post the video on a separate page.
It was getting late and we decided to come back in the AM for coffee before we went back to Athens. George had to drive back to Athens so we will have to be on our own in the morning! We felt confident that we would manage. So we went back to the hotel.
By the way, did I describe the hotel already? In Elena's guidebook, it's described as a charming old hotel ..... but apparently it's been updated since that publication date. It is now an ultra-modern hotel--very sleek. So sleek that the sink and toilet in our room is SQUARE!! It's kind of difficult to be serious in the bathroom.
The room itself is very WHITE and spare. Luckily, we are very tired and go to sleep pretty easily, once we've all gone on-line and checked email and Facebook!
