Good Times with Friends on Spetses
By Helen Grubner. Filed in Uncategorized |
Lunch at Ray and Heather’s
It is Friday and the end of another week of fantastic weather here for this time of year. Whilst in Britain and most of Europe temperatures are down, here we are basking in sunshine under glorious blue skies … when we left the house today at 1400 hours to enjoy lunch at Filippos, the temperature in our garden was 28 degrees C. I brought with me clothes expecting cooler temperatures similar to this time last year … most have yet to be worn, however, in 7-10 days’ time they will probably be needed.
On Tuesday afternoon we joined friends Panayoites, Carol and Dimitris for a walk up in the mountains, my first time up there since returning to the island. At this time of year there are very few wild flowers, crocus and cyclamen being the exception with an abundance of the latter. The panoramic views from the ridge are breathtaking and the sound of silence is wonderful. We returned via a path I had not taken before, allowing me to discover another part of the island. Once the Bar closes tomorrow night for the season, we will have more time and the freedom to take walks together.
On Wednesday we were invited to Ray and Heather’s for lunch in their garden … Haggis (surprisingly tasty) with “neeps and tatties” (mashed swedes, known as turnips to some and potatoes) for starters. Main course was a chicken, mushroom and leek pie, served with roast potatoes, carrots and cauliflower. Dessert apple and sultanas with a sponge topping, custard sauce and ice cream. Costas left early to return home for a siesta, I was next to leave to make my way down to the harbour to meet my Canadian friend Anna arriving on the 1625 hours Flying Dolphin. Anna had emailed me the day before from Hydra, a neighbouring island and it was decided that she would come to Spetses for an overnight stay to see me and meet Costas. It was so lovely to have her as a house guest … late afternoon we enjoyed a stroll together to the Old Harbour then an evening walk before going to Bar Spetsa. The next morning Costas bought us Bougatsa (a Greek breakfast pastry with custard) then a chat over coffee at Filippos before fare welling Anna on the 1255 hours Flying Dolphin bound for Piraeus where Anna would take the 20 hour ferry journey to the island of Lemnos. It was there where we met in 2010 when her friend Themis met me off the ferry from Chios. He was touting cheap rooms for 20 Euro per night, I took up the offer and the rest is history.
Last night in the Bar we joined our friend Roland to celebrate his 35th birthday. Costas had bought him a cake … we all sang happy birthday, Roland blew out the three and a half candles then the cake was shared amongst friends. In a few days’ time, Roland will leave to do 3 months’ National Service … he is Albanian and this will assist him to gain his papers to stay in Greece. Ráy and Heather’s present for Roland was a brown bag labelled “Red Cross – National Service Survival Pack”. It contained an assortment of items including a toy pistol, frisbee, a bottle of ouzo, chocolate bars, cigarettes and a box of matches. We all had a lot of laughs.
No blog would be complete if I did not make mention of some of the yummy food we have been making and enjoying. Fakes – brown lentil soup, Briam – oven roasted vegetables and Revithia – chick pea soup … simple and healthy Greek dishes. Today we ate out at Filippos … a wonderful green salad, so light and fresh and slightly sweet with the addition of prunes, followed by two Pasta dishes – Amatritciana for Costas and Carbonara for me. With very large portions, we ended up bringing two doggy bags home.
Tomorrow night the party at the Bar, my birthday to celebrate on Monday before going away with Ray and Heather to Galaxidi on Wednesday … clearly there are many more good times to come with friends.