Sifnos Part II

We Watched the Sun Go Down While Sitting Seaside in our Little Taverna,

We say goodbye to Sifnos tomorrow with mixed emotions. We love this island, but we are excited to move on to Rome tomorrow where we will meet Geoffrey, Melissa, Jocelyn, Mia, Kingston and Cadence. We explore Roma for three days together then head off to our farmhouse in Tuscany.

We won't miss the constant wind which blows gustily, slamming doors and rudely removing hats, but we will miss the scenery, the people and the food. I have now played three times here for various groups of people and thoroughly enjoyed each gathering. At each social event, there is, of course, many Mezés (μεζές), the collective name for small dishes or appetizers. Cheeses, dips, small fried vegetables, olives, and of course, Greek wine.

At the restaurants and tavernas, we have enjoyed typical Greek cookery, which relies heavily on olive oil, lemon juice, vegetables, herbs, grains and bread, wine,fish, and various meats, including lamb, poultry, rabbit and pork. Also important are olives, cheese, eggplant (aubergine), zucchini (courgette), and yogurt.

 Our favourites have been:
Sagonaki – a fried soft cheese with a very salty tang,
 Moussaka – kind of a Greek lasagna - eggplant, potato, bechamel sauce, ground beef or lamb all served in a ceramic pot.
Greek Salad – with Sifnos cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, capers and lots of olive oil.
Fried Octopus – traditionally with ouzo! Calamari – fried squid.
Souvlaki – sometimes served as an gyro in a pita.

The Greek wine has been unfailingly good, and inexpensive, with a typical dinner costing usually less than $50.00 including drinks, dessert and tip.

Tomorrow will be an exhausting day – haul our luggage to the ferry, then ferry to Piraeus, bus to Athens airport, fly to Leonardo Da Vinci Airport, train to the Termini in Rome, then find our hotel. It will be worth it, though, because the next day our Sweet Melissa arrives, followed closely the following day by Geoff, Joce and the brood!

Greek Salad

Moussaka

Octopus Drying in the Sun

Gyros

Spanikopita

Saganaki

Our Mountains