Molivos on Lesvos

The SeaHorse Hotel Molivos

The SeaHorse Hotel Molivos

Molivos Castle

Petrified Stump

SL in Petrified Forest

We arrived in Mitilene, the port town and capital of the island of Lesvos, and were met by Peter who gave us our rental car. We have a car for our first day to get our luggage to the Sea Horse Hotel in Molivos, then we switch to a motorcycle/scooter. Turns out we save about E40 on taxi fare that way.

We are not doing our travels with a checklist mentality, but if we were, that checklist would have 10 Greek islands on it: Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Paros, Naxos, Milos, Sifnos, Serafos, Fologandros, and now Lesvos. Although it is still early days,both Sweet Lorraine (SL) and I agree that Molivos, where we are staying, is one of the most beautiful places we have ever been.

The town is situated on a small mountain topped by a dramatic medieval castle, built by the Byzantines . The original castle which this one replaced, was conquered by none other than Achilles during the Trojan war. There are still ancient ruins scattered around the town including impressive polygonal walls and a few giant holes where archaeologists have begun their slow work.

The town of Molyvos itself is built of stone houses and shops which surround the castle and follow the coast to one of the most beautiful harbors in Greece.

The Sea Horse hotel is run by Stella and Dmitri, two of the hardest working people we have met. The hotel itself sits in the harbour with stunning views from every room, and the restaurant is on the dock with fishing boats tied up all around. As you eat dinner, we watch the fishermen in their tiny, brightly coloured boats coming and going. Yesterday's dinner was 3 hours, entertained solely by the boats, the view and the ubiquitous cats.

Next day, we travelled on our scooter to the Petrified Forest about an hour and a half away. It is neither frightened, nor a forest, but the excavated remains of trees that have turned to solid rock. Our scooter was not running well, so we stopped on the way back and had bread, olives and shared a beer in the local taverna while they repaired the bike.

That night we went to the taverna next door where we met VanGellis, a bouszouki player who played until the wee hours of the morning. Sitting with us was George, who plays guitar, bouzouki, and has played all over Greece.

He and I made a pact to get together and jam asap!

Next day – Sometimes you are the hammer, and sometimes you are the nail!

Europe Trip 2012

Greek Guards at Syntagma

The Changing of the Guard

Plaka

Acropolis at Night

The Parthenon

It has come around to that time again, where Sweet Lorraine (SL) and I head off to Europe for a couple of months of adventure, experience and fun.  We hope you come along with us through this little blog. Please feel free to add comments and share with your traveling friends.
It has been a year of BIG changes, some happy, some sad, some  - well, different.
It has been just over 3 months since Lorraine's beautiful sister, Lisa, tragically ended her young life.  In some ways, it seems like yesterday, in some ways it seems years, but mostly, it seems unreal and unbelievable.  Happily, SL's mother, Kathy, now lives in Burlington with Lorraine's sister, Michelle, so we were all able to be together to prop each other up.  Thanks to Sandy, Brian, JB, Geoff, and everyone who helped us tunnel past that mountain. We could never get over it, but we got through it.
We sold our little Hobbithole in Burlington and moved to Grimsby – so far, we think it was a good decision – time will tell.
Our trip this year will include Lesvos, Sifnos, Paris France, various places in Tuscany, Italy, and Corsica.  We will be back on Sept 3.
We left Pearson airport and flew to Athens, where we took the bus to Syntagma Square.  After an afternoon nap we ate in Plaka, an artistic, historic, and cultural area near the Acropolis.  Our hotel had a beautiful view of the Parthenon from its rooftop patio where we enjoyed a nightcap gazing at the floodlit columns on the mountaintop.
Next day we watched the changing of the guard at Syntagma Square.  No disrespect intended to the Greek guards, but I couldn't help being reminded of ostriches in their plumage.  One would have to think they would all come down with shinsplints the way they goosestep on the hard pavement.
We then spent the afternoon a the Benaki museum, awed to be in the presence of art, pottery and jewelry that dated back thousands of years.  The highlight for me was Yoko Ono's jewelery, with a design called “Imagine Peace”.
After spending the day in Athens we headed to the port of Piraeus where we were told that we had out-bound tickets, no no return tickets on the ferry.  We'll let you know how THAT works!
Tomorrow we wake up in Lesvos!

Images: In the Tuscan Countryside; The Abbey; Ancient Winecart

Today we drove to Montalcino. The map says that it is 40 km away. Tuscan maps should measure distance in the number of switchbacks you must navigate.
I love driving, and I love the hills and scenery, but the strada between Santa Fiora and Montalcino has more twists and turns than a Dan Brown novel.
When we arrived in Montalcino, I was struck by an overwhelming dizzyness and nausea, and literally could not walk. I lay down on a bench in a park with a breathtaking view of the country below. After about ten minutes, we moved on to explore Montalcino, and I got progressively better.
Montalcino is a beautiful town, but it definitely knows where its bread gets buttered. Enotecas abounded, with slick souvenir shoppes and fancy restaurants.
We sat down to have a piccollo pranza - a light lunch, one shared appetizer and one glass of wine for SL – and came away 40 Euros lighter. This may not seem expensive by North American standards, but we have become used to having a whole dinner for 35 Euros.
We broke down, visited the enotecas, and ended up buying a 2004 Brunello di Montalcino, which we are saving for our fast-approaching last night. How I wished I had my music partner - J. B. Harrison, with us to advise on the purchase. I am not sure I know anyone more knowledgeable about wine than JB. We would have liked to buy a case or two to send back...
On the way back we stopped at a tenth century abbey which had afforded comfort and protection to pilgrims, and earned the gratitude and respect of generations. It is a humbling experience to stand in an edifice that has survived for over a thousand years. The acoustics were incredible. My accapella rendition Billy Idol's “White Wedding” was a huge hit with the monks, and probably still has them talking.
Driving the road to Santa Fiora, we passed an ancient discarded wine cart, laden with flagons once filled with Montalcino wines. History, scenery, vintages – Montalcino!

Images: Our Butcher; Our BBQ

We discover that our casa does not have a BBQ – that's Italian for BBQ. It's funny, because SL and I spent an hour or so in the Piazza today, just eating a gelato and watching people, and we began feeling Italianized. I wonder if I am going to start writing in Italics....... (sorry)
Undaunted, we forged ahead and visited our macelleria, where SL would NOT relent until I had a picture of our friendly local butcher, a caricature of what she thought he should look like. Guiseppe carved me off two Bistecca Fiorentina and was most disappointed when I explained that it was not Team Canada I needed to feed, just SL and me. I left with a beautiful steak that tipped the Toledos at almost two pounds.
We then went to the local salumeria and discovered that we could buy local Tuscan wine in bulk. After tasting a couple, we bought a two litre jug of a mellow Tuscan red that was poured from a huge barrel into a bottle with a 1$ deposit. Cost? $4 or $2 a litre.
Back at our casa, I jerry-rigged a BBQ from an old broken wheel barrow and a grille from il forno in the house.
SL made a salad, I grilled steak, we had proscuitto and melone for antipasto, drank local Tuscan wine, and watched the sun set on Monte Amiata.

Santa Fiora

Images: The Everything Store; SL and JL at the Abbey; The Abbey; The Tower at Radicofani; The View from thge Tower
First we reconnoiter. We head to the Piazza Garibaldi and start out to ask for a map and advice on visiting Abbadia San Salvatore. We have yet to meet anyone in Santa Fiori who speaks any English, so I put on my best Italiano accent and dive in...
“Buonjourno, oggi vorreimo andare a Abbadia San Salvatore. Avete una carta geographica, per favore?” The lady in the tourist office looks at me, allows me to stumble on a bit more, then says, “Righto, then, what you'll be after is a spot of advice on which towns to see, and which are not worth the bother...” in the thickest Yorkshire accent imaginable.
She procedes to tell us that Radicofani is a must see if we are going to Abbadia San Salvatore, and that it has the highest tower in Tuscany, with views for miles around.
We get to Abbadia San Salvatore, worried that the enoteca and curio shoppe that was so highly recommended would be closed, to find that it is the only store open. Entering it is a bit like entering Willie Wonka's I imagine. It is absolutely crammed with wines, beers, liqueurs, cheeses, salamis, crafts, antiques, dolls, clocks, ceramics, oils, jams and vinegars. The woman who runs it is absolutely charming, looks like a Mennonite, talks like Ted Baxter's wife on the Lou Grant show, and sells like Lee Iococca.
She entertains us with the provenance of everything that we are about to taste, proudly pointing out that all the sausages and cheeses are made on her farm, that her father personally pressed the olive oil, and that the chestnut beer is only made on Monte Amiata. At least three times I said, “Basta cosi”, which I thought meant, “That's enough”, but apparently means, “I want to sample some more wine, cheese, grappa, jam and bread, talk awhile and visit your farm.”
Leaving Abbadia San Salvatore with our Fiat full of wines, beers, liqueurs, cheeses, salamis, ceramics, oils, jams and vinegars, we headed to Radicofani.
Radicofani is another medieval town with narrow streets adorned with potted plants, and beautiful balconies teeming with flowers. The high point (literally) was the tower of the old castello. SL and I climbed the 129 narrow steps to the top to see spectacular views of the Tuscan hillsides.
We then headed home for our Bistecca Fiorentina and Vino Toscana.

Tuscany Day 1

Images: Our pet - "Scorpio"; Our Tuscan House; The Patio; View from the Back of the Patio
Here in Tuscany, dogs do not get laryngitis, birds do not need alarm clocks, and scorpions are not just in your daily horoscope.
The first thing that we did right was to plan our travel, our stops and our shopping so that we arrived in Santa Fiora with a load of groceries but with plenty of daylight left to search for the key to #8 Chiassi del Borgo, which was hidden “under a rock in the flowerbed to the right of the door.” Problem being that there was no flower bed, no flowers, no garden to the right of the door. The whole patio was made of rocks. SL finally looked under a rock and found the key, then proceeded to enter the house to find.... a scorpion.
Emerging from the bathroom she requested that I confirm that there in the bathtub was a real live scorpion. With my vastly superior experience of dealing with scorpions in Burlington Ontario, I confirmed that it looked exactly like every picture of a scorpion I had ever seen. After I had dispatched Scorpio back to its constellation, we decided to wear slippers everywhere in the house.
Marcello, our neighbour, runs a kennel next door, but lives in town. His 23 dogs bark, taking turns rather like a relay race if one of them loses heart. At the moment, there is at least a quintet in full voice. They bark in the day. They bark at night. They bark in the morning. They bark at 3:47 in the morning. They bark.... you get the picture.
Funny thing is, scorpions, dogs, spiders, snakes (there are poisonous vipers in the fields) – we love it here.
You get used to the dogs, and kind of miss them when they take a union break. The blend in with the sound of the songbirds, the gurgle of the water that flows from the fountain in our back yard, the rush of the river below. The smell of the air is unbelievable.
The scenery is storybook pretty; we are near Monte Amiata, the highest mountain in Tuscany, and the villages, towns, stone cottages are centuries old.
Tomorrow we explore Abbadia San Salvatore and Radicofani. I plan to BBQ a Bistecca Fiorentina tomorrow night!