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The secret of the Greek bakery
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Advice for A Greece Travel Novice - "I am visiting Greece by myself for the first time - any advice?"
Fishcool
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Kalimeera! That's good morning in Greece, and it's a magic word evoking a smile and a greeting in return. Use it freely and you won't be
disappointed with your welcome in the (usually) sunny morning hours when you wander sunsplashed pathways optimistically called streets on the islands, or walk the streets shaded by office buildings in downtown Athens.
Wherever you find yourself, you may be asking just how Greece captures the hearts and minds of visitors so well? Maybe it's the sparkling air in the high mountains surrounding the oracle of Delphi, or the way the sunlight shimmers on the water off the island of Aegina, or the welcoming Greeks like Manoli, singing and dancing in his tavern near Agia Nicolosi on Crete. In Athens, even souvenir shopping in the Plaka district is a cultural event. Answer the call of one of the beckoning salesmen positioned at regular intervals throughout the Plaka, select a piece of jewelry from a modern shop, then walk thirty feet into the past to the ancient, many-sided Tower of the Winds, all the while catching glimpses of the imposing architecture of the Parthenon, perched above the city on the Acropolis.
Greece grabs your heart and won't let go. Your mind may find a few logical reasons why this land is so special, but your heart knows the mystery is unsolvable. Whether your visit is for two days or two months, I guarantee the last half of your time in Greece will be spent surreptitiously planning how quickly you can return and where you'll go on your next journey to Hellas.
Breakfast Bravery
Many arranged tours provide the typical traveller's breakfast downstairs in the hotel lobby - rolled sliced ham, hard boiled eggs, often pre-packaged croissants, maybe some dry cereal. My advice is skip the freebie -well, everything except that first cup of coffee - and follow your nose or helpful instructions from the desk clerk to the nearest bakery. From the early hours of the morning, bakeries provide your best breakfast in the form of a flaky pastry filled with local cheeses. If you think cheese in Greece begins and ends with Feta, you'll soon know differently. Hot from the oven, it will keep you going through hours of sightseeing and costs about seventy-five cents US. A spare one, along with a bottle of water, will get you through the midday surprise when you discover that many Greek archeological sites have no food facilities. Other offerings include small pizzas, cinnamon crisps, and genuine croissants. Even downtown Athens has small bakeries on the street level of office and commercial buildings, and every one tested was delicious. Favorites? The splendid village bakery (doubling as a liquor store) in Adamo on the way to Epidaurus, and the communal oven and bakery on Mykonos. Many houses have no ovens, so the locals bring whatever they want cooked to the communal one, where for a few drachma their daily bread is perfectly baked. Visiting a bakery is also one of the best ways to enjoy the real daily life of the villages and encounter Greeks outside of the tourist industry.
Remember, say Kalimeera and smile!
Photos by deTraci Regula, courtesy ACFP. All rights reserved. Copyright 1996-2001.
