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My husband and I are getting ready for holidays. We're excited because we
haven't had a chance to get away together in awhile.
 I guess it's only natural that we started reminiscing about some of our
best trips. No, not the ones to famous must-see castles, museums and
landscapes but the ones when we got hopelessly lost and had memorable
adventures.
Greece is one of those
places.
I get reminders every morning as I lift my coffee mug off the copper
hanger in our kitchen; a copper hanger I found in an Athenian market stall.
Stupid me, I thought I'd find a better price, so it took long hours to
back-track to find it again. And yes, we had a few words on the way.
It takes me back to morning coffee on Syntagma Square and starts me
musing about my love affair with Greece.
Our home is filled with reminders of Greece: the fisherman sweaters we
still wear; ashtrays from the Grande Bretagne Hotel in Athens; the ring my
husband bought me from a friendly jeweller on the island of Rhodes during
our honeymoon; and the Greek salads we often serve dinner guests.
Greece casts a spell on visitors like us, a longing to go back and see
more.
If you watched the Olympics last year and fell under that spell, this is
the year to go.
Greece is unique. It's the people, their history, the language, the
wonderful weather, the views of blue and white from the islands, and the
vivid contrasts between the ancient and the contemporary.
Yes, I have memories of the Acropolis, the Ancient Agora, the National
Gardens, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and the bustling Athenian streets and
ancient ruins. But I have better memories of getting lost and stumbling into
a square frequented by locals.
After a glass of wine or two, a lunch of moussaka (layers of eggplant,
minced meat and potatoes topped with cheese sauce and baked), the locals
began to chat.
Lo and behold, we're in the same square, eating in the same taverna where
years ago Benji had been filmed. By the time we'd finished our baklava
(layers of phyllo pastry filled with honey and nuts), they were treating us
to ouzo and asking if we knew their cousin in Toronto, their nephew in
Montreal and their brother in Winnipeg, or if we had been to Moose Jaw.
On
Rhodes, we remember the village of Lindos, the donkey ride up the narrow
streets to the stunning remains of the Castle of the Knights and the view of
St. Paul's Bay below. But we still talk about our day exploring the island's
back roads on scooters when we stopped for directions and were invited for
lunch by a Greek family patriarch who had fought side-by-side with Canadians
during the Second World War.
And we still get a laugh out of the bartender who was staggered by my
question of what his wife did.
"Do?" he asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"She's a wife."
Memories like these surface every year when I check out the latest
Glorious Greece program offered by World of Vacations.
This year, World has some fabulous prices, some 20 itineraries and yes,
you can get "lost" and find great adventures on your own.
You can choose a coach tour and add a cruise. But if you prefer to create
your own trip, it's easier than ever.
World's 68-page brochure offers 45 hotels throughout Athens and the
Islands. When we traveled we spent time in both.
We were glad we did. Otherwise we would have missed
Mykonos, the island where Shirley Valentine was filmed.
Mykonos is the most cosmopolitan of all the islands, one with very
vibrant nightlife, to accompany your daytime visions of whitewashed,
sugar-cube houses, golden beaches, brilliant sunlight and sparkling waters.
In the narrow lanes of Hora (it means "chief town"), you'll get lost,
meeting everyone from backpackers to movie stars, and have a wonderful time.
My cousin Diane was a bit dubious about choosing a package holiday to
Greece.
"We're really independent travelers," she told me later, explaining "the
tours gave (them) an overview and the cruise had excellent service.
 "On
the island of
Crete, we rented a car and went off the beaten path to find our own
Greece. We hiked, came across many areas with no North Americans and were
made to feel very welcome by the locals.
"We loved the ancient Greek culture, enjoyed the nude beach and dream
about the traverna where we spent hours at the edge of the ocean, drinking
Greek wine, eating Greek salads and calamari."
Sam Ion is This Week's regular travel writer. She can be reached at
sion10@cogeco.ca
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