Greece 101

Wonderful people who are friendly, hospitable, helpful and great cooks! Most of them speak English, if they don’t they still understand a few words.

Fantastic fresh fruits and vegetables, calamari and octopus.
Feta cheese like you find no where else and every thing with a touch of the most wonderful virgin olive oil; some items have more than a touch!
French fries with oregano. Potatoes from Naxos in any way shape or form - the finest in the world.

Greeks have no sense of personal space, not rude, just no sense of it - here they will get up in your face to talk to you, touch you or pat you on your shoulder - but all in a nice way. If you are queuing up for something - it is every one for himself. Either you push ahead or they will walk in front of you. My kind of people, I like to push ahead. In England, I have to be good and stay in the queue.

Transportation is well organized and inexpensive whether it is by bus or ferry or car rental. Greeks drive aggressively, worst drivers are the tourists - we complained about them all the time! Crossing the street you can try to beat the Vespa’s ( guess they call them all motor bikes now) before they get you. Crossing the street is a sport much like in Italy.

Bathrooms and hygiene almost deserve their own post. Bathtub can be rare. Showers can be without a shower curtain, or tiny space with a shower curtain, or exotic with a shower type Jacuzzi. Floors in bathrooms all have drains on the islands. They are more civilized on the mainland. Water pressure and hot water, no problem. Showers are the European kind, one can’t always expend to stand under one. The last place, you could have stood under, it if you were a midget. Once out of Athens, bathrooms can be an interesting adventure.

Toilets: In some bus stations, they still have the old ones like in various parts of Italy. Holes in the ground that one squats over. I know not to venture into a train or bus station in various parts of Europe expecting to see a flushing toilet - even high up in the Alps I found one of those critters. Again, once out of Athens, there are signs above every toilet - DO NOT put any paper in toilet. There is a little can to dispose of toilet paper next to every toilet. Plumbing does not support paper. Put paper in, and flush and run - unless you want to explain to hotel or restaurant owner that you caused the problem. It’s the same in the beautiful rest rooms on the ferries. Nice, clean flushing toilets - with a sign and the little can next to the toilet.

Marble is everywhere. There is even a little village in Naxos where the streets are paved with marble. Steps and walkways and even curbs here in Nauplio are marble

No one wears little plastic gloves when they are preparing your food, picking out your fish to show you how fresh it is - or getting your meal ready. Just a little while ago I chose a cheese roll from the counter and gloveless fingers picked it up and handed it to me. People are not dropping dead in the streets either. I think we worry too much about germs. Snorkeling equipment on boats - used by others. We don’t snorkel, but others on the boat just picked up snorkel from pile and put it in their mouth. No worries.