Today was my last (full) day in Larissa, Greece and boy was it a relaxing one. :)
I woke up around noon... yes, noon. When I woke up, I could smell the smoked lamb filling up Yiorgos' apartment. His parents live directly below him and it had been cooking all morning on the terrace. I yelled down to the lower deck and told Yiorgos I was awake and that I'd be down shortly.
When I arrived, everybody was just relaxing and enjoying family time. I started with a glass of Heineken and prepared myself for the feast ahead. Everybody mingled and the kids played while lots of family and friends came and left throughout the day. The lamb was cooking out on the terrace the whole time and it was looking and smelling delicious.
Yiorgos was in charge of the meat and he managed it like a rockstar; checking on it every 5 minutes or so. There were 3 skewers, the top 2 was the actual meat of the lamb, and the bottom skewer was the insides of the lamb, wrapped in the intestines to hold in the juices. I tried some of the meat from the bottom skewer, but I wasn't to keen on the texture or the taste, so I filled my plate with meat from the top 2 skewers instead.
A few hours of relaxing and conversation went by and then we all sat around the table and enjoyed dinner together. My dinner consisted of lamb, tsadziki, greek salad, bread, and beer. Oh yeah, afterwards, I had an ice cream bar too. :) It was a festival of family, food, and fellowship. It was very similar to the Easter celebration that we do at home, but with a few custom traditions that differentiate it from ours. I felt very comfortable and relaxed the entire time. Yiorgos family really welcomed me with open arms and I enjoyed this day immensely. It's a day that I will never forget.
Here are some pictures from the event:
Around 5pm or so, Yiorgos and I came back upstairs to relax for a while before heading out for drinks with his friends later tonight. After drinking so much beer and consuming so much lamb, I was really fighting to keep my eyes open. I decided to lay down and take a quick power nap. I ended up sleeping for 2 full hours. :) I never take naps, but all this eating and relaxing must have been hard work. :)
When I woke up, we got ready to go out for drinks with Yiorgos' friends. We stopped and picked up Alexandra and headed to the coffee shop. We spent about 2 or 3 hours there and Thenassis met us around 10:30pm. After a while, we all headed down the street to a nice little bar where we met up with Thomas, "Michos", and Athena.
We hung out there for about an hour or so and then decided to look for an all-night Gyro restaurant. Unfortunately we didn't find one, so we all went our separate ways. It was hard to say goodbye to everybody, knowing that I'd probably never see them again. However, we did offer our homes to each other the next time any of us visit the others home country. I told them that I'd make a place for them in my barn, next to the goats if they ever visit Ohio. :) Kidding aside, they will always have a nice warm futon in my basement whenever they come to Ohio, and I mean that.
Yiorgos' friends and family have been so hospitable and very kind to me. I'll never forget my week here in Greece. It really has been an amazing visit and I made so many great memories here. Thank you, everybody for an unforgettable week.
When we got back to Yiorgos house, Yiorgos and I were able to Skype with Jennifer and the girls one last time. They told us about their day and we had some good laughs back and forth.
Next stop is Cologne, Germany for a week with the Ghobad family, which I'm looking forward to very much. Not sure when I'll get another chance to post, but know that I'll be in good hands...
Oh yeah, a big shout out goes to Brother Farley on his big finish at the Forget the PR, Mohican 50K today. It was his first ultra and he rocked it!! Congrats Bro! :)
I woke up around noon... yes, noon. When I woke up, I could smell the smoked lamb filling up Yiorgos' apartment. His parents live directly below him and it had been cooking all morning on the terrace. I yelled down to the lower deck and told Yiorgos I was awake and that I'd be down shortly.
Yiorgos was in charge of the meat and he managed it like a rockstar; checking on it every 5 minutes or so. There were 3 skewers, the top 2 was the actual meat of the lamb, and the bottom skewer was the insides of the lamb, wrapped in the intestines to hold in the juices. I tried some of the meat from the bottom skewer, but I wasn't to keen on the texture or the taste, so I filled my plate with meat from the top 2 skewers instead.
Here are some pictures from the event:
Around 5pm or so, Yiorgos and I came back upstairs to relax for a while before heading out for drinks with his friends later tonight. After drinking so much beer and consuming so much lamb, I was really fighting to keep my eyes open. I decided to lay down and take a quick power nap. I ended up sleeping for 2 full hours. :) I never take naps, but all this eating and relaxing must have been hard work. :)
Thenassis, Yiorgos, Alexandra, Mitsos, Athena, Thomas, Me
We hung out there for about an hour or so and then decided to look for an all-night Gyro restaurant. Unfortunately we didn't find one, so we all went our separate ways. It was hard to say goodbye to everybody, knowing that I'd probably never see them again. However, we did offer our homes to each other the next time any of us visit the others home country. I told them that I'd make a place for them in my barn, next to the goats if they ever visit Ohio. :) Kidding aside, they will always have a nice warm futon in my basement whenever they come to Ohio, and I mean that.
Yiorgos' friends and family have been so hospitable and very kind to me. I'll never forget my week here in Greece. It really has been an amazing visit and I made so many great memories here. Thank you, everybody for an unforgettable week.When we got back to Yiorgos house, Yiorgos and I were able to Skype with Jennifer and the girls one last time. They told us about their day and we had some good laughs back and forth.
Next stop is Cologne, Germany for a week with the Ghobad family, which I'm looking forward to very much. Not sure when I'll get another chance to post, but know that I'll be in good hands...
Oh yeah, a big shout out goes to Brother Farley on his big finish at the Forget the PR, Mohican 50K today. It was his first ultra and he rocked it!! Congrats Bro! :)
1 comment:
Thanks for the shout out man! One of the biggest accomplishments of my life for sure. I want to thank you for letting us tour Europe vicariously through your blog..greece sounds awesome!! Glad your having a great time.
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