Olympus For The Weekend

 well some much needed r&r was found in litochoro over the weekend, as eleftheria and i finally found a chance to escape the routine.  we stayed at this beautiful little bed and breakfast right under the mountain [olympus].  the weekend was great, we really had fun; unfortunately, a couple of cold/wet motorcycle rides will remain frozen to our bones for a few days to come. 

 great bed, really clean, it only needed a bedside lamp.

 bathroom ideas

 the sea and the mountain, what more could you want?

 post apocalyptic boardwalk?  nope, its just the off season.

 we played a serious game of cards that took nearly two days. 

 the girls ended up winning by a slim margin.  sorry, i forgot to mention that we met up with some friends while we were there. 

 this is them, kristina and grigoris.  really cool folks. 

 so it was clean monday, spring cleaning for the soul i suppose.  so what better way to clean up than burn stuff.  huge bon fires made up of pine tree boughs.  

 often set up right below the city power lines.

 often engulfing them.

great trip, really relaxing.  it was pretty great.  back to the grind tomorrow. 

More?

I realize that I post these kind of things a lot, and I know that they are not as meaningful as personal stuff, but I really cannot help but to share. 

Wow, Food Post

yet another post of food.  not sweets this time though.  eleftheria and i worked together to make our own raviolli over the weekend, and then she busted out the real talent on tuesday for a fish dish.

 eleftheria bought a pomelo.  crazy fruit. if you cross it with an orange you get a grapefruit.  the thing was huge.  weird texture and it tasted like a cross between every citrus fruit all together with something a bit different added in.  

 fun with ravioli and my camera.

 artistic sepia

 takes fooorrrrreeeeevvvvveeeeerrrrr, but it tasted amazing.  spinach pasta filled with 4 cheeses, sun dried tomatoes and garlic. awesome. 

 stamped out one at a time.  it was a tedious process, but fun and rewarding.

 pot 'o' goodness. 

 eleftheria made a homemade sauce too which complemented nicely. 

  smashed peas, potatoes and broccoli

 i don't even know how to describe this pan full of amazing.

it turned out awesome. 

2 Years To The Day

i like flying.

and patterns,

and downtown copenhagen

and legos

and fried bread covered in melted chocolate

and the ambassador speeches at mun

 and mummified cats in the basements of really old castles

 and my students, my orange hat, my blue jacket, and gargoyles

and sunrises with patterns

and reflections in really cold still water.

yep, i pretty much love it all.  it has been a great trip so far.  the kids are great and doing well and i am busy. has been really fun to come back and see old faces that i never thought i would see again.

Feels So Long Ago . . .

 our big idea this time around was to bike.  and bike we did.  here eleftheria and i are mapping out our approach.

 ok so we didn't bike everywhere. 

 an attempted escape is thwarted by cold mistress evolution

 high five, "we didn't die in new york city traffic!"

 a neon burger joint.  really good.  simos was on a mission to eat as many different burgers as possible.  we did pretty well.

 "sir, our big glass sky scraper kinda sticks out"
"hmmm . . . well, put a few trees in a upside-down pyramid shape on some balconies on the 2nd through 5th floors.  in a few years i'll bet we'll blend right in."

 i love the direct attitude, and trust us the line was long.

 so after new york city, we added a passenger, artemis (not pictured), and left for ohio with a stop over to see keith at camp.

 keith at camp, and another burger.

the crew, (left to right) giorgia, simos, keith, me, eleftheria, artemis

 giorgia quickly found her dog, and is dreaming of returning to new york to volunteer at the ranch.

they were great company in the car.  as the sole driver, i relied on simos for support; the only trustworthy co-pilot.

boy does it seem like that trip was a while back.  after the wedding, eleftheria, simo, giorgia and i went to the states for a nice visit.  i have already posted pictures from our stay in ohio; however, we started out in new york.  these pictures are from that piece of the adventure. 

Something A Bit Happier Perhaps?

Soul Pancake is seriously good, and i especially enjoyed this one. i have been enjoying Ze Frank as well.