Night Life Along the Aegean...

The summer schedule, at least here on the island, allows for very late evenings. The library is open each day from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. and it looks like the other government office keep similar hours. The cafes are open from 8 in the morning until the wee hours of the next day. However, most of the other shops and the little what-we-would-call grocery stores are closed from 2-5ish in the afternoon and then open back up for the evening until midnight or so. I’m assuming everyone goes home and naps, because it appears that the whole town, from the oldest to the youngest, are out and about in the evenings. Nobody seems to be sitting at home watching TV!

From one end...

The town square becomes alive with people; small children play pick up soccer games, ride bikes, use skateboards and run and climb and jump. All the encircling cafes are full of extended families and groups of friends eating and visiting together.

...cafes along the side...

...past the government building...

...to the other end...

...with little rented motored cars for kids...

...and skaters.

It is fun, and feels perfectly safe, to wander the town streets and alleys. They are laid out kind of in a semicircle with the harbor at the bottom. You can’t really get lost. There is absolutely not a square of wasted or empty space. Yes, somehow it all works...haven’t heard any of the fussing and nastiness so common at home when people rub shoulders.

Shops downstairs and apartments upstairs.

Solar drying is the way to go! Lots of balconies. 

Little wavy marble block lined streets are everywhere.

Sometimes they change from flat street to steps or a series of stairs.

I know that we eat very eclectically at home, and really in the USA generally. We eat "regular" food, yet often have Mexican tacos and salsas full of spices our grandparents didn't even know about. Phil and I eat Chinese take out and Rice Bowls, we like Italian sauces and, of course, pizzas with an almost endless array of topping possibilities. I enjoy the local Thai places and enjoy a Pho bowl now and then. My palate is used to variety.

I'm assuming it will be different in Athens, but here on Syros there is Greek food. Not surprising, you say? Of course not, but after a week our good, though rather bland, repetitive breakfast buffet has gotten old. (What would I give for bacon?? Don't ask!!) 😀

The middle eastern meat flavorings are a constant in everything we eat. So I was pleasantly surprised to run across this spot which offered a hamburger on its menu. I asked if it was beef. "Yes, yes. Beef," replied the man at the grill. "Shall I order or go sit?" "You sit, I cook," came the reply. So I went outside and sat. A lady came out and said, "Hamburger part beef, part pork. Okay?" "Okay," I replied. She brought me a glass of water, which is a bit unusual...usually you have to order and pay for it.

I should have ordered the chocolate crepes like the girls sitting beside me. They looked yummy!

Then out came a plate with a large "hamburger" and French fries. (Everything comes with French Fries!) It had a mustard type sauce on it...very light in mustard taste...not being a mustard fan, I scrapped most of it off, but what was left was not at all offensive. (Apologies to my mustard loving family and friends). There was lettuce and tomato, too. I took a big bite with anticipation...RATS (not the mammal)...it had been mixed with all the same Middle Eastern meat seasonings I had been getting in my pita gyros and kabobs. It tasted like a kabob-burger! Very disappointing!

Looks can be deceiving! And the ketchup was that strange tomato stuff called ketchup here. My dining companion was the little boy of the couple sitting next to me. They parked him with mom's phone across from me when he had finished his dinner. 

Of course whatever disappointment one might experience in the meal department, one can always redeem the evening with gelato! There seems to be a gelato shop on every block. Amazing flavors...this was a banana with a dark chocolate ribbon and bits of almonds. Very yummy!

Shops are shops the world over, I've found. Pricey ones, stuff from China (labeled PRC here meaning People's Republic of China), jam packed ones. Vendors here have overall been nice, helpful and very respectful. I found this shop and really like it. It's a combo of local sausages, cheeses and olives, along with a nice assortment of Greek wines, candies, teas and coffees. Outside are various locally made soaps, live snails in a glass container for viewing before choosing, and a nice selection of Greek produced olive wood spoons, bowls and salad tongs.

And loofahs of all sizes. One thing to know about traveling out of the USA is that no one--not even hotels--provides washcloths. So you need to bring your own or buy locally. 7-11 in Thailand had small thin washcloths for sale...lots of folks use the net things that many US folks use. But here on the island, at least, people must use loofahs. They are for sale in all sizes everywhere. They are called sponges, but actually they are grown from a plant related to the cucumber.

Not far from our hotel is this open door with the Bike Rental sign over it.

Here are some of the possibilities for the younger set.

One evening I even saw scooters of various sizes-little kids to adults.

Or for two or three to pedal around in...

...or to load up your whole family or group of friends! Fun-but still pedal powered!

Like every town/city, there are street musicians of all types, traditional to classic to modern, and other street performers. This was a particularly unique one. Yes, there is a person inside there...it was about 8 feet tall and lit from the inside.

And the occasional kitty...this one snoozing by the town square.

I've seen two computer shops around town.

Other than the words "computer" and "software", it's all Greek to me! (I've been dying to say that!

And back home for the evening view from the steps of our hotel......and the night view from our balcony. The sea is still beyond and will be there waiting and blue in the morning. Amazing!

Life Along the Aegean...

When I went to Europe with Jeshua before, I sang in the collected choir. Not this time. It has been a hard year physically for me--knees, finger, flu, hip, and I wasn't sure I could take either the pace of rehearsing or the standing of performing. So when I say "we" went off to rehearsals, I only went along to see where they were going. 😎

The tall, ornate ceilings and chandeliers in the rehearsal hall.

Once I was comfortable with where they were located and where I could be out and about, I left and wandered. I discovered that the rehearsal hall is on the top floor of a series of buildings that border one long edge of the large, marble paved town square which looks out over the harbor port. I had looked at this area on Google maps and could see it pretty well on my laptop. And here I was!

Hermopolis is a town of about 12,000 folks. The real tourist Cyclades destination is Mikonos Island about 25 miles to the east of Syros. It is more resort minded and has droves of visitors. I'm glad we are not there. Syros advertises itself as a small town. Many of the Islands are wedding destinations, but Syros--with Greek Orthodox and Catholics who apparently get along unusually well-- has decided you have to be a family member of a resident to be married here. Receptions, yes, but weddings are not to be taken so lightly. Obviously the town caters to and depends on the tourist trade, but they have succeeded in keeping the small town relaxed feel.

Miaouli Square had the large Cyclades Islands government building as well as the Syros offices. They are all in these ornate buildings....don’t know my architecture well enough to describe them.

Standing at one end looking down toward the other...it's two blocks long.

At the other end of square, I turned left and found myself on the town's market street. Delightful! Fruit and veggies, meat markets with long ropes of local sausages,

Several of the markets had bird cages hanging out above the stalls. Fun to hear them sing as I wandered down the street.

Bakeries, olives, cheeses, baskets. It is a two block stretch of most anything you need....

Including flip flops of every sort...the standard footwear here just like in Thailand.

There are cats all around...they seem to belong to the community rather than to specific people.

At one of the cafes.

And this one joins us every morning for breakfast. They shy away from being touched, but are can be totally bribed with a tidbit.

Breakfast Kitty.

Fortunately for us, there is a nice market about a block or so from us. We buy our water there in large 1.5 liter bottles--6 to a pack for 1,65 euros or about $1.95. There is a small fruit/veggie section inside. There was obviously a process, so I watched to see how it worked. Then, I picked out my fruit, went to the person manning that market section who weighed, priced and labeled my choice. Then I could take it to the check out at the front of the store to pay. There is an elevator at the back and the dry/canned goods are all on the second floor!

My nectarine was 0,22 euros...or about 28 cents US

For dinner that evening we ate along the Harbor Way. The dinner hour here really starts about 9 p.m. Until then, there are people out and about, but everyone comes out from 9 p.m. on...couples, families, groups...Jeshua ordered a grilled feta appetizer...quite yummy. Then I had pork strips which came on a large round soft pita with fries piled on top and tzatziki sauce, which was really good...it had dill in it, which I like in tartar sauce also.

I wonder if they really meant baked. This was feta with a spicy sauce drizzled around it, sliced tomato and a green pepper strip. Very yummy!

There were so many pork chop strips under there that I had to take half of them home--nice to have a cube fridge in the room--and I had them for lunch the next day!

Jeshua's first bite of the grilled cheese. 

Our view from the cafe table.

So when I mentioned coming over on the ferry, I failed to say that these ferries do something I've never experienced before. All the ferries I have been on that carry cars have openings at both ends. You drive on through one and you keep driving forward and drive off through the other. These ferries come into the harbor and make a 180 degree turn...like on a dime--it happens really quickly. Just as they turn they drop anchor. So all the vehicles make a 3 point turn at a spot inside before driving off the ferry--even the semis!

I spent the rest of the evening writing postcards to the grands...got the stamps at the post office the next day and popped them in the mail. 0,80 for each stamp. I don't know what it would cost to mail a postcard out of the US...will have to find out.

I bought my postcards in the plaka in Athens, so mostly Acropolis in nature. They were 0,50 euros ($0.60 cents) here they are 1 euro ($1.20). Glad for the bargain. 😁

Hermopolis!

I woke up Thursday morning to this view from the balcony of our Hermes Hotel room! Oh my!!

Room 319-Balcony View ~ The large room to the right is the Ball Room/Rehearsal Room

I haven’t given a lot of thought to the Mediterranean Sea to this point in my lifetime. I knew it was there. I’d seen the pictures. It is an amazing thing to wake up and find myself living in those pictures! When I first saw the Grand Canyon, I said out loud, “It looks just like the pictures!” I realized that, all along, I thought the pictures had been “doctored.” The same is true for the Mediterranean! The blues are just as blue as the pictures.

Now take a good look at that grass. That is the only grass I have seen here. 😎

Turning around, here's our room--Jeshua and I are rooming together--how fun is that??? Plus we have an entryway with an enclosed closet including a bank of drawers and a nice, albeit slippery, bathroom. Everything is tile...no hand holds or non-slip mats, plus the tub is one of those neat deep European tubs, which takes climbing gear to get into. The shower door only covers half the tub--doable, but a little strange.

Perfect for us!

The tub is deeper than it looks!

The toilet seat is as squared in the back as the lid. Notice the little covered trash can. We know what that's for!!

We were eager to see what the breakfast buffet would look like...lots of pastry type things that are not sweet--kind of blah, but in nice shapes. Both a savory cheese and a savory spinach filo dough "casserole", each cut in squares. Poached eggs (yum) with very unusually orange yolks, little hot dog sausages, whole fruit or canned peaches and pineapple rings...coffees of all sorts. Some yogurt, cold cereal, tomatoes and olives, of course!

My first breakfast. The cheese, underneath the ham, is locally made and fantastic!

Our view from the front outside dining area.

Our next task of the day was rehearsal for Rosinni's Stabat Mater, which was in a rehearsal hall up off of the main town square. So off we went. Stabat Mater is a work about the anguish of Mary at the death of Jesus...good words in an English translation, but the music is not very "catchy." 😉

View from the front steps of the hotel.

Turning right at the bottom of the steps. If you wander to the left of the buildings you are on the harbor walk. Straight down the little street curves you around into the heart of town.

The town is made up narrow marble block paved streets and what we might call alleys, but are just smaller streets. Some of alleyways turn from flat streets to sets of steps going up the the next level. Shops and cafes abound with lots of outdoor seating.

Most buildings have these solar water systems...saw a shop that sells them. They are called HoWat, which in English, at least could stand for Hot Water. 😃

Into the rehearsal hall and 150 singers from 5 choirs get organized into sections and rehearsals begin!