Patras (Day Trip)...

Grigoria's parents had a few chores to do in Patras today so we all set off for a little excursion. Patras is the main port city of the Peloponnese most famous in Greece for its annual carnival. Grigoria’s aunt Tina lives here and every time we visit she treats us to an amazing fish feast for lunch at the Patras Nautical Club right by the sea. We have been looking forward to this for the whole week and it did not disappoint!


On our return to Kalavryta it was a bit chilly so I challenged Grigoria to light the fire (she had been rather critical of my style on previous occasions). While her method was, by general consent, rather unorthodox to our surprise it was very successful. And here is the proof for all to see!

Fun Day...

The weather has been very good during our trip so far, certainly a very welcome change from the rain and snow we had in London a couple of weeks ago. We decided to take advantage of this and spent as much time as we can outside.

So today we set off on another walk into the village but on our way there Blair was fascinated to discover the old cannon, it has been left here from WWII. Needless to say, I think, that we never made it to the village itself. Who knows, maybe tomorrow!

Morning Surprise..

After the recent good weather in Kalavryta I hadn’t expected what we awoke to this morning…a fantastic low level fog through the valley.

So before breakfast we headed out for a closer look until the cloud cover burnt off and progressed into a beautiful day…

Family Trip

True to my word, and somewhat to Grigoria’s disbelief, I managed to get up early this morning and put some bike miles under the belt before everyone got up.

Today, we were invited to another family lunch (do you see a pattern emerging here?) by the cousins of Grigoria’s father. Their house is in a smaller village near Kalavryta, on the road to Patras, so on the way there we stopped at the village that Grigoria’s grandfather was born and lived as child, Kouteli.

The old village was abandoned after landslides destroyed a number of the old buildings. The church however still remains as are the ruins of what must have been rather grand houses.

It was nice being here and learning a bit more of the family history. Maybe next time we will walk further up the deserted village to visit the site of Grigoria’s grandfather’s house.

Lunch was once again fantastic and Grigoria’s aunts and cousins were very warm and open people. With our arms full of flowers from their garden and sweets we made our way back home for another siesta and a relaxing Monday afternoon.

Easter Sunday...

It turns out that the food last night was but a small taste of things to come.

This morning,
Grigoria, her parents and I went to visit some of their extended family who had gathered to roast the traditional Easter lamb on a

spit… interesting to say the least…. However, seeing a whole lamb on the spit was nothing in comparison to “kokoretsi”, basically a haggis on a spit (I will not enter into details…). Everybody was very friendly and very keen for me to try the Easter delicacies. I was a very good sport and did try some of the lamb but Grigoria had to eat my kokoretsi!

At lunch time we all returned back to the house for Easter lunch and then a typical Greek siesta (I am starting to get used to these now). The afternoon was spent quietly, mainly digesting all the food, before we had some more food in the evening. I really need to get on my bike tomorrow!

Kalavryta Saturday..

Today is the day before Easter and, it seems to me, the whole day is dedicated to cooking excessive amounts of food which we can’t touch before midnight! Trying to avoid temptation, Grigoria and I had a little wonder around the town.

The small town was heaving with tourists who decided to spend the Easter holiday here as well as people visiting family and friends. Every coffee shop was full and the main town road was heaving with people taking a walk before lunch, Greeks seem to love nothing more than bumping into friends in the middle of the street and catching up on news.

Of course one port of call for us was Grigoria’s great aunt Christina and her family. It was nice seeing them all again and although we did not all necessarily speak the same language great aunt Christina still managed to interrogate and stuff us with food!

In the evening everybody was patiently waiting for 11:30pm when we set off to the main square in front of the church. Here the whole town was assembled holding candles and waited for the priest to announce that Christ has risen from the dead. And when he did, the noise was incredible; the church bells rang and kids (as well as grown ups who should have really known better!) started setting off fireworks. Having avoided the war zone, we made it back to the house where a huge feast awaited us!

Kalavryta...Friday

Day one in Kalavryta started predictably (in Grigoria’s book anyway) with breakfast and then the assembly of my bike – ‘Shrek’ as Grigoria affectionately calls it.

Once the bike was all in order we spent the majority of the day catching up with Grigoria’s parents before they all went for a siesta and Grigoria’s aunt Tina arrived.

So while everyone was napping I ventured out to tackle the local hills around the area, which in my book looked more like mountains!
Nevertheless, I was still keen to get the legs spinning and burn some calories so I headed for the monument, which commemorates the Heroes of the War for Independence 1821 (summit 1000 metres above sea level).

The large statue with three giant figures: the priest, signifying Bishop Germanos and the role of the church, a klepht, one of the freedom fighters, and on top is a statue of a woman who symbolizes Greece being freed from her chains is a significant statue in the area and a great look out reward after 35minutes of climbing before a quick 15 minute decent and then a final painful climb back up to the house.

Our evening ended with a short visit to a family friends’ house to delivery some small Easter gifts to the children before I dropped into bed for some hard earned sleep.

Kalavryta Arrival...

After a disrupted departure from Heathrow, followed by a quick 3 hour flight (normally 3hr50min) I arrived in Athens around early evening to find a smiley Grigoria and father waiting for me.

Although it was Thursday it seemed a number of Athenians decided to leave town a day early therefore turning what is normally a 3 hour drive into more like 4 hours but when we arrived Grigoria’s Mum welcomed us with open arms.

With sunny weather predicted for the following week it was nice to finally arrive and start our Greek Easter break after my past few busy weeks at work.

Greek Easter..

Well I’m all packed and ready to head off to meet Grigoria in Greece for the Greek Easter.
It’s not something I’ve experienced before so I can only imagine it will be a nice cultural experience.

The weather’s meant to be good so I’ve decided to pull the bike behind and enjoy the local mountains, Grigoria thinks I’m crazy but after tolerating a British winter it’s an opportunity I couldn’t refuse…

While we’re away we won’t be bloging but we’ll post updates when we return so stay posted for experiences to come…

Happy Birthday Roslyn!

Happy Birthday Roslyn! We hope you had a great time with your friends watching the movie and obviously the sleep-over in the evening.

I understand you've already read our book....wow that was quick!


We look forward to seeing some of the birthday images and talk to again soon.

Lot's of Love,

Uncle Blair & Grigoria

Happy Birthday Cameron!

Happy Birthday Cameron! We wish you a fantastic day at school with your friends.

I'm sure that your Mum & Dad have given you some treats and that you'll have a great.



Lots of love,

Uncle Blair & Grigoria,

SNOW!! - Again..

Snow!! – Again.

Today we awoke to snow again! We couldn’t believe it given that it is April and by rights the weather should be improving.

Obviously it was spectacular to see but at the same time rather depressing as after 4 months of winter weather we were anticipating warmer weather.

Click on the link below to see the video…