I really do love the heat.

We made it! After a relatively easy trip and a lot of sleeping by yours truly, we arrived in Athens, greeted by my mom's dear cousin Pepi. It was 10.30 am and already 90 degrees. We were strategic in our travel outfits to be able to layer up for the trip and peel away for the arrival.

We got to Pepi's house, and were greeted by her 90+ year old mom, Thea Maria. I am hoping that we can record Thea Maria while we're here so that we can develop an oral history of both sides of my mom's family. In addition, the family that visited us earlier this summer stopped in, and Pepi had prepared a huge lunch. Sorry there's no photo (obviously, I was not prepared), but included was: fresh fish soup (sounds horrible, but it's made with plenty of rice and avgolemono and it was DEElish), xorta (greens), boiled vegetables, yuvarilakia (classic meatball dish also with avgolemono sauce), homemade bread, olives and feta, and the main course of fresh fish prepared with arugula and mayonnaise. I am telling you *I* was surprised at how much I liked everything. We ate. I napped. We headed to our place that night.

I woke up at about 6 am to spot a ferry coming in (prob from Crete or Santorini). This is the view from our veranda, and no, it doesn't grow old.



We got settled and in and by 4 pm that day (after a nap and more yuvarilakia - we had some at 3 am), we were on a ferry boat that was getting a fresh coat of paint to Aegina. The mental image of Aegina for me is a hug by my Uncle NIck (who passed a couple of years ago) and my Aunt Anthoula. Anthoula is in her late 70s and swims several times a day. She's AWESOME and so easy going. It was so great to be with her. She has 6 grandkids from her two boys, ranging in ages from months old to 26. I feel so very fortunate to be so close to her. And though we were only there a couple of days, there is great joy in knowing that we'll be back very very soon.

We also got to see, though briefly, my cousin Christoforos. He runs a bar/restaurant there, called Anassa. You should try it. Of course, we ate very well, but only got to visit with him briefly. We are going to try to coordinate a trip to the village with him later on when he is able to get away. My mom and his dad/Anthoula's brother used to do that trip all the time when my mom visited here, so it would be very special for us to do it together.

Mom, Anthoula and I spent some of the time wandering around the town of Aegina. I never tire of this, as we visit the same shopkeepers and have established a routine so far away from home. Aegina is known for its pistachios, and so we get them from a particular harvester/roaster. I will try to snap photos of him and his shop, as he is a bit of a riot. The Pistachio festival on Aegina is in September. Since I will be missing the Seattle Greek Festival, maybe I should make it there!!

I did wander around the Port of Aegina while mom and Anthoula caught up at a kafenio. I took some shots of the port, but one I would like to point out is the "ouzeri" down below on street level, and the octopus hanging on a clothes line high above on the roof. Common practice in Greece, and we had some (at my cousin's) that was prepared over the coals and absolutely delicious. Seriously, you should try Anassa. I'm just sayin'.

Some moments are captured here, and as I have finally figured out some kind of internet from home base, I hope to post photos as I go...so check out the photos of the first days here.

I leave Greece tomorrow for a week. My cousins are less than pleased with me, as I am missing 3 birthdays, an anniversary, a baptism, and God only knows what else.

More to come...