Lights, Camera, Action, Popcorn. . .Greece!

Stolen jewels. A hint of romance. A bit of danger.  A scene that makes your heart race, with Hayley Mills, the Walt Disney star of the mid-1900's trapped in a Greek windmill and escaping by clinging to the canvas blade as it spun past.

My introduction to Greece

That was my introduction to Greece. 1964.

Thanks to Walt Disney's movie 'The Moon-Spinners' filmed on Crete, starring Mills, Eli Wallach, Irene Papas and Pola Negri - I had an action-packed introduction to Greece. It planted the seed . . .

I knew that someday, I was going to Greece (Back then, I certainly wouldn't have thought I'd be living here, but I sure did want to visit!)

A movie sent me chasing Greek windmills. . .

It was Pauline Collins as 'Shirley Valentine'  who 'took' Pacific Northwest friend, Barbara Cantwell, to Greece via the movie of the same name. The 1989  film, about a bored, middle-aged housewife -- Shirley Valentine --who ditches her mundane life and her husband and heads to Greece on her own, was filmed the island of Mykonos.

While Barbara lives on an island in Washington State, she continues to escape to a Greek island 'with' Shirley.  

Scenes of Greece 

For our English friends, Bill and Val Kitson, it is watching that toe-tapping 2008 'Mamma Mia' -- filmed on Skopelos island -- that is a must-watch prior to trips to Greece. They say it helps build the excitement for their bi-annual trips to Crete (this spring they watched it before they left and after they returned)!

Bet your toes start tapping . . .OPA!

And I bet everyone of you has seen at least the beach dance scene from the 1964 film, 'Zorba the Greek', in which Anthony Quinn as Alexis Zorbas and Alan Bates, his boss interlink arms and dance the 'siritaki' on a Greek beach. 

Mural in Stoupa - Kazantzakis and Zorbas

The movie was based on a novel written by Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis, who lived for a time -- a century ago -- just down the road from us in Stoupa village. He'd tried to mine lignite from a hillside behind the village. His mining operation foreman was George Zorbas. . .which gave rise to the subsequent novel.

Me in Crete on 'Zorba's beach' the movie dance was filmed here

The 1964 movie was filmed in Crete.
 .

The idea for this big-screen getaway post can be credited to the former Seattle Times travel editor, Brian Cantwell, (Barbara's husband) for whom I used to write travel tales. After reading my post about 'novel' destinations he asked about movie getaways to Greece (still thinking travel stories) So I set out to find some movies and was amazed at the number I found! Those highlighted are but a sample.  Some, you've probably heard of and others, probably not. 

Ill Met by Moonlight 

Take for instance, 'Ill Met by Moonlight' a 1957 movie shot in Crete. The movie is based on a real life incidient during World War II in which a Nazi commander was kidnapped by British armed forces and Cretan resistance fighters.  The one who led the effort was none other than Patrick Leigh Fermor, the British writer I told you about a few weeks ago. His Greek home (now officially open to the public) is just a few kilometers from us.

Patrick Leigh Fermor House in Kalamitsi

And while speaking of him, another movie, 'Before Midnight' was filmed at his home in 2013.  The film was the final one in a trilogy of movies that began with 'Before Sunrise' (1995) and 'Before Sunset' (2004). Featuring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, it was shot in 15 days. The PLF House was loaned to the production crew by Benaki Museum.

Donkeys on Hydra are still used as transport vehicles

The Academy-Award-winning 'The Guns of Navarone' filmed in 1961 on Rhodes had a $2 million budget which was quickly blown because of the costs of filming there: the terrain was so rough that many of the locations could only be accessed by donkey and they hired 1,000 Greek soldiers to play the German army.

Island escape and escapade

One that I'd never heard of before writing this piece is 'Surprise Package'  a 1960's movie also filmed on Rhodes. The movie is about an American gangster sent back to his Greek homeland and is supervised by a corrupt police chief and the plot thickens from there. The stars include Yul Brenner as the gangster and co-stars include Mitzi Gaynor and Noel Coward.

Greece for your eyes only

A more recent movie, 'For Your Eyes Only' (1981) takes James Bond through locations in England and Italy and includes scenes shot in Rhodes and Meteora in central Greece where six Greek Orthodox monasteries are built atop stunning rock formations.

Boy on a Dolphin - Sofia Loren room in Hydra hotel

A 23-year-old Sofia Loren played a beautiful sponge diver in 'Boy on the Dolphin' a movie filmed on the island of Hydra in 1957.  Today on the island there is a statue in a park overlooking the sea of a boy on a dolphin to commemorate the movie. We also stayed in the Sofia Loren room at Hydra Icons hotel last year.  

Heading to new adventures this fall

Summer has on its way into the history books and September is definitely showing signs of autumn.  And for those who've been with us awhile, you know that autumn is the time of year we straddle two worlds: Greece and the US.  The next time you hear from us, we will be in the village of Manson on the shores of Lake Chelan in Washington State.  We have a lot to learn about that place we made our 'other home' last fall and hope you'll join us in our journey of discovery!

Thanks for the time you spent with us today!! Safe travels to you and yours ~

Linking with:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday

On Leonard Cohen's Hydra Island

'Oh like a bird on the wire,

like a drunk in the midnight choir

I have tried in my way to be free.'

--Leonard Cohen

Hydra - Leonard Cohen's home for a decade

We've just returned from Hydra (E-drah) island. It is the one getting a lot of attention these days thanks to this year's documentary, 'Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love'. 

Several of you have written us about Nick Broomsfield's film that tells the story of Leonard Cohen, the Canadian singer, songwriter, poet and novelist who spent a decade living on this island in the Saronic Gulf, just off the coast of the Peloponnese. Marianne Ihlen, the ex-wife of Norwegian novelist Axel Jensen, (who also lived on Hydra back then) was Cohen's 'muse' and girlfriend during his time on the island.

Cohen died in 2016 at the age of 85, many long years after his time on Hydra. But still, if you've read his poetry or heard his music or watched the recent film, you can't help but think of this wordsmith when you visit Hydra. 

A home in Hydra

It takes only one visit to understand why Cohen's creative juices flowed while living here. And after several visits, your own creative juices seem to come to life as well. Even a short stay will refresh your senses.

If ever we were to live on a Greek island, we both say, Hydra would likely be the place. While it swells with tourists each summer, it remains for most of the year, a small charming place where you could lose yourself to your imagination, take an afternoon nap without apology or spend an hour or more at a harborside taverna sipping an icy Aperol Spritz. 

The road around Hydra - two- and four-footed traffic only

Even though you can buy trendy fashions at small boutiques and pricey baubles in tiny jewelry stores during the frenzied summer months, it still feels different; like you've stepped back in time on this island. Perhaps so, because Hydra doesn't allow motorized vehicles other than the small garbage truck that makes its rounds each day.  

Suitcases carried to the hotel and guests walked ahead

Horses, donkeys, and mules stand at harborside to take you or your suitcases where you need to go.  Human-powered hand carts are also available.  And generally you walk (or ride a horse or donkey) to where you need to go.  That part of the island is probably much like it was when Cohen began living there.

The port town where the majority of restaurants and tourist accommodations are clustered along narrow whitewashed pathways, is the largest one on the island. The last census - in 2011 - tallied 1,900 living in it and less than a few dozen residents in the nearby villages .  So there might be a few hundred more now, certainly not a place that is over-populated or 'over-touristed'.

Back in September of 1960, when Cohen was 26 years old, he purchased a three-story white washed home for $1,500US using a bequest of his recently deceased grandmother. The building had no electricity, plumbing or running water. He liked it that way.  In fact the story behind his famous, 'Bird on the Wire' is that he was inspired to write it as he watched his island being transformed with electric wires. He wasn't pleased, but one day he noticed a bird on the wire. . .

One of the yachts visiting Hydra during our stay

He'd likely be blown away now as he watched the summertime ferries disgorge hundreds of tourists each day. He'd also likely gasp at the size and number of yachts that moor each night in the tiny harbor. He'd probably be stunned at the many shops along the harbor catering to those visitors these days.

Fishing boat's arrival Sunday morning brought shoppers and cats

In the fall the boutiques, restaurants and accommodations begin shutting down for the season. There's always a few accommodations and restaurants that stay open year round, but  there are decidedly fewer options for travelers than during the warm weather months. 

A blustery wind and rain storm welcomed us to the island last November; the place so empty, it seemed our own private island. Hotel and restaurant choices were few. Another gusty, chilly wind greeted us in March just as the island was waking to 'the (tourist) season'.

Hydrofoil from Athens stops several times daily in Hydra in summer

Last week the place was teeming with ferries and yachts in the harbor and the town pulsating with visitors. The contrasts between seasons are vivid and each had its own special charm.

Overlooking an island village

With the summer wind much more welcoming (meaning, less fierce!) than the wind on our previous trips, we set off on foot to visit the nearby villages and were gobsmacked by the vast beauty the island has to offer

We understand why Cohen was inspired to write:

Days of Kindness

Greece is a good place

To look at the moon, isn't it

You can read by moonlight

You can read on the terrace

You can see a face

As you saw it when you were young

There was good light then

Oil lamps and candles

And those little flames

That floated on a cork in olive oil

(Those little floating corks in olive oil are still used in Greece!)

Off to another village in what seems another world - Hydra

That is it for this week. We thank you for your time with us and hope that if your travel plans ever bring you to Greece, that you include a night or two on Hydra. It's magic!

For those seeking information about Hydra (getting there, places to stay, etc.) visit: 
Hydra Direct 

Linking soon with:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday

Travel Tales from Greece ~ 'I Got Arrested. . .'

'I got arrested in Corfu. . .' 

 ~ began the Facebook post of a friend visiting an island to the north of us.

For more than a week we'd been following the Greek travel adventures via Facebook of our Pacific Northwest friend. She and her two teenage children had joined other family members on this tourist-magnet in the Ionian Sea.  

Summer fun - Ionian Sea

Her posts - up until this one -- had been a series of reports telling about the joys that a trip to Greece can bring:  photos of Greek dancing at a local taverna, beachcombing on long stretches of sandy beach and posing with happy smiles in iconic settings.

We'd last seen her in Kirkland last February. Over wine we had discussed plans for her spring trip. She was excited about introducing her kids to Greece; a place she and her husband had so loved visiting before his far-too-early death three years ago. We were pleased that she found this adopted country of ours to be as fabulous as she had remembered it..

So we were stunned when we read her final post from Corfu:

'I got arrested in Corfu! Fingerprinted, mug shots, fined 1,000 euro, hired a lawyer, missed a flight. Can't say that was the best way to end my time in Greece.'

It's been a few weeks since her experience and she agreed to share her story with you in hopes of saving others from a similar experience.

Sometimes you fold the side mirrors when driving in a village

Let's set the stage by saying, she's driven in Greece before so she knows how nutso driving here can be: animals in the road, Greeks speeding up to pass as many as four cars approaching a curve. Why she even knows you need to fold the side windows in on narrow streets to keep from ripping them off. 

Road construction stop signs in the asphalt

She also knew the rules of the road - or so she thought until she was involved in an accident near the Corfu airport. She was returning her rental car to the airport prior to her flight, when she was hit broadside by a Greek driver (who managed to leave the scene without authorities getting any identification).  

Sometime you guess at a sign's message

If the accident wasn't bad enough, it was when the police officers asked to see our friend's International Driving Permit (IDP) that things really went downhill, because. . .

She didn't have one. 

Left side washout marked with rocks- warning light is resting.

And further more, she didn't know she needed one as they'd never been required during previous trips to Greece.  

(We know from first-hand experience that when we began visiting Greece -- several years before moving here -- we were only asked once by one rental company if we had an IDP. We rented many times without it being mentioned.)

However, in early 2018 Greek transportation authorities had toughened up the rules about the IDP; they were made mandatory. Visitors supposedly can't even rent a car without one.  Not all rental agencies are apparently enforcing the Greek directive though.(Greek social media sites continue to have lengthy debates about the need for them. Commenters differ as some claim they were able to rent vehicles without the IDP and others tell of being denied rentals for lack of having one.)

Road block ahead

Our friend did miss her flight as she was taken to jail and 'booked' - the reason for the 'arrest', she was told, was  because of the size of her 1,000 euro ($1,100US) fine that they had levied against her. And she was advised that she had to hire an attorney (another 300 euros) to represent her in court three weeks later.  

The attorney was hired, she was released and caught a later flight to rejoin her family at their next European stop.

"This entire experience left me feeling embarrassed that I didn't know the law, sad that my beloved Greece was now a place that has left a very bad taste in my mouth. . .'

What Happened to Us. . .

IDP required to rent this quad on Spetses Island

Last year as we were returning to the Mani from Athens we were pulled over for a 'document check' as we pulled away from one of the toll booths along the four-lane divided highway that crisscrosses the Peloponnese. We saw the officers standing by their patrol car at the side of the road.  They paid no mind to the car in front of us, but we were motioned to pull over.

We handed over the car's registration and insurance papers, proof of paying our annual road tax, the passports, the Washington State driver's license AND the International Driver's Permit that we've routinely carried with us in recent years (frankly, we'd always thought someone unnecessary until that moment). They gave a cursory glance to all the paperwork with the exception of the passport and driver's permit.  Those they took to a small laptop computer set up on the hood of their car, and  tap-tap-tap on their keyboard. Then the officer came back and as he handed back the documents wished us a good day. 

Just two months ago when we rented that little quad on the island of Spetses, an IDP was required by the vendor before we could tootle off on the machine.

Neither example can compare to our  friend's experience, but enough for us to know the IDP is important!

International Driving Permits

IDP are folded paper documents, stamped with photos

International Driving Permits are an off-shoot of a long ago United Nations treaty that allows a person to drive in another country on the driver's license issued by the government where they live. It is considered a supplement to the license; it is not a stand alone document.

The U.S. government authorizes the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the American Automobile Touring Alliance to issue the permits.  Passport photos are required (and can be taken by AAA staff). The permit is good for up to a year.

From the website of the American Embassy in Greece I found this cautionary note under the International Driving Permit section: "Some Greek rental car agencies rent cars to tourists without informing them of problems that might occur if one is driving without the proper documentation.  If you drive without one of these documents, you may face high fines or be responsible for all expenses in the event of an accident.'

From an article dated back in June 2018, I noted that the Greek Car Rental Companies Association had asked the Greek Transport Authorities to 'reexamine and clarify' the regulation that required those renting cars to have an IDP.  The association argued that the fines being proposed were hefty and travelers to the country might not be aware of the mandate requiring the IDP.  I saw nothing that said any such clarification or review was conducted.

Get the Permit!

Check before you go: these countries accept IDP

Our mantra these days is: get the permit if you are coming to Greece! Even if you don't think you will rent a car - it might be wise to have one in case you find yourself in an emergency situation that requires a car rental. Our permits cost $25 at AAA.  

This is the main highway as it goes through a village to our south in  the Peloponnese.

For that matter check with the Tourist Bureau of any European country you are visiting to determine if the IDP is mandatory; Greece isn't the only one requiring them nowadays.

The US State Department's page on international driving is also worth a read: 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/driving-and-road-safety.html

And be sure to read those 'links' on car rental sites (the 'small print') that often are labeled 'additional information about renting a car in this location'. Required documents like IDP are often listed there.

Ferry 'tale' in the Ionian Sea

That's it from The Stone House on the Hill on this extremely hot August day.  We thank you for your time; as always, it is appreciated.  And we do ask that you share this post or at least the information in it to help get the word out about IDP in Greece.   We don't want to have another friend post to FB that they've been arrested while visiting Greece!

We'll see you next week for some armchair travels in Greece - no IDP's will be required for it! Until then, safe travels to you and yours.

Linking this week with:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday