Kalamata - And Not the Olive!

When you think 'Kalamata' I suspect you have an image of  the spicy, tart olive that crowns Greek dishes everywhere.

Kalamata olives for sale by the kilo at the public market

When we think 'Kalamata', we are envisioning the port city about an hour's drive away from us on the Messinian Bay. The one that is drawing thousands of tourists each year to its beaches and cultural sites as well as those foodies who are drawn here for its culinary scene. 

Kalamata  the port city on the Messinian Bay

I will admit that before moving as an American expat to the Mani region of the Greek Peloponnese, I am not sure I had ever heard of the city that has become our 'go to' place for doctors, house and garden supplies, shopping, and even overnight big city getaways.

Kalamata waterfront is one of our favorite places

"I go there sometimes once a day," our realtor told us when we bought our house six years ago. At the time I couldn't imagine driving so far, so often. It didn't take long for the distance to become rather routine for us as well. It is only 33 miles/53 kilometers from our Stone House on the Hill, but because the highway that takes us there is a two-lane, twisty, turning kind of road, it can sometimes take a full hour or more to reach this city by the sea.   But the route takes us through  picturesque villages and the Taygetos Mountains provide a backdrop to them all. 

Kambos village en route to Kalamata and Taygetos Mountains

Soon after we settled in as full-time residents, we were traveling the route as often as once a week as we always had some sort of chore that required a trip there.  But as the chores and errands eased up we started allowing ourselves to enjoy this bustling city that boasts the second-oldest Chamber of Commerce in the Mediterranean (right after Marseilles, France).  

Freighter waits outside Kalamata for a load of exports

We've taken a  few of our houseguests on whirlwind trips to the city, but we've never given it the credit it is due for being a down-right fun place for tourists. In fact we didn't recognize all that it had to offer until I began writing an article for The Mediterranean Lifestyle magazine about 'Kalamata - The City'.  The Scout and I made several trips to the city just to explore its tourist sites - and believe me there are many!

I am pleased that I was able to showcase the city in the article that was published in this February's magazine. To read that article (which includes information on all those places like museums, art galleries, and historic places we discovered as well as  tips on the cutting-edge culinary scene) simply click this link: Kalamata - The City

So many dining choices - so little time 

I wrote nearly 1,200 words and still didn't have enough space to sing all of its praises.  I didn't get a chance to talk about the funky Art Hotel right in the heart of the commercial district that was far less than 100 euros a night and put us within walking distance of shops, and bars, and restaurants. Our overnight stay wasn't nearly long enough to get to them all.

Our room overlooked the central plateia, square

I also didn't have the space to show the wonders of the weaving room at the Kalogrian Monastery - the looms once used by the nuns to make silk products that they sold from a small shop in their still functioning nunnery. These days the silk material is made elsewhere but items made from it are for sale in the small display room just inside the entry. I've got to tell you, no future visitors will ever get away without a visit to this sanctuary in the heart of Kalamata.

The silk weaving looms sit idle at the monastery now

I'll keep this short as I want you to have time to check out the full article I included above- it is chockablock full of photos of our discoveries and recommendations. We hope that you are staying safe and well and that even with limited travels you are able to find some new wonders in your world as we did in discovering Kalamata.  

At night the city turns on its magic

As always we appreciate the time you spend with us and hope you'll share these posts with others and that all of you will be back for the next installment!

Linking soon with:

Through My Lens
Travel Tuesday
Our World Tuesday
My Corner of the World Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday

In Greece ~ You've Got Mail!

"You've got mail," messaged our friend, Stella, from the neighboring village, "I saw a letter for you at the Stoupa post office."  

Stoupa, our neighbor village, home to the post office

Now that was news!! But what to do? Hop in the car and go racing to the substation that afternoon or wait until the next day in hopes it would still be there. We did wait until the next day and I found it in a tray of  unclaimed letters that we now routinely sort through when at our tiny substation of a post office. You never know what missing treasures you might find in that bin! 

Getting mail is one of those multitudes of things we  realize we took for granted when living in the United States. After email came along, we snidely called the tangible stuff delivered each day, 'snail mail' with no concept of what real 'snail mail" meant. It, like uninterrupted electricity and internet during a storm, a supply of domestic water during the summer months, regular garbage collection, and road repair are among those things so routinely available or provided that we gave little thought to them. And, I might add, little thanks for them - until having the opportunity to experience life without them.

The road beyond us awaits repairs

For those of you -- and I know there are quite a few of you out there -- who are considering the expat life, these little, but often continuous, upheavals of routines and expectations once taken for granted, are among the things you will need to be able to shrug off. . .that, or you will soon be wearing straight jackets as your uniform.  

I sometimes laugh at myself when I say that we chose the expat life because we 'wanted to live differently' because sometimes it is so very different it takes a bit to comprehend how very different it is!

You've Got Mail or Do You?

Before Brexit and Covid - still a game of chance

While mail delivery to Greece has always been a game of chance, a combination of a change in local postal delivery, Covid lockdowns and Brexit made for the perfect storm;  a vast Never, Never Land between sender and recipient which seems never-ending. 

That would be where we live - no address!

Our long-time readers know that we live in a rural area of the Greek Peloponnese, just outside the fishing village of Agios Nikolaos. We have no street address, in fact our street doesn't have a name. We describe our location as the 'bad road between Agios Dimitrios and Platsa' (referring to the road condition - not the neighbors) although we often  describe our address as it relates to a neighbor's house because they are better known in the village. 

Our address? The road to Platsa, that's it!

For having no address, our mailing address is a marathon long: Kossava, (for the area), Agios Dimitrios (nearest village), Messinias Mani (the region), 24024 (postal code) and Greece (our host country). 

And the former longtime postman knew that meant: leave it on the mail table in Gregg's Plateia, in Agios Nikolaos and we'd pick it up there.  Really quite simple. . .until . . .

Local Changes ~ Local Confusion

We got a new delivery system and new mailman.  Then Gregg's Plateia was closed (as most eateries continue to be) as part of second COVID lockdown, now in its fourth month. With Gregg's closed and no commercial business open in our area, the new postman had nowhere to deliver 'Kossava' mail.  So it was left in the new Stoupa post office to be picked up by us there.   

Simplify the address, we thought. . .

However, in an effort to simplify delivery, we'd started notifying senders to change it to one that reads:  c/o Gregg's Plateia in Agios Nikolaos because that mail does get delivered to a business in Agios Nikolaos while the lockdown continues.

All we've accomplished was to add to the storm as now some mail goes one place, some is the other and some remains in Never, Never Land.  

First, Covid, then Brexit

For a short time, mail delivery was negatively impacted when France closed its borders to - both people and parcels - coming from the United Kingdom  after the new strain of Covid was discovered in the UK.  The photos of transportation traffic jams were enough to give anyone hives. . .especially those who had ordered items from the UK and who suspected those items were somewhere within those big trucks parked on the highways unable to move.

On January1st, when the United Kingdom left the European Union, the reverberations were felt even in the village.  All mail delivery to and from the United Kingdom stopped. For a few weeks leading up to New Year's Day and for a period of time after, our British expats friends here found themselves unable to mail anything back home or receive it as well.

Customs form  - new normal for UK And EU

Logistics between the UK and EU had to be worked out. Customs forms are now required for parcels sent between the two, declaring contents and value of the goods being shipped. Some people are posting on FB even this second week of February that parcels sent to them prior to the breakup are being held by customs officials for lack of proper customs declarations.

Even we Yanks felt the pinch. I had three books on order from Book Depository in London and two items that had been delayed in shipping from Amazon.com.uk (yes, we shop on line when in lockdown with all retail stores closed for months at a time).  All eventually arrived in late January bearing the appropriate customs declaration forms.

It was during a Zoom visit with friends back in the States a few weeks ago, that I realized how different our world is from that which we left behind. In the course of the conversation they mentioned how frustrating it was to place an Amazon order and expect same day delivery and have it arrive two days later.  Days, mind you! We now consider it speedy if  something arrives within the month!  Sometimes we think it a miracle that it arrives at all!

Life Goes On

Christmas cards on display - on our mantle

As it turned out that letter Stella alerted us to was a Christmas card sent from the United States well before the holiday but it arrived in the village just after we'd flipped the calendar page to February. Actually, it made good time as it arrived within a month. We've had a half dozen such cards arrive in recent weeks -- all are on display on the fireplace mantle, now replacing those shown above which arrived in December and January.

The best part of all of this is that we have learned to make do with what we have and not to fret about that which we don't have. If missing mail is the worst thing we suffer during a pandemic then so be it! We'll take it. 

I have to tell you, though, that getting mail, real, open-the-flap-and-pull-it-out-of-the-envelope kind of mail, is a real treat when you are an expat.  We recognize it take a bit extra effort to get that international stamp and get the item mailed to us and we appreciate that effort so very much!

We got mail! 

As I mentioned above our lockdown has moved into its fourth month in Greece. The supply of COVID vaccine has been much less than expected in the European Union so vaccinations are going slowly. But thankfully, not as slow as the mail!

Until next time, we thank you for your time and hope you are continuing to stay safe and distanced! Next time I plan to tell you about Kalamata, the city, not the olive. . .it is one of Greece's hidden tourist gems!

Linking soon with:

Through My Lens
Travel Tuesday
Our World Tuesday
My Corner of the World Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday

Travel ~ To Go or Not to Go. . .

With apologies to Hamlet, we borrowed his famous soliloquy, 'To Be or Not To Be' and made it our own this week. For days we've asked ourselves, 'To Go or Not To Go?'

To go or not to go, the great unknown right now

A week ago we decided 'To Go!' and booked ourselves back to Seattle, Washington; Washington the state in which we were born and lived most of our lives - where our American roots are firmly planted. 

We would fly from Athens to Dubai on Emirates and connect there with a direct flight to Seattle this weekend. 

Homeward bound via the Arctic route

Less than 48 hours ago we decided 'Not To Go' and cancelled our trip. . .and not, I might add, for the first time since COVID became a household word throughout the world.

A year ago and a world away. . .

To go or not to go, is the question being asked by travelers everywhere these days. Remember back when the biggest decision was 'where' and 'when' to go? Back when you didn't have to convince yourself that the purpose of the trip was 'essential' enough to go through the hassle and hazards of taking it?  Back when you didn't have to worry about which country might be the next to close its borders or impose new mandates for Covid prevention?

The Scout in Manson, our other home

It was February - a year ago - when we last were in our other world.  It was a short stay at our home in the rural part of the State but that was okay we'd reasoned because we would be back in six months.  Our list of projects needing attention upon our return was already written.  However, it was only a matter of weeks after resuming our expat life in Greece, that we found ourselves in the first of the country's lockdowns. 'To do' lists elsewhere were forgotten.

Our other world in February 

Our longtime readers know that three years ago, when we chose to have a final adventure as expats before age and health prevented it, we saw it as merely shifting our lifestyle: instead of living most of the year in the US and making extended visits to Greece, we would live in Greece and make extended visits back to the United States. We had thought through - we thought at the time -- all the possible scenarios that could impact that plan.

A worldwide pandemic didn't come to mind.

However, as we enter the fourth month of our second lockdown in Greece, we have adapted  to this mask-wearing, socially-distanced, limited world of ours. We continue to be grateful to be living near our small village in the Greek Peloponnese.

A foot in two worlds

Manson - our other home

As much as we love our life in Greece, having a home back in the States was prudent, we decided, as one never knows what kind of requirements the Greek government could have for residency in the future and it is a place we could go should we find ourselves growing old or tired of this adventure (so far, neither have happened!).

Other expats we know with a foot in two worlds have also had their best laid plans upended the last 12 months. One set of new friends, a Canadian couple building a home in a neighboring village finally was able to check on the project last fall after delaying their trip time and time again. . .they left Greece having no idea when they will be able to return again. Another FB friend in Australia was set to come and buy a home and plant her roots in Greece last year. .  .now she speaks of getting here 'someday'.

When we get too old for Greece. . .

Having a foot in two worlds isn't difficult in normal times and thousands of people do it.  But the reality of having a far distant home and life, is that you can't shirk the responsibilities that come with it. There are only so many things that friends and family can step in and do when you are unable to get back. Some things you need to do yourself. (Here let me add, we have been blessed by good friends and neighbors who have been so willing to help out in our absence.) 

Finally the time has come -- in the not too distant future -- to go back. Long overdue 'annual' medical exams, and a growing 'to do' list have made the trip an essential one. The question however, remains. . .

To Go or Not to Go? 

At this point in time there are no restrictions in either country that would prevent us from going back. The U.S. is allowing citizens to return and as legal residents of Greece, not tourists, we could return to Greece.

But as all of your reading this know, the Covid situation is fluid and could change with the morning's headlines. A country we transit could close. Greece or the U.S. could tighten its restrictions for international travel.  To use the term of gamblers', it becomes a crapshoot.

A Shot in the Arm

Sanitizer machines are common

I have to admit that when the age for COVID vaccinations dropped to 65 in Washington State, it tipped the scales in favor of booking ourselves back as soon as possible. It didn't take many headlines,  Facebook posts, or attempts on our own to find that booking an appointment there was another crapshoot. We might be more likely to get the shot sooner here in Greece. . .but there is confusion over how and when expats will get the vaccine here and that is a story for another time. 

Bottom line: We will be going back in the next few months, shot or no shot there. 

Travel Realities in a time of Pandemic

The days of Belinis and going mask-less are over

No matter what class we might travel in, we aren't seeing the trip back as a 'pleasure trip' in these pandemic times. Those who've made the journey between eastern Washington and our home in The Mani know that figuring out how to get here can be daunting in 'normal' times.  The journey takes two days - there are no direct flights between Seattle and Athens. 

COVID's sucker punch to the airlines and travel in general has added a few more pieces to the trip planning puzzle. If that wasn't enough, along came Brexit on January first, to add more disruption to travel on this side 'of the pond' 

Fewer Flights: There are fewer options to go back to the States these days. Norwegian, the go-to, low-cost airline that flew between Gatwick and Seattle has ceased its transatlantic long-haul operations. 

Lufthansa, connecting through Germany has severely curtailed its flights. KLM has cancelled all its long-haul flights in response to a severe lockdown imposed by Netherlands.

Our go to airline just went. . .

British Air, our 'go to' airline is no longer that, thanks to Brexit impacts. Its flight from Athens to Seattle that connected in London was the perfect route - back when it was a connecting flight. The UK is no longer part of the EU so British Air is only allowed to fly point-to-point flights meaning taking the same flights we once did would no longer be one trip, but two separately booked flights. Checked bags would need to be collected in London and rechecked to Seattle.  The time between arriving and departing flights in London doesn't allow for that. And with COVID running rampant in England, we aren't sure we'd want to spend anymore time than necessary in Heathrow. 

Travel in the time of Covid

Covid testing is another layer of travel requirements that add time and expense to a journey. The need for a negative test is a pandemic reality these days when it comes to travel on this side of the pond.  An expat friend who traveled from the UK this month to check on work being done to his home here said that he had been tested three times on his relatively short trip: in England before departing, again in Amsterdam where he caught his connecting flight and then he was randomly selected when he arrived in Athens. 

Temperature checks now common place when traveling

When we do travel to Seattle we will likely take the COVID test administered at the Athens airport, with results coming within 24 hours (that alone adds a day to the trip and an overnight hotel stay). Dubai also requires the negative test within 72 hours of flying, even if connecting to another flight there. The same testing and 72-hour timeframe is required for flights returning to Greece. There is a test site at Seattle's Seatac Airport where the test costs $250 per person. A bit of a trip cost add-on one might say.

We wholeheartedly agree with isolating ourselves after arrival but the practical 'get things done' side says that a two-week isolation will cut a month -long stay in half. We aren't planning to see many - if any - friends while back this time around as we are keeping our social distancing practices.

So at this point we continue to enjoy our winter in travel limbo in Greece. We know we will return to our other world in the near future. Our bags are packed and arrangements for house, garden and kitty care in Greece have been made. 

For the time being we will continue our soliloquy: 'To Go our Not To Go?'

A January day in our slice of Greece - not so bad at all

So what questions have you been asking yourselves about travel? Have you traveled? Are you starting to think of travel? How goes the vaccinations in your part of the world?  We hope you are able to deal with your Covid disruptions and that you continue to be safe and distanced.  When you get down to it, staying healthy is the bottom line, isn't it? Let us know how you are doing in the comments below or shoot us an email. 

Thanks for the time you've spent with us today. . .stay safe!!

Linking sometime with:

Through My Lens
Travel Tuesday
Our World Tuesday
My Corner of the World Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday

In Greece ~ The Weather Outside is Frightful!

Frightfully cold. Frightfully wet. And frightfully -- delightfully -- winter in Greece!

Mani olive groves and the Taygetos Mountains

Had I written last week, I would have been telling you that we were having an unseasonal heat wave with temperatures reaching near 70F or 21C degrees. I would have told you that some were swimming in the sea. Wild flowers, usually not seen in the groves until March had begun blooming. We were able to hike in shirtsleeves.

Hiking the Mani in our shirtsleeves

'Haven't had these temperatures in 50 years', reported one media. Another said 160 years since such a heat wave. . .so it wasn't climate change, just a climate cycle involving such a span of time we missed the first two!

Swimmer on the beach below our house last week

And then came winter! Real winter. 

Our Taygetos Mountains finally have a dusting of snow

I know, for those of you dreaming of basking on sun baked Greek beaches, it could be a shock to think of Greece as cold and wet, but it can be. And it is! This time Leandros is to blame. It is the name given the system that put an end to those sunny warm days. The system that will keep it wet and cold for at least a few more days.

Snow continues to fall on the peak behind us

Yesterday we took a short drive to get closer to the snowy mountain peaks. Today all the hillsides around us are dusted with snow - no need to drive anywhere. We can see them from our deck - that is, when the clouds lift enough to see them. Our high today is supposed to be 43F or 6C. The wind is rattling our shutters and doors. Rain falls in heavy bursts at our elevation. Just a bit higher and it is snow.  Thunder and lightening opened this Monday and blue sky and sunshine are predicted before the day is over. Such is winter in our slice of Greece.

Views of our valley in winter

At least we aren't alone as Facebook friends in Istanbul, Italy and Spain have all been posting photos of snowfall! 

Thessaloniki - drone photo; credit: Greek Reporter

It is our first full winter in the Greek Peloponnese. We normally leave about this time of year and don't return until sometime in February. Many of you who've been with us at TravelnWrite for a few years, know that for the last decade, we've made Hawaii our timeshare-home-away-from-home this time of year.  Covid-19 prevented that this year, so we are half-way through our first full January at our Stone House on the Hill. 

Like a cake dusted with powdered sugar

According to a variety of internet sources, the average weather in the Peloponnese during this first month of the year is a high of 47F or 9C and low of 37F or 3C. The average rainfall is about 129 mm or 5-inches and it rains on average 13 days in January. 

Kardamyli and the Messinian Gulf from a hiking trail

Our current Covid lockdown allows us time outside for exercise and on most days - even if bundled up in scarves and mittens, heavy coats and sweaters - we can get outside and enjoy the countryside. We shiver, though, when we see those folks for whom olive harvest continues - especially in those groves at higher elevations. We are most happy to have completed ours in October!

Olive harvest continues in January

Of course that same Covid lockdown is providing us a slightly skewed winter experience because what one might have done in a pre-Covid winter is certainly different than this year. Our second lockdown of 2020, which began November 7th, continues into 2021. Our destinations are limited, we text the government prior to leaving the house, we wear masks, we distance and we are home before the 9 pm curfew takes effect each day.

During a normal winter we could have gone to the big city - our nearby Kalamata or further to Athens - to shop and enjoy their restaurants and tavernas.  Since November retail stores and all entertainment outlets have been closed. 

Shopping in Kalamata - a treat these days

We aren't allowed inside any restaurant or bar, other than to pick up 'to go' orders of food and drink, nor are we allowed to sit outside at any of them. So in order to break up the sameness and routines of winter and lockdown, we indulge in a 'to go' coffee or wine, consumed along side the village street or in the parking lot. The inclement weather has made those outings rather short but we aren't complaining - they give us a change of scenery and sometimes that is all it takes.

Winter lockdown night out in the village parking lot

We hope you are finding a change of scenery, a new hobby, a good book, or a new Netflix series is providing you 'what it takes' as January marches on.  Believe it or not, we haven't given up on travel yet for 2021 and that will be a future topic. As we sign off today we send our wishes for a Healthy and Happy New Year whatever the season it is where you are.  As always, thanks for the time you've spent with us ~

Linking soon with:

Through My Lens
Travel Tuesday
Our World Tuesday
My Corner of the World Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday

Season of Gifts: Eggs, Oil and Spinach Pie

Six eggs, a bottle of olive oil, two fish and a piece of spinach pie. . . each a  gift given us by a Greek friend in our small fishing village in the rural Peloponnese.

Christmas decorations in the village

With each gift, I thought of the fellow, another expat, who had proclaimed a few weeks ago on Facebook that Christmas was cancelled this year because the COVID prevention lockdown had been extended to January 7th and stores would be closed.

I felt sorry for him, not so much for missing the retail-based holiday he envisioned, but for not yet realizing that gift giving here is not done by the calendar and holiday; it comes from the heart and as such, nothing can cancel it. Not even COVID lockdown. The Season of Gifts is year-round:

Six Eggs - a Christmas gift

Six eggs gathered fresh for us

My friend's eyes twinkled as she handed me the small plastic bag with six eggs in it a few weeks ago. Mine teared up.  She'd chased us down to give us the gift as we walked the road along the harbor in the village; the road on which she lives. With the help of a bystander who translated her Greek, she told me they were fresh, gathered that morning. And they were for us.

 Always clad in black - both garments and scarf holding her white hair in place - she is usually busy sweeping the area in front of her home when we pass. I don't know when our waves and nods to each other moved into friendship, but they did some time ago. Perhaps it was when I began admiring her plants, despite my Greek being as limited as her English. I still don't know her name, nor she mine. But we both brighten when we happen to meet.

The street on which my friend lives

Last Christmas I decided to surprise my friend with a poinsettia. The exclamation of surprise and the delight reflected in her smile was one of the high points of that holiday season.   

As spring, summer and fall came and went in the village, she has presented me with plant starts and seeds from spent blooms from the garden she grows in a hodge-podge of planters in front of her home. 

Fish and Oil - Autumn thank you gifts

Captain Antonis

Captain Antonis, is the village fisherman with whom we had our outing last September. (If you missed that post, read it here). In addition to writing about the trip here, I posted photos of our excursion on my Facebook page. When we next saw the Captain he said he doesn't 'do' social media and tapping his heart (as they do when thanking someone here)  said I had helped others know about his tours.

Basil seed and fish - a season of gifts

He gave me a large bottle of his olive oil to thank me. Much later in the fall we saw the Captain one morning displaying his catch of the day at our village fish market.  When I asked what kind of fish he'd caught, he insisted on bagging up two of them for us to take home and try. No charge - just a tap of his hand on his heart and again, we were told, 'it is for you.'

A gift of fresh pressed olive oil

In early December the Captain presented us with yet another bottle of his olive oil - this one fresh pressed. When I told him I couldn't take it - that he'd already given us many gifts -- he tapped his heart, shook his head and said, 'this is for you.' 

Spinach Pie - Just Because 

The Scout and Joanna - pre-COVID photo

Our friend Joanna, runs one of our favorite village tavernas up in a hillside village a few kilometers from us. Her restaurant has been shut down for weeks as result of our COVID lockdown restrictions on restaurant operations. We were delighted to bump into her a few weeks ago when we stopped for takeout drinks at one of our village tavernas. 

Home-made spinach/feta pie

As we were chatting together she suddenly said, 'I have something for you in my car!' She returned with an enormous foil-wrapped piece of spinach pie.  'I made a big one, so I give some to my friends.' 

A Season of Gifts - In a time of Lockdown

Village decorations 2019

Looking back across the seasons in this year of COVID uncertainty, we recall the bag of eggs brought to us by the man who trimmed our grove in the spring. The pomegranates given us by friends in late summer when our tree failed to produce any fruit and they had more than they could use.

The gifts have come as gifts should - unexpectedly and with  'just for you' as a reason -- even during a time of lockdown when many are feeling the economic pinch that the prolonged shutdown is causing. 

'To Go' Meals always include something extra

A handful of local eateries and tavernas are open providing 'to go' food and drink. As we make purchases from them, their generosity, often leaves us touching our hearts in thanks.

At our favorite purveyor of pastries and ice cream, we have on several occasions during lockdown, been presented with pastries when we've picked up our cappuccinos. When we object, we are told, 'this will be good with your coffee - take it, eat.'  

Fresh picked gifts

Across the street at Elli's Restaurant we always find something extra in our 'to go' dinner order just as we did at Melissa's taverna in the neighboring village when we picked up our Christmas dinner. That Christmas dinner (pictured above) came with a salad and dessert on the house as well as a bag of fresh picked oranges and mandarins from the owner's yard.  

Chutney, relish and butter

We did have Christmas gifts to be sure - and some of the best things imaginable. . .from expat friends we received wine and chocolate, a jar of homemade fruit butter, another of relish, one of chutney, and a a bag of fresh-picked oranges from our neighbor's tree. 

The village Christmas Star

We hope that your holiday - whatever it is and where ever you celebrate it - was as enjoyable as we found ours to be.  As 2020 comes to a close we again want to thank you for the time you've spent with us this year and send wishes for a happy and healthy New Year! 

Linking soon with:

Through My Lens
Travel Tuesday
Our World Tuesday
My Corner of the World Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday