{"id":2377,"date":"2010-10-01T20:33:08","date_gmt":"2010-10-01T20:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.itisallgreek2me.com\/?p=2377"},"modified":"2011-04-12T16:09:00","modified_gmt":"2011-04-12T16:09:00","slug":"panayiri-comings-and-goings-in-kastelli","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itisallgreek2me.com\/?p=2377","title":{"rendered":"Panayiri, Comings and Goings in Kastelli"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Family members and others at Panayiri to celebrate Roma's Name Day<\/p><\/div>\n

Much to my delight, on Wednesday morning Vanna came by the house and we\u00a0spent a couple of hours catching\u00a0up together.\u00a0 After enjoying a lunch of Papoutsakia (literally – little shoes) eggplants stuffed with mince and topped with bechamel sauce, baked in the oven, together with another of Katina’s wonderful salads, I decided to give the beach a miss as the day was a little overcast … taking advantage of siesta instead\u00a0being\u00a0a good alternative.\u00a0 We also learnt that Anna would not be returning to Kastelli from Hania until Saturday – disappointing for me as I will move on Sunday, allowing us very little time together.\u00a0 In the evening a simple meal of Dakos – Paxamadia topped with fresh tomato pulp, olive oil, rigani and myzithra – simple Cretan fare!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Everyday, Katina will ask me “Tee tha fame simera?” (What shall we eat today) – knowing full well that I am happy with whatever she prepares.\u00a0\u00a0Yesterday Katina cooked meat in the oven with Kritharaki (a rice-shaped pasta also known as Orzo).\u00a0 All\u00a0the food is yummy here and notice how I like to rub it in – I will very much miss the Greek cuisine when I leave.\u00a0 On my walk to the beach I saw Roma at his factory – 1 October is his Name Day and\u00a0there was to be a Panayiri (also known as a Yiorti) at a small church on the outskirts of Kastelli last\u00a0night.\u00a0 A day early, however, celebrating a Saints feast day often takes place the evening before the actual\u00a0Name Day.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

At 1700 hours Katina and I waited for Roma\u00a0by the main road into town as it was arranged that\u00a0he would take us to the Panayiri.\u00a0 It is an annual event which in previous years I am told has been a big celebration with scores of people attending, masses of food, wine, dancing and merriment into the small hours of the morning.\u00a0 However, last year after many had over indulged, a vehicle returning to Kastelli went over the bank along what is a secondary road and so this year it was to be a much quieter affair.\u00a0 With the Papas ringing the church bells, proclaiming the beginning of the service,\u00a0many people moved into the church, others mingled outside where the final blessings and dedication took place.\u00a0 The special breads were cut and we all received pieces from the Papas, following which we enjoyed a simple meal of bread, cheese, sardines, kalitsounia and xerotigana – with wine or tsikoudia.\u00a0 We were home by 2030 hours having been given a ride back with the Papas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was at the Panayiri that I\u00a0met Heinz-Peter and Ulrike, a German couple\u00a0from Cologne.\u00a0 Ten years’ ago they bought an old traditional\u00a0house in the mountain village of Loussakies, a few kilometres from Kastelli and\u00a0they come three times a year to stay.\u00a0 I was delighted when Ulrike\u00a0invited me to visit them.\u00a0\u00a0Stopping at the Zaharoplastio to buy a half kilo of\u00a0small sweet pastries on my way, as arranged\u00a0Ulrike picked me up this morning at 1030 hours, by the periptero (kiosk) on the main road in town.\u00a0<\/p>\n

From the first moment we arrived at their house in Loussakies\u00a0I was in love – with the house, the peaceful environment and the location …\u00a0in the mountains, with a view of the sea and Kastelli in the distance.\u00a0 We talked\u00a0a lot about Greeks – \u00a0their thinking and behaviours, their way of life and of\u00a0the difficulties\u00a0and all the\u00a0wonderful things living in Greece has to offer.\u00a0 After thanking my hosts and bidding them farewell just after 1700 hours to walk back to Kastelli, having turned down\u00a0Ulrike’s offer to drive me, I understood very well that today I had had the pleasure of spending time with a couple, in a place, where I could also see I would be very happy living in the future.\u00a0 That is, when and if Crete is one day\u00a0to be my permanent home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Much to my delight, on Wednesday morning Vanna came by the house and we\u00a0spent a couple of hours catching\u00a0up together.\u00a0 After enjoying a lunch of Papoutsakia (literally – little shoes) eggplants stuffed with mince and topped with bechamel sauce, baked in the oven, together with another of Katina’s wonderful salads, I decided to give the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itisallgreek2me.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itisallgreek2me.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itisallgreek2me.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itisallgreek2me.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itisallgreek2me.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2377"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.itisallgreek2me.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2583,"href":"https:\/\/www.itisallgreek2me.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2377\/revisions\/2583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itisallgreek2me.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itisallgreek2me.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itisallgreek2me.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}