Kelly and Mike's RVing/Traveling Adventures: May 7 - 8, 2024 - Greece Trip

Tuesday May 7th:

Our tour took us to the town of Volos, a beautiful and busy seaport town of 80,000 people. On the drive there we drove through the great plain of Greece. It has been a major agriculture area for thousands of years. Olive trees and vegetables are grown everywhere. They used to grow a lot of tobacco. While they still grow some it is not the large crop it once was. Interestingly in Greece lots of people smoke. There are ashtrays on all tables.

There were lots of cool small fishing boats in one end of the harbor. They were the type of fishing boats I always imagined Greek fishermen using. One was junkier than the next. Here are a few pictures. On one the fisherman was repairing his nets. So cool!

There were also many sail boats owned by those with money.

We were on our own for the afternoon so we stopped at a cafe on the sea and had a Frappe and cheese pie appetizer. Here is a picture of the appetizer.

The Greeks love their coffee and love it strong. I had never heard of a Frappe but enjoyed them. It is iced coffee with a huge foam head on it. You drink it through a straw. It will definitely keep you up at night. The ladies got theirs sweet, I got mine plain.

This is our view as we enjoyed our cheese pie and Frappe.

The Greeks love to sit around and socialize over coffee. The people literally spend hours enjoying each other's company. You never saw a cell phone out. The cafes do not care how long you sit there and they never try to hustle you out. You actually have to work at getting the attention of the server to get your bill. You have to do it discretely. They consider holding your hand up to get the attention of the server extremely rude.

After our free time we checked into our resort hotel for two nights - Xenia Volos City Resort. As the name implies it was more than a hotel. It is a resort overlooking the Aegean Sea.

Here's Kelly taking in the view from our room.

Here are a couple of views of the Aegean Sea from the balcony. Not bad at all!

For supper we walked a couple of blocks to an outdoor restaurant suggested by our tour guide. Here is their sign, I have no idea what it says. It's all Greek to me!

We tried several dishes, including Greek salad of course, as well as beets, salmon carpaccio, shrimp with olive oil and herbs, red and white wine, Ouzo, a Greek anise-flavored liqueur which will knock you on your butt, and a complimentary ice cream bar for dessert. It was a wonderful meal near the sea.

These fried anchovies were to die for. None were left on the plate.

The entire meal was $80.00 for the four of us. I put it on the credit card but we had been advised that we should leave tips in Euros on the table and not put a tip on the credit card. By doing that you are sure the wait staff will get the money. After paying inside I gave our waiter a $20.00 Euro. His face lit up and he thanked me profusely. A nice feeling. The restaurant help make minimum wage which is 700.00 Euro per month, even less than in the U.S. Tips are a big deal for them.

Next to the restaurant was the beautiful church of St. Costantine and St. Helen. Luckily the church was open and I was able to get a number of pictures before we headed back to our hotel.

Wednesday, May 8th:

We had a choice of optional excursions. One was to enjoy a leisurely half-day bike ride in the port city of Volos to see ancient landmarks with a local guide. It included lunch with local specialties. The second option was to visit a local farm in Mount Pelion and learn to cook local specialties with an expert chef and then enjoy your creations while taking in the scenery.

Annie had chosen the bike ride but it ended up being cancelled due to major flooding that had recently taken place causing much damage. Alexa, Kelly and I opted for the cooking class. We ended up all four attending the cooking class.

We didn't know what to expect but I must say it exceeded my vision of what it would be. The event took place on the Karaiskos Farm, a small farm in Mount Pelion. After getting off the bus we had to walk down a steep incline to the area set up for the class. Here the tables are being prepared for our class.

The owner, in the checked shirt, welcomed us and told us about his operation, and introduced us to his chef, who didn't speak English.

We then proceeded to the garden to pick the vegetables and herbs that we needed for our class. Different folks got a chance to pick different vegetables and herbs as directed by the chef. He didn't speak English but we had a great time with him.

After everything was picked we headed back to the patio to begin our meal prep. Everyone was given an apron, knives, and cutting boards.

Then the grating, chopping, and mixing began. Everyone had a hand in it.

The first thing we made was a Greek salad. Once everything was cut up it was mixed, dressed, and put aside. We then moved to making "Spanakopita", a Philo Spinach Pie. The ingredients were prepared and drained. If they were not drained the Philo dough would be soggy. The Philo dough is rolled out thin for six layers, three on the bottom and three on the top. The chef showed us how to stretch and thin the dough by rolling it on a dowel very carefully. He then turned us loose to have a hand at it.

Three layers were then carefully laid in the pan.

With her hands Alexa took the drained spinach and herb filling and spread it evenly in the pan.

Three layers of Philo dough then covered the dish which was baked for forty-five minutes. While it started to bake we made "Tzatziki", a classic dip made with shredded cucumber, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, herbs, and Greek yogurt.

No time to lose we turned to making fried zucchini balls. For this we grated zucchini and drained it. Corn starch, herbs, lemon, and lots of olive oil, were then added. We rolled this mixture into balls to be pan fried.

Our meal prep finished we headed to another area where tables were set up for us to eat. On the tables were homemade bread and local wine for us to enjoy. Soon the Greek salad we made was brought out and that was followed by the spinach pie when it finished baking. Here is a picture of our feast.

We all thoroughly enjoyed the cooking class and really enjoyed eating the meal we had prepared. I signed up for this cooking class not knowing what to expect. It was a great learning experience, great fun, and a great meal.

For completing the cooking class we each received a certificate as "Ambassadors" of the Greek Pelion Cuisine.

Here is a picture of Alexa making the trek back up the steep hill to the bus.

From there we had a short bus ride to the village of Pelion. It is a tiny town with one street which is barely wide enough for one car. I don't believe there are ever any cars on the street except maybe for deliveries. Shops lined the street which led to the town square where there is a giant Sycamore tree you can walk in. Annie posed for a picture.

The walk into the village is known as the scenic Centaur's Path. Breathtaking.

I liked the fountains at various places along the street.

This was another town built on the side of the mountain. Here is a picture of some damage along the road from the recent flooding.

The houses are built in rows going up the mountainside hundreds of feet.

Those are houses up at the top. I saw one road as we walked into town that headed up the mountainside. I assume that is how one reaches those homes but you better have a four wheel drive vehicle and good brakes. The ladies stopped to purchase Greek items for the grandkids.

Annie said this was her favorite village. It was definitely unique. In all the cities and villages we visited there are dogs and cats roaming around and laying around.

Here is one in this plaza. They aren't owned by anyone but everyone sees to it that they are fed and healthy.