Above - Fonta, not to be outdone by a rock star, pulled out his Christmas hat while he waited for the souvlaki to grill. Fishing Santa.

Saturday 2nd - Firstly Happy Birthday to Dimitri Danis. It's been awhile since we've had him on the site, but he's still around and having birthdays.
Another day yesterday when the weather didn't fail us. It may be safe to assume we are truly heading into Summer now and that those rainy and stormy days are behind us for at least a couple of months. Left - Kalamos views. Many know Kalamos for its Spring and for the old hotel which would entertain people such as Sophia Loren. Sadly, the ruin is no longer. It's slowly being transformed into someone's house.

Above - The road to Marmaka from Frikes. It's still unpavved, but the shrubbery which was distrubed during the making of this road, is growing back and greening up again. Below - Frikes pier views.

Above Left - The new management of Penelope Restaurant in Frikes seems to have had no problem fitting in. Good reports coming out. Left - Yefuri gets ready for a big wedding reception coming up this Sunday. Producer Mark Ellis (Flood) who produced Nick Cave, Pj Harvey, Depeche Mode, Smashing Pumpkins just to name a few, has chosen Ithaki to get married. The wedding has brought people from all over the world to the northern island, giving business a well deserved shot in the financial arm.

Left - Frikes is looking a little more lively these days. Not only the yachters are coming out to eat. All the restaurants and bars had some activity yesterday. Rementzo, Penelope, Piperatou, Fiorendino, Odysseas and Symposium. Dodonis on the other side of the bay is also faring well.
Occasionally my old life catches up with me in some strange and curious ways. I wasn't expecting to see Nick Seymour (Left) from Crowded House in Frikes last night, but there he was. We threw around some names and some old times and had a good chat. Nick is here for the big wedding this weekend. The first big gig our 1st band played was as one of the supports for Crowded House at the Melbourne Myer Music Bowl back in the mid 80's, my husband went to school with his brother Mark (Hunters and Collectors) and was slapped over the knuckles a few times by his father, who was the headmaster of the school. Rementzo grill man Rien, 15 years ago, as a working video editor, was cutting the video for Crowd House' last gig in a small Netherlands venue, and last night he grilled him a steak. Who would have thought... Nick has been living in Ireland over the 13 years or so, runs a commercial recording studio there and writes music for the movies.

Sunday 3rd - So much more going on around the island now. Ithaki is beginning to explode with acitivity again. The sun is shining and there seem to be enough people around to make most businesses smile. As you may imagin, most conversations lean toward the political with elections coming up again very soon, and the vibe seems to be that people are just sick and tired of the whole thing. The political positioning and the promises they know to be mostly empty. Many are just turning off their tv's and getting on with their lives at hand. I just hope that it doesn't mean we get the same hung parliament again. Left - Stavros looking sunny and beautiful.

Above and Left - It's Daytripping time again. People flood from the daytripper ferry, quickly positioning themselves for a quick lunch and buying some souvernirs. It's mayhem for an hour and then they disappear again behind the bluff, not to be seen again, at least by Frikes. They're off to get as many places in as is possible on a day trip. Holiday time means visitors walking around in close to their underwear on our main streets and we observe as if watching a tv commercial. Sometimes it's interesting, mostly it's not.

Left - When Stavros still has people sitting at a restaurant after 10.30pm, you know there's movement in tourism. Regardless of the political state of affairs, Greece is still a favorite destination for the holidayer. Things would really have to go belly up for that to change.

Producer Flood is marrying on Ithaca today. The list of guests would make the hairs on your neck stand up. To be honest I did think of ways to get pics, but have decided against it. I'm not a paparazzi, nor do I want to be. They're here for a wedding and I can't bring myself to intrude on their space for a cheap thrill. Although in the mainstream, the name Flood probably doesn't mean much, the list of artists he has produced definitely would ring quite a lot of bells. You can google him if you really want to know who may be at his wedding.

Monday 4th - In Platrithia, preparations were under way for a wedding dinner at Yefuri. Of course, it had all the trappings of the Yefuri style that has become so well known on Ithaca.

Meanwhile in Frikes, they were in the middle of the lunchtime rush and preparing for the Day Tripper ferry.

This time of year we get to see people of all different shapes and sizes, showing more than they would normally show in the main street of their own town.

It appears that Frikes has been penalized by one of the yachting charters for encouraging their crew to be drunken louts. I would suggest that the company hire people that weren't drunken louts and therefore wouldn't need to penalize any port village for the misbehaviour of their own staff. Having said that, I do support that once someone's had enough, responsible bar keepers should refuse further service. As far as I know, the penalty is 2 weeks... Oh that should straighten everyone out. Teach them a lesson they'll never forget. Not.

Today Greece celebrates the Day of the Holy Spirit. A long weekend for all.

ithacarama coming soon

June 2012 >> Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7