Hi Erica Just to say were coming back 23rd August for a week this will be our 9th time. We love it it Kioni and miss it. You have done a great jobs on this site and lots of information and great photos. Will contact you you later in the year. Love YVONNE & LES FEW ENGLAND
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Kali Spera Erika,
I just wanted to write and let you know that George and I are completely addicted to your "IthacaGreece" website. We read all your news every day and love your photography and political comments! It's the next best thing to being there in person!
Alas, this year we cannot be there. However, all being well, we will come for an extended visit next spring/summer. I am an artist and have always been inspired by the colours of Ithaci. I hope to meet more artists while I am there next year, some of whom I have discovered on your site.
Before he died, my father-in-law, Anastasios Katsamas told me a great deal about Ithaci in the old days and about his family history. It is fascinating - so I am also hoping to compile some of his stories and my memories of wonderful times shared with him on Ithaci into a book while I stay in his house in Anoghi.
So, from a cold and wet Byron Bay in Northern New South Wales, Australia - Thank you for your wonderful work. We look forward to meeting you next year.
Yiassas, Candy and George Katsamas.
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Hi Erika, Oh my word! You guys are having such great weather over there on Ithaki it's making me so jealous! Wow! Thanks for posting the beautiful pics up on the website. Truly is beauty hey J. Makes me wonder sometimes what I'm still doing in London when we hardly see any sun. I'm so glad it's good weather out there. Hope you well and making the most of it, and I also hope you are better. See you soon, I will be there for Easter time. Yay!!!! Love melanie
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Hi Erica, the photos over Spring have just been stunning. I must, must, must try to go to Ithaki when it looks like that. It's just wonderful. I only ever see it in August when everything is sunburnt. Keep it up gal. Martina xx
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CONGRATULATIONS! You finally have ADSL in the north. I've been reading about it for years now on ithacagreece site and I too thought it would never happen. enjoy! Jim from Oz
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Dear Erika, My wife and I have spend several holidays in Kioni but our next visit is not until June 2012. So we have to make do with your wonderful pictures each month. It is very exciting when we see people we recognise. Thank you for your hard work. It keeps us going Bob and Liz Foster Snitterfield, Warwickshire UK
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Hello Erika, have been keeping up with things on the site. Great work as usual. Really disappointed about the weather though. Seems it's very unsettled. Hope it doesn't stay like that for the summer. My family and I hope to be there, god willing, in mid July. If you have any inside line to the weather man, please ask him to make it warm and sunny. Thanks - Carol, Ben and family
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Dear Erica, I get up most mornings and the first thing I do with my cuppa is go on your website to see the great photographs and read all the news. Thank you so much for keeping us informed. I heard you were very ill from a friend, hope you are better now. Best wishes Mary K.
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Dear Erica I will make a determined effort to meet you soon as we make our 8th (? who's counting) holiday in Kioni. We didn't make it last year & felt terrible withdrawal symptoms, so I booked last September to make sure it didn't happen again. We stay in Rigoni, having tried a few places, but decided Rigoni is the best, & this time next week, June 25th, will have arrived on Greek soil . Your web site has kept me up to date with Ithaki life throughout the winter & we (my partner Doug & I), hope that Greek economics & politics somehow leave Kioni to what it does best – just being a haven from stress. We often sit on the harbour side at Spavento with an iced coffee in the mornings watching the Sunsailers trying to move away, quite an entertainment in itself, so I will speak to Jennie. Thank you for keeping Ithaki alive for us through the site. Best wishes Sandra & Doug
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Dear Erika, I watched and sent your Kastoria video to my cousins in the usa. We all arrived there 4 summers ago, still trying to sort out the "mysteries" of our grandparents who lived there and left there. I thought the video of Kastoria was profound in October. I sent it to my facebook friend Mike A. from Kastoria. I actually have my mom's 1st cousin there. Dr. Laz. Tenekeztis. We met Laz and his wife. We researched on the grandfather's side. No records... I watched tonight the trip to Florina where I have my grandfather's exit papers in 1916. I cried. I am so proud of your efforts to put this part of Greece on the map. WE drove 9 hours plus on all the back roads from Athens. No reports, living relatives. "what do you want?" WE are gals in our late 50's and we know why we are so strong. We are grandchildren of Kastoria and had grandparents that died Greek residents. So, we are grandchildren looking for our history and even the embassy in Boston can't help us. We loved it in Kastoria. It is our heritage. I can't wait to get back and research more, but I will tell you this area will survive. It has in the past and it will. Yours truly, Laura Gray-Shultz, Plymouth, Ma. USA
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Hey there, just wanted to comment on the guy who says hes going to fix greece in the australian way in the Ithaki villages video you put online. How exactly is he planning to do that? It was a nice bit of comic relief in the vid. Maybe you should put a video togather of more people like him. It would be a hoot! Denis from Melbourne
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What a lovely, lovely video of Ithaki Villages. Just love the atmosphere and the relaxed nature of the local people in the video. Please give my best to Poppy and Nick. They're daughters are just lovely. Regards - Patrice Downey UK
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Hi Erika, Just love the Ithaki Villages video, but where are the other villages???? Jim V. Australia Editors Note: Other villages are coming in Ithaki Villages part 2
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Hi Erica Sorry don't know how else to contact you, we are coming back again for our 8th time 25 August as we love Kioni so much. We have heard that there are new owners for the little bar on cemetery beach. . Do you know who they are and what's it like? will you put some photos on your site so we can see what its like. so we can get even more excited about coming back. Hope to see you again in August. Yvonne & Les Few
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Friends: I had the pleasure of visiting Ithaca, Greece, a number of years ago with a group from Cornell University (in Ithaca, NY). I heard there was a quote inscribed somewhere, or perhaps from a piece of literature, that went like this: “Every Traveler Has a Home in Ithaca.” I have been searching for the provenance of the quote for a long time as I would like to inscribe it in stone as a welcome at my home in Ithaca, NY. Can you or any of your associates help me? Experts tell me it is not from the Odyssey, or the Iliad and I have not found it in anything by Byron. Many thanks. Bob Cowie Please reply to: rac56@cornell.edu
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Hello Errica...I'm Chrysanthi the girl who told you that your website is interesting and you took me a photo... in the 2nd night of sotiros panighiri.I hope you rememeber me. Thanks for uploading my photo in your website!!!Keep this great job!!! Thanks a lot!!!! Chrysanthi
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Hi Erika,
Thank you for your present, we listened your music on the trip back to France and I am listening now the jazz tracks. We are happy to visit your website since we are back. It s wonderful to follow the island like that... Thanks for your pictures and your words about our departure. We were touched. Jean Tifenn and Irene France
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Oh dear, what utter madness.....!!! we are regular visitors to wonderful Ithaca and one of the highlights of our stays is sitting on various baysides enjoying the views whilst EATING LUNCH.No way could we do this without shade from the sun..hence restaurants will lose our trade.
We even need tents etc to keep us dry when (rarely we know) it rains. And they are a must when its windy at Kioni/Frikes enabling us to continue with our meal and be fussed over by the restaurant owners as only they know how.
Lets hope common-sense and fair negotiations will restore some adequate shelter for diners or we fear for Ithacas cafe owners. Kind regards,
Rob and Nita UK
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I hope that you are well and not too downcast about Greece and the rest of Europe's woes. GRRR.. The news about the Anoghi road is a bit of a shock – I hope it's for access for farmers, fire fighters etc and not just an expensive development project. I feel bad about commenting on an island when I don't live there but it is such a shame to lose another beautiful hillside when there is good access already to Anoghi. I guess we wait & see. Looking forward already to our next trip to an almost unspoilt island – I hope there will still be some undisturbed paths left by then! Keep fighting your battles to tidy up the roadsides too. Di Godwin-Thomas UK
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Just a short note to thank you once again for all your constant effort you put into the stories and photos of Ithaki. I know I have said it before but I am compelled to say it again. It was great to briefly catch up with you, recently. I may not communicate with you everyday but I am there, in the background, always admiring your fantastic pictures of island life. It seems to fill in the time and information between our visits. It's also fantastic to see how our Cousins, Uncles and Family live between the seasons.
Spero & Liz Davias NSW Australia
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THREE COUSINS, THREE CONTINENTS, James, Carol, Christina and Stephanie Morris (Moraitis-Aprilis) have just returned to Australia from a European holiday spending some time on Ithaki .One of the highlights from Ithaki was the meeting of three first cousins and some of their families, from three continents. Chris Papadopoulos son of Nicki nee Moraitis from Johannesburg South Africa , James Morris, son of Nicholas Morris (Moraitis), from Melbourne and Andreas Anagnostatos, from Hotel Nostos, Frikes, son of Fotini nee Moraitis. A fantastic time was had by all with many everlasting memories. James also caught up with another first cousin and his family Gerasimos Moraitis, son of Stratos Morris from Kioni, in Athens, and from his mother's side Dennis and Jean Skiotis from Stavros. A bonus to us all is the bonding of our children and the continuation of the Ithacan heritage. Plans have already been put into place for continued meetings on Ithaki. James Morris
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Hello Erica, I'm sorry that mine will be a letter that is not so complimentary towards ithaka island. My experience during my holiday was less than satisfactory. The accommodation too expensive for what it was and people at the Cafes charging me a different price for the same drink over my 1 week stay. Ithaka is no doubt a beautiful island, but it has a long way to go in regard to quality. When I booked a traditional cottage for my stay, I did not expect to be staying in a run down house, badly renovated with barely anything in working order. Jason Black
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Just a note of support for Ithaca and Greece in general. My personal opinion is that despite the obvious changes that need to be made, Germany, France and the Bankers of the world are doing this country in. Chin up all. We hope not all is pilfered from the country before we get a chance to return. Mason Armstrong UK
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Dear Erika, I would like to warmly commend you for your wonderful Ithaca site and your faithful constancy in presenting Ithacan news over the years. Your efforts are much appreciated. I am Ithacan born (Perahori), brought to Australia as a 10-year-old in 1957 and have lived in Brisbane since 1960. I have visited Ithaca three times the last being in 2010 when my wife, her brother and his wife accompanied me. They were all enchanted by the rugged beauty of Ithaca and Cephalonia. Hoping to come again next year. In the meantime I wish you all the best and let's hope Greece pulls through without too much more pain. Kind regards George Livanes Brisbane Australia
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Hi Erika. Just a few words to wish you and yours a very Joyous Christmas and may the New Year 2012 be filled with Health and Happiness. Thank you for the fabulous photos and information you so tirelessly keep us 'outsider' Ithacan's in touch with our beautiful island's daily life and woes. Keep up the great selection of Ithaki's beauty spots and 'off the beaten track' scenic wonders. It is a challenge to try and pick out some of the location of places; is it possible to just include within the photos where to scene is? Thanks once again for your enthusiasm of our island. Kindest Regards George & Loula Melbourne, OZ
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Hi Erica, Many thanks for the wonderful web site you run. It keeps us up to date with Ithaca, until we can get back there. We will see you in early May, as we are going to be in Cephalonia from 1 to 14 May, so will definitely be popping over for a few days again. Hope to see you then, when I can once again do some ‘hands off' Reiki on you. Love & Light. Martyn & Elaine, Southbourne, UK
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