Sunday, 20 May, 2012
Today is Dana’s birthday, and she’s been planning all the stuff she’d like to do. After breakfast, where everyone showers her with cards and little gifties, Craig volunteers to be designated driver of Jerky so she can enjoy her day, and we all pile into the vehicles for the new road trip.
First stop is the church of Iassonas & Sospaternos, and its lovely gardens. The walls have lettering around it, and it’s very beautiful, though small, inside. I look up and catch a sunbeam shining through a stained glass window in the cupola, and both Craig and I try to capture it on camera.
We have time to wander around inside before people start arriving for a baptism. The little guy in question is a redhead, and really stands out among all the dark-haired folk around him. It’s also a BIG EVENT since a photographer and his assistant are setting up lots of lights, and there are a couple of 4 foot high white trees outside the church where a man is hanging the favors of candied almonds in tulle sacks.
Then it’s on to Mon Repos, where England’s Prince Phillip was born on a kitchen table 90 years ago or so. We walk through the grounds, and end up on a patio overlooking the sea. It’s a very pretty place, but we don’t go inside, otherwise there won’t be time for the rest of the things we’re supposed to see.
So far we are very close to the airport on the southern side of the city, but now we travel further south, down to the Achilleio, the summer palace of Emperor Franz Joseph. Dana recounts lots of history about the place, and the usual tourist traps are right outside the gates.
It’s a lovely building, and still has some of the original furnishings in it, but it’s still a mere shadow of its former self. We wander through the first floor, then ascend to the second, marveling at the wonderful staircase.
From the upstairs ballroom we move outdoors to a large esplanade and patio area, and there are lots of little garden areas to view. The scene of the sea from the rail is spectacular.
We find more steps leading down to the gardens and wander through grape arbors and other interesting places. As we have seen everywhere, the gardens are rife with amaryllis, oleander, jasmine, bottle brush, broom, lantana, roses, bougainvillea, prickly pear, mock orange, scented geraniums, pansies, geraniums, cypress trees, and other familiar stuff that lend an exotic flavor to our travels.
The gardens end at another overlook and a huge statue of Achilles (after whom the palace was named), who proudly watches the sea.
Now we’re starving, so we stop at Taverna Laopetra, another open-air taverna in Benitses for lunch. Dana again orders lots of little appetizers, salads, and three entrees, which we all share. Our host even places a vase of amaryllis and other flowers in front of Dana for her birthday, which needs to be moved as the food arrives. Our host does us proud, and the food is delicious.
Dana tells us about Kaiser’s Throne, where the Kaiser was carried every night to watch the sunset, so off we go again across the island. We all wonder how they got him there every night because it’s quite a distance from the palace, and Dana says they went on horseback. She’s always wanted to see the sunset from there, but it’s too early in the day to kill that much time to do so, and we stick around long enough to sit on the throne and finish off our visit with a frappe at the restaurant nearby.
We continue on to ride through the pretty valley of Ropa and up another steep mountainside to view a Byzantine Castle, Angelocastro, from afar. It’s too far away and ‘way high up on another mountain to really see, so we content ourselves with the spectacular view before going back.
On the way down the mountain we spy a dog running like mad after a car that is moving slowly with its hazard lights on. There was a lot of joking about the lazy man’s way of walking a dog, and someone pipes up that the owner might just be trying to wear it out. The dog is very fast, though and manages to keep up with the car.
On the road back to the villa we stop for more fruit; Crilly and Audrey go snorkeling again, and Jackson braves the pool. I did bring a bathing suit, but the water is far too cold to dunk my toes, even though the pool looks so inviting. I hear the sea is warmer!
Lily and Craig make supper again, and this time it’s Puttanesca (Sicilian whorehouse spaghetti), which is a pot full of vegetables, tomatoes and olives left to simmer while we were gone. Carolyn had gotten up early and made a huge pan of brownies with pistachio nuts for dessert, so we jammed a bunch of sparklers into it, lit the candles that said “55,” and presented it to Dana after dinner along with ice cream we bought along the way home. Another rousing rendition of Happy Birthday to You, and we dig in. Carolyn did a fine job converting the recipe to metric—the brownies are very good.
