I rarely get any news. But I did I see the Hawaii holiday tabloid photos of President elect Obama. I am even more proud of my hunky president. Michelle, you are a very smart woman.
Corfu news: A friend lent me her bike while she went away for the holidays- best thing ever! So now I have to find a bike for myself, (not as easy as you would think, the only bike shop I have seen is open April-October). I have ridden the bike all over. Today I rode into Corfu Town and over to the archeological sites, they were closed (Sunday) but I just followed the others and hopped the fence and wondered around the site. There is very little preservation on the sites. Then I found the “Mon Repos”, an old estate turned museum with park grounds. On the site there are also Doric Temples, from way back when. Inside the museum there is an odd collection of home furnishing, family portraits, and a few random ancient pots and carvings. The best are the photos form an English Army Captain from 1800-something. From the photos you can see that the archeological excavation looked a lot better back in 1880. It has all fallen to the wayside- no longer a new fascination, very overgrown and crumbly. There are so many historic sites you can understand how the locals take it for granted, and often see it as an nuisance.
Today was a lot warmer than it has been, sunny almost 14 degrees Celsius (57 Fahrenheit)! A few insane Greeks went swimming, in the old fishing marina. Not only was it too cold for a rational person to swim, if you looked into the water they were swimming in, you would be icked out.
A few more funny things I am getting used to, living in Greece:
.Worn out tires are manhole covers, do not remove
.Scooter can seat 3 adults easily
.Move out of the way of cars on the sidewalk, they have right of way
.Need a light bulb? Borrow it form the street light
.They do lots of borrowing around here
I have noticed the public works crew around town working hard repaving the road, but do not expect them to clean up. I have seen traffic cones, barriers, shovels, piles of gravel, floro safety vests and lots of other stuff lying by the road. Also don’t expect them to do anything not specified by the foreman, like cleaning up broken glass from the bus stop advert sign, removing debris from a hole dug for a sign posted earlier that month, or hauling away a burnt out vehicle on the side of the road.
So it is a different world, that’s why I am here. The good stuff: I have not seen a cop outside of a coffee house, so there is no enforcement of laws. Yet the Greeks are not criminally inclined, aside from graffiti and organized riots, I have not noticed criminal activity (it is usually an ex-pat). You have to be a real trouble maker to get their attention (example: an ex-pat), and even then I am not sure they would be motivated enough to intervene. No one is ever stressed, they all write their own schedules. Beautiful scenery! Lots of nice dogs. Great characters and local gossip/stories, that if I write it all down I could be a successful novelist, or at least a writer for Jerry Springer.
Corfu news: A friend lent me her bike while she went away for the holidays- best thing ever! So now I have to find a bike for myself, (not as easy as you would think, the only bike shop I have seen is open April-October). I have ridden the bike all over. Today I rode into Corfu Town and over to the archeological sites, they were closed (Sunday) but I just followed the others and hopped the fence and wondered around the site. There is very little preservation on the sites. Then I found the “Mon Repos”, an old estate turned museum with park grounds. On the site there are also Doric Temples, from way back when. Inside the museum there is an odd collection of home furnishing, family portraits, and a few random ancient pots and carvings. The best are the photos form an English Army Captain from 1800-something. From the photos you can see that the archeological excavation looked a lot better back in 1880. It has all fallen to the wayside- no longer a new fascination, very overgrown and crumbly. There are so many historic sites you can understand how the locals take it for granted, and often see it as an nuisance.
Today was a lot warmer than it has been, sunny almost 14 degrees Celsius (57 Fahrenheit)! A few insane Greeks went swimming, in the old fishing marina. Not only was it too cold for a rational person to swim, if you looked into the water they were swimming in, you would be icked out.
A few more funny things I am getting used to, living in Greece:
.Worn out tires are manhole covers, do not remove
.Scooter can seat 3 adults easily
.Move out of the way of cars on the sidewalk, they have right of way
.Need a light bulb? Borrow it form the street light
.They do lots of borrowing around here
I have noticed the public works crew around town working hard repaving the road, but do not expect them to clean up. I have seen traffic cones, barriers, shovels, piles of gravel, floro safety vests and lots of other stuff lying by the road. Also don’t expect them to do anything not specified by the foreman, like cleaning up broken glass from the bus stop advert sign, removing debris from a hole dug for a sign posted earlier that month, or hauling away a burnt out vehicle on the side of the road.
So it is a different world, that’s why I am here. The good stuff: I have not seen a cop outside of a coffee house, so there is no enforcement of laws. Yet the Greeks are not criminally inclined, aside from graffiti and organized riots, I have not noticed criminal activity (it is usually an ex-pat). You have to be a real trouble maker to get their attention (example: an ex-pat), and even then I am not sure they would be motivated enough to intervene. No one is ever stressed, they all write their own schedules. Beautiful scenery! Lots of nice dogs. Great characters and local gossip/stories, that if I write it all down I could be a successful novelist, or at least a writer for Jerry Springer.
photo1: Ellen, Annimeke, Julia, around the BBQ-turned-bonfire, under a full moon.
photo2:one of themany holes in the water front walk way, it has been this way for months.
