#5 GREECE

I went to Greece for the first time in 2001 to visit a friend from college who was studying in Athens. I was there for about a week, which was just enough time to do all the usual touristy stuff like go to the Acropolis, wander the crowded streets of Plaka, and eat moussaka. But now, nearly 20 years later, my memories have faded, and I find myself without the words to describe my first impressions of Greece. Thankfully, I found an old shoebox of photos at my parents' house to remind me of what I saw, so I've scanned those and am sharing them here for your enjoyment.

I suppose I'm also lucky that I went back to Greece in 2013, not only because those memories are more vivid, but also because I could visit new places like Corfu and Corinth. It was also still the height of the financial crisis, and austerity hit Greece hard. Zoran and I ended up in Corfu as a kind of extended layover between Italy and Albania, so we decided to take a few days to relax on the sea to recharge our batteries. The waters were beautifully clear and bright blue, even if the beaches were rocky and somewhat precarious for the unskilled with soft feet like me!

And there was calamari, excellent calamari like I had never eaten before -- a gift to my tastebuds from the sea! And, as anybody with an appreciation for the finer things in life can confirm, calamari are hands down the most delicious of all cephalopods, and these little guys in Corfu were like grilled butter with sea salt. They melted in my mouth and barely required chewing. I knew then and there that I didn't want to live in a world without this calamari. But, like all good things, they were available just for a short window of time, something having to do with the moon and tides, and I'm both grateful to have at least tasted their deliciousness and disappointed that I might never have them again. But memory and a photo are better than nothing, so I end my recollections of Greece there with the delicious calamari that was, and then wasn't, and hopefully will be again.