Happy Birthday to me, I’m 60! With age comes new experiences…. So I am in the bathroom taking care of some personal grooming, no big deal. You know how it is, hair sprouting from places it shouldn’t and absent from where it should. Grabbing my trusty weed whacker (AKA nose hair trimmer), I begin deforesting my nostrils. To my horror, and searing pain, the trimmer seized due to my nose hair. I mean WTF, how can nose hair be this strong? Suffice it to say, not happy and if I appear with a facial disfigurement, it is because I used a blow torch to punish the bastards. With these happy thoughts, now onto the blog.
1964 a vintage year!
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
No truer words have been spoken and I am eternally grateful that we have so many friends to share our adventure. Through our friends, Gorica and Stefan, we were introduced to Marco and Svetlana. Once again, fate must be at work because Marco and I share the same birthday, as well as a love of exciting women, travel and food / drink. These shared vices led us to combined birthday parties, and we had a lovely dinner. One of my favorite gifts is the “History of Serbia” book that is helping me understand our adopted country better. Happily, Goricia was able to join, so the entire night was so much fun. If you are wondering, yes, I own a suit and have found that our friends really dress well. Dinner was delicious and we ended up closing the place because no one wanted the evening to end. Also, thank you to everyone else who shared birthday wishes!
Budapest
Road Trip anyone? Hell Yes! Gorica asked us to go with her to Budapest to inspect a couple of mobile homes they were considering to park at a seaside camp in Croatia. Budapest is only 3 hours away, depending on border crossing times, so off we went. The first trailer was nice enough but older and the bed layout really doesn’t work for giants (i.e., typical Serbs), so she passed. The second trailer was so much worse. Advertised as “Like New” and in great condition, it was anything but. First imagine as a woman going to an industrial park alone, where a “Ron Jeremy stand-in” claims to know nothing about the trailer but invites you inside to inspect, all while puffing on a cigarette. If this feels sketchy to you, it sure as heck did to us. Net, we left quickly and consoled ourselves by consuming sushi and visiting Starbucks. Budapest is still one of the great cities, and we were glad to have time to enjoy the historic district on a beautiful day.
But Joel, what about crossing the border from Hungary to Serbia? I should have know that the Border Crossing Gods were laughing. Unbeknownst to all of us, some Hungarian borders do not permit Americans to pass. Hungary, being all EU-self important, decided that we had to go to another border crossing instead of using the one that was right there. Ultimately not a big deal, but goes to show you how rule moribund Western Europe has become. Another lesson learned.
Corfu Greece
Life is too easy in Corfu. Wake up, have a spinach or cheese pie, go to the beach, eat some seafood for lunch, sunbathe more, drink too many drinks, have dinner, and eventually sleep. Rinse and repeat, and you have a perfect Greek vacation.
Do you believe in destiny or divine intervention? I generally don’t, but sometimes events make you question your beliefs. We holidayed on Corfu to 1) see our friend Chris, my college buddy and “God Father” (Best Man for non-Serbians), and 2) to meet his girlfriend Victoria. Originally, we were to arrive on June 2nd but due to a last minute airline mishap, we arrived a day early. No big deal, an extra day on the beach, right? Chris and I, being typical guys, had very loosely coordinated schedules (i.e., “See you sometime Monday.”) and had no knowledge of one another’s flights. So this is the part where destiny or divine intervention interceded. We boarded the tram in Athens airport to take us to our Corfu plane. I look up, after boarding the tram, and there is Chris and Victoria! I mean what are the odds that we board the same tram, on the same day, at the same time using the same door? Lottery tickets anyone? Either way, a very happy meeting albeit unexpected way to connect.
We stayed in Doukades Village, Western side of the island, about 30 minutes outside of Corfu City Centre. The village exudes charm, and is filled with homes dating back to the 1600s with very warm people. The town centre has three Tavernas, a quaint coffee shop, a grocery store and a lively town square. Evenings are filled with the sounds of kids playing, football and tourists eating and gawking at traditional village life. Every morning, I would wake early, go to the bakery for breakfast and enjoy the tranquility of the town square; mornings start late in Greece.
Navigating Doukades is not for the faint of heart, due to the streets being so narrow with lots of blind turns. You have to remember the village was established before automobiles and the roads are sized to allow two hoarse to pass abreast of one another. Forget about shoulders or room to easily pass, it doesn’t exist. To add spice, most rental cars are manual, and unlike in the Balkans, the ability to drive a stick shift is a dying art; let fly mayhem. Nightly entertainment was watching the tourists nearly colliding with the locals and then trying to reverse 50 meters. Taverna owners acting as traffic cops can be very scary especially with the colorful language and shall we say interesting hand gestures.
Corfu and Croatia share a lot of commonalties. The water is brilliant blue, turquoise and green, the beaches are rocky and seafood, especially octopus / squid, is plentiful. Chris helped us navigate to the best local restaurants / beaches, and I don’t think he met a single Corfu resident that wasn’t a friend, neighbor, cousin, aunt or uncle. Sometimes it felt like a scene from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” Here is a sampling of some of the beautiful beaches and restaurants we visited.
Beach Combing
Our favorite adventure was renting a boat to cruise the Ionian coast and picnic at Liapades Beach. The water was the most perfect turquoise and so clear that we could see the bottom 15 meters below. Navigating the shoreline was a bit of the pain, as the waves were frisky and the stern anchor kind of sucked. We made it all work in the end, and spent a perfect day walking the beach, catching rays and enjoying ourselves. The video below doesn’t do justice to the beach.
Final Thoughts
A few days ago, our God Son, Mason Davenport, turned 16 years old and as cliched as it sounds, where has the time gone? We were at the hospital when he was born, and we are so happy that he has grown into such a fine young man. Considering I am responsible for his spiritual growth, it is a wonder. Now that Mason can fly on his own, we plan to entice him to the Balkans due to his affinity for tall beautiful women (lock up your daughters). Ray, you can look but not touch!
Summer is virtually here, and already we are thinking about the next trip. Croatia and Turkey are both on the table as our friends, Tim and Lopa, are coming to Turkey in October. We are looking forward to connecting with them again and enjoying Turkish meza. Chris, we swear that Greek food is better!
As some of you may know, we are selling our home in the USA, and plan to visit the states sometime late November / early December. As our plans firm we will be in touch.
Have a great summer and we wish you all health and happiness.