Joanne Sisco

Greek Leftovers

I’ve been MIA from the world of doors for a few weeks now and today I’m dipping back into the archive to revisit some 2-year old photos from Greece.

Periodically I go on a purging exercise in my photo library, removing ones I consider duplicates and images that don’t live up to my increasingly critical eye. I recently deleted 100 photos from this trip to Greece, but the following handful made the cut.

This ancient church in the heart of Athens fascinated me and I had dozens of photos of it to prove my point. That number is now considerably less.

A 2-day side trip to the island of Hydra provided endless opportunities for interesting photos.

There are no vehicles on Hydra and goods are still being moved by donkey. I had lots and lots of donkey shots.

A ubiquitous blue door to the right.

I also had an endless number of boat photos, although admittedly most of them were actually in the water.

A typical door-lined street on Hydra.
Seeing the occasional boat tied outside a doorway always gave me pause.

I wish I had a Euro for every step we climbed on this trip. I stopped frequently to take photos – of just about anything – as an excuse to rest and get my hammering heart rate out of the heart attack zone.

I looked at many of those photos after the fact and wondered what on earth I was trying to capture.

While the steps are what initially caught my eye (a rare staircase Gilles didn’t suggest we climb), the doorway on the right piqued my interest.
I imagine it enters into a wonderland. I bet they would have had a cold drink waiting for us. That would have been nice.

Greece was a destination that exceeded my expectations – by a long shot. As with all memorable occasions, I can’t believe it’s already been 2 years since we were there. Thankfully I have the photos to remember it – this time without the cardio workout.

Hydra – so many doors!!

This post has been brought to you by Thursday Doors, donkeys, boats, and near heart attacks.

Thursday Doors is a weekly photo feature hosted by Norm Frampton at Norm 2.0 where door lovers gather to tell door stories. The door is always open at Norm’s place and everyone is welcome.

121 comments

  1. I had not read this post! lovely images my friend! My critical eye is getting more critical of my own work….I just want to delete it all and do-over. I hope you have a great Christmas and New Year 🙂

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  2. Joanne, as you know from reading my blog, I went to Crete this summer. It is the only part of Greece that I have visited. I LOVED Crete. I would really like to go back and travel through other parts of Greece as well.

    Jude

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  3. Joanne, I remember that small church in Athens. If I remember correctly, it was right in the middle of the commercial area. Also, it was well used by locals: dark and soot stained on the inside. I had forgotten all about it. On one of our RTWs, we were a bit tired of being on the road and we spent the month of December in Athens. It was great to be able to settle for a while, but after our time there, we realized that Athens, with all its financial woes, takes lots and lots of patience. We were glad that we spent the time there, but probably wouldn’t do it again. ~James

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  8. Great doors, Joanne and so glad you avoided the heart attack. Greece is on the bucket list, and you have just reminded me how much i want to visit.

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  9. Mmmm Hydra looks blissfully wonderful. I love the photo of the chunky stairs and the door to a hidden garden? perhaps. Also the boats parked outside the doors. Pretty unique!

    I was in Greece only as an 11 year old with my family and would love to go one day as an adult. It is definitely on my list of desirable places to visit. And I do LOVE Greek food… Yum.

    Peta

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  12. Greece looks so gorgeous!! I love that ancient church in Athens. It looks like it has so much character. I didn’t realize that there were no cars on Hydra. I would have had lots of photos of donkeys as well! lol. I can’t believe that was two years ago. But then again it’s hard to believe that it’s been a little over two years since my first trip to Europe and then Scotland!

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    • It’s a little frightening how quickly time seems to speed by. While our memories of events are fresh, the time past is always greater than we think.

      I continue to work on cleanup of my photo library and I’m shocked at how old some events really are! How can that be?!!

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  14. I thoroughly enjoyed the photos you shared here of your visit to Greece, Joanne; thanks for taking us along. Curious structures, so much rock, and classic Greek scenes with the donkeys and boats in the narrow street. I really like the final photo of Hydra. Liked hearing about your editing of photos, too.

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  16. What a lovely visit to Greece. We were only talking about the country the other night. I’d love to go island hopping again, only downside with Greece is the plumbing and the wine. Nice doors though 🙂
    I have been meaning to purge my photo archives for years now! So many rubbish photos and duplicates as you mention, but I suppose the fact that disk space is cheap makes me incredibly lazy. I will do it though, one day!

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  17. “This post has been brought to you by Thursday Doors, donkeys, boats, and near heart attacks.” LOL! Wonderful pictures, especially the one with the unclimbed stairs and the wonderland door. I could stare at that photo for hours.

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    • Glad to have you along on this journey, Judy. There is just something so peaceful and relaxing about a small seaside town, especially when it’s so picturesque 🙂

      This post has inspired me and maybe I need to do more cleanup in the archives trawling for potential stories 😉

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  20. Joanne what fabulous photos and I’m happy skip the heart attack and enjoy through your memories. We had friends go to Greece this summer and Hydra was one of their favourite places.

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  23. Hi Joanne, I understand about photo purging. I am due, again:) A huge, WOW on the church. I too, wonder about tying up of the boats. I guess they can easily wander off. A door built into a rock? Intriguing. We have not been to Greece, yet. Talked about often. Maybe your post is a sign:)

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  25. I so enjoyed your Greek leftovers, Joanne. It’s been a little over twenty years since I visited there. I still remember riding up a steep cobblestone hill in Santorini. My donkey’s handler disappeared before I reached the top and I was so petrified that the donkey would turn around and start off down the hill that I quickly dismounted still hanging onto the reins, almost dislocating my shoulder in my haste. 😰🤣

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    • You are brave! I’ve seen those donkey rides in various places like the Grand Canyon but I’ve never had the nerve to try one. There is something about being on the back of a donkey on a steep hill that leaves my stomach in the back of throat!

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      • Thanks, Joanne. it started out well, with hubby and son walking along in front and the handler very close by. However hubby and son were walking way faster than my steed and also engrossed in their conversation. the handler disappeared somewhere along the route, so I found myself abandoned. It was a scary experience indeed and my shoulder was sore for the rest of the trip. 😦

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  26. I always think it’s interesting to run into an ancient church with a modern high rise behind it. You wonder if the people who went to the church ever envisioned the city that would grow up around it. I’ve never been to Greece – I guess I’d better reconsider!

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    • That’s exactly how I feel too whenever I see an ancient building surrounded by the modern. I try to imagine what it would have been like in its original setting – magnificent compared to the humbler structures around it.

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  32. I was criticized once for taking too many pictures on vacation. “You’re missing everything by snapping all the time,” I was lectured. I’m still stuck on that view because clearly I was seeing something. And clearly you< see lots, Joanne. These are beautiful, especially the artwork above the one door. – Marty

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    • I used to be that person – complaining to my husband about his picture taking. Now our roles have reversed. Marriage is funny that way 😉

      What I have noticed is that since I picked up a camera 6 years ago, I think my powers of observation have increased. I really ‘see’ things now.

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  33. As I recall some of your posts, you have traveled quite a lot in Europe! Greece is one of my favorite places – the easy and simple life. As long as you don’t have to drive by car. It didn’t take us long to decide we wanted to survive this trip and go on foot, or by bus. Love all the details you captured, like the donkeys the church doors. My goodness you don’t have anything to worry about your captures – they are fab! Viva la Greece.:) Jesh

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    • I’ve been very fortunate because we’ve travelled extensively over the years. In our younger years it was race related and now it’s for fun. Fun is much better 🙂

      Amen to not driving. I thought Italians were bad … and they are very bad … but it’s almost like the Greeks have this competitive streak going and are vying for #1 😳

      Considering Greece wasn’t one of my must-do destinations, it turns out to be one of my favourite vacations. Travelling off-season when the weather wasn’t so hot and the crowds not so thick, it was just about perfect.

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      • So true, we drove in Tuscany, Italy – no problem.But Greece was just too dicey! We spent our 25th wedding anniversary in Greece, and stayed for 9 days and that was many moons ago, but ai still like the Greek foods, like baklava, and their version of chicken and rice with feta cheese, and so on! Jesh

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  34. The tied boat has me scratching my head too, but the rest of it all seems so relaxing and peaceful. That is assuming you’re not in a hurry of course. I’d love to visit one day but alas, too many hills, too many stairs methinks.
    Great shots!

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    • It’s funny you should mention Italy because Greece reminded me SO MUCH of her. It had all the elements I love – food, architecture, history – and some of the not-so-great features as well – ie bad drivers. How there isn’t major mayhem on their roads everyday boggles my mind.

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  36. Yah, what is that boat doing on the mountain. Does it flood in hydra, maybe? The first dirt has a beautiful Mother and child decor above it.

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  37. Oh, how lovely! The boat anchored to the stone fence outside someone’s house is different. I wondered for a second if the tide comes up that high? 😜 Otherwise what a pain to get it to the sea without a car or truck-trailer!
    Greece is one of the places on my Bucket List. I’d really love to get there one day. I love Greek food here I hope I’d love it there!

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    • My only thought is that the cost of mooring a small boat like this might not be worth it for some people. I have wheels for moving my kayak, perhaps they have some kind of wheelie thing for their boats? If I remember correctly, this photo wasn’t taken far from the harbour. It is however not the only one we saw ‘parked’ outside a residence.

      Greece was not on my must-do list. It was Gilles’ but I’m glad he talked me into it. It’s been one of my favourite vacations. We went off-season when the temperatures were mild and the crowds almost non-existent.

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  39. I’m glad you went back and found these and posted them! I used to go to camp in Greece as a teenager (my mom is Greek and she sent me to be indoctrinated – haha), and one of my favorite little islands was Hydra. It’s so fun to see your more current photos of it!

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    • Wow! Lucky you!! I wish my parents had sent me to Holland or Italy (where they were from) for a bit of cultural assimilation.

      After the chaos of Athens, Hydra was a peaceful respite. I could see that it would be easily packed with people during the height of tourist season.

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  40. Beautiful doors! I’ve never been to Greece but it’s definitely on my list. Interesting reply to TWB; I don’t think I like Greek food either… I guess it’s quite a bit different on the island. Kind of like eating “Mexican” food in the Midwest and deciding you don’t like it. Well… you haven’t actually eaten the real thing.

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    • Having the ‘real thing’ usually is quite different. Gilles would get so carried away wanting to try different things that after a while I stopped ordering. I knew he would eventually end up ordering way more food that the 2 of us could eat … and all of it was amazing.

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  41. Oh yes, Greece is an amazing place, although when I was there in June I had not yet discovered the world of doors… I was too enraptured by the other pleasure Greece has to offer: blue seas, blue skies, and wonderful food of course.

    Lieve

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  44. Dammit! The title of your post reminded me I left the house without eating breakfast and now I’m craving Greek food. Fresh or leftovers – who cares! Just get me some.
    I’ve always wanted to go to Greece – something about the sun on the water, the heavy emphasis on the colours blue and white, and of course – the fabulous food.
    Great post Joanne!

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