Sunday, September 6, 2009

What I did on my summer vacation...

Consider this post a postcard...and start with "Wish you were here."
We went to visit family in Greece. We have been there before, but this time we decided to take in some of the sites. BadKitten is all about ancient Greece and loves languages (especially the ones people don't speak anymore...) We flew into Athens, rented a car and hit the road.
Because I have some serious jet lag going on, I have been up since 4am getting all sorts of things done. I already got the next chart for Dark Star posted at the Summer Squares group, I have a new piece I knit (a traveling project) blocking, and I am on my fourth load of laundry! The sunset is from a ferry traveling from the mainland to Lefkimi, on the island of Corfu.
Here is a darling hummingbird who visited my father-in-law's yard in Lefkimi every day we were there.
And here I am, knitting in Athens. As long as I have the correct projects with me I can knit any time and any place...
The food is very good in Greece. Did you know that? Here you can see a lovely salad (that Kitten and I made...)
Here are some lovely lentils that Aunt Lenio made. She gave us a cooking lesson, so now we can cook like her at home. We wrote her technique down plus took some pictures, because she never measures anything...
Here is a very pretty shop in the old part of Corfu Town. I didn't get anything, but I love how all of it looks.
We got these funky little shrimp (if you look closely you can see fingers in the picture for a size check) at a Taverna on a bluff not far from Lefkimi. The food is great but the view is better.
Like I said, the view is better...
We took a ride on a small motor boat from near Lefkimi to a pretty harbor on the mainland.
We drove all over and visited Delphi to check in with the Oracle. It was very cool. Hot, but cool.
We also visited the Oracle of the Dead, which is also very interesting and cool. Again, hot but cool...
And we went to the Acropolis. It was hot, cool and crowded! The new museum opened and it is amazing. I suggest you check it out if you are in Athens. And so you don't think I neglected my stash, let us start with yarn...and there was not too much to be had. I know there is a yarn shop (one) in Athens. I didn't have time to go there. I heard rumor there was one yarn shop in Corfu Town. I tried to find it, but could not...and guess what? I found yarn around the corner from my father-in-law's house in Lefkimi!
So if you are in Lefkimi, stand on the bridge in the center of the old part of town and look down the river toward the sea. Turn right and cross the street, walking straight down the only road you see. In one block you will see this:
This shop has fabric, "dry goods" and YARN! They had some Italian acrylic that BadKitten just loves. She got a bunch and has been crocheting hats and fingerless gloves. They had an excellent selection of fine cottons, but only in white and ecru. I got some nice cotton.
A German family who vacations every year at Aunt Lenio's beach cottages knew we were coming and brought me two balls of this very nice cotton. They know me...
And this is the cotton I bought at the little store in Lefkimi.
At the Acropolis Museum they had the most lovely display of spindle whorls. They were gorgeous and so well preserved! As I looked at them I plotted how I might have one for myself. Surely they have many more than they need, as you can see in the postcard...
And would you believe it!? At the gift shop they had handmade reproductions. The reproductions were each unique and I picked one out for myself! Above is the top view and below is the side view.
And finally, everyone knows you can find beads in Athens, but did you know there is a nice, little bead shop in Corfu Town? Neither did I. Here is the address (in English and also in Greek below.)
I bought some vintage seed beads (European) in something about a 10/0 (green luster) and something like a 6/0 (mat blue.) I also got some little eyes and some shell beads that are hard to see.
Now I have to finish my laundry and take a nap. I will be back soon with cheesecake pictures of Dark Star. Until then, knit on!

8 comments:

  1. Looks like you had a fabulous time. Looking at the lentils made me so hungry!

    But...I think your hummingbird might well be a moth. It looks like Macroglossum stellatarum, which is also known as the Hummingbird Moth.

    Are we going to see more of your traveling knitting soon?

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  2. Yarn and beads=a great trip! Greece looks like fun.

    I agree with Mary abour your bird/moth. If you double click on the photo, you can see its antennae. Beautiful flowers!

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  3. Oh my, that looks like it was immensely fun! I had to laugh at the idea of you finding beads and yarn on your vacation. Your photographs are stunning, but I especially liked the interior of that lovely food store. Welcome back!

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  4. Sounds like you had an awesome trip. Would love to visit Greece someday. I'm going to be the third to go with hummingbird moth. We get those here and they are really cool. My humming birds are about to leave us until next spring.
    PS Loved the spindles.

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  5. Love the fabulous photos. Looks like you had a great time.

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  6. Well I agree with the above posters. There are no hummingbirds in Europe unless they are in a zoo or are being kept as pets (if that is possible). The hummingbird is indigenous to the Americas. That is a kind of moth.

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  7. Great fun to see your photos! Sounds like a wonderful trip for all the senses.
    Beautiful food, spindles, views,flowers, and even yarn and beads!
    Sue in CA

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  8. All right! I can not belive that I befriended a moth! I am a bird woman, but I am not really a moth woman...although I must agree with all of you. It appears to be a hummingbird-moth. Horrors...

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