Saronida shore walk

Saronida is the shore town outside of Athens where I've been spending my summers. It reminds me of my Turkish-occupied Cyprus town of Kyrenia, where I spent a large part of my childhood. There's a beautiful municipal beach in Saronida where I watch the same families and clutches of children explore the rock pools, catch fish or learn to dive. I fell in love with this place ever since an octopus came to greet me as I first put my toes into the water!

The municipality has created a lovely shore path that they extended year after year. We were happy to see that even during the lean years they were able to complete it and extend a wonderful amenity to the town.  

 

 I love the indigenous shrubs, the wild thyme and other wildflowers that frame the path.

Benches to watch the sunset

Small beaches or boat launches dot the way and a swimmer may walk down to his or her favorite swim spot.

I'm mesmerized when the surf is up and it crashes against the rocks. I could watch it for hours.

Enjoy!

Maria

 

 

 

Worshiping at theTemple of Poseidon-Sounio Greece

The ancient Temple of Poseidon (built ca. 440BC) at Sounion as it stands today

There is a temple in ruin stands,

Fashioned by long forgotten hands;

Two or three columns, and many a stone,

Marble and granite, with grass o’ergrown!

Out upon Time! It will leave no more

Of the things to come than the things before!

Out upon Time! Who for ever will leave

But enough of the past for the future to grieve

O’er that which hath been, and o’er that

which must be:

What we have seen, our sons shall see;

Remnants of things that have pass’d away,

Fragments of stone, rear’d by creatures of clay!

 

                                      Lord Byron

                             Excerpt from The Siege of Corinth

On a promontory high over the sea, at the tip of Attiki, stands the ancient Temple of Poseidon. Myth has it that King Aegeas tumbled from the cliffs when his son Theseas forgot to change the sails of his vessel as he returned from Minoan Crete after slaughtering the Minotaur. Aegeas had asked that the sails be changed from mourning black to jubilant red if his son and the other youths sent as a tribute to Crete, to feed the Minotaur, returned alive.

Map of Temple site

A sailboat off the coast of Sounion glides by

a section of a marble column

Theseas and the other 13 youths(7 girls and 7 boys) were so happy to make it back alive, they neglected to change the sails. King Aegeas, who waited for this son's return atop the rock at the Temple of Poseidon, spotted the black sails and took that as a sign that his only son had perished. He tumbled to his death off the cliffs into the sea below
That sea, has been called the Aegean ever since.

Overlooking the Aegean sea

Modern day worshipers

Sounion anchorage below the Temple

We visit the Temple at sunset, imagining the processions of ancients bearing offerings to the Sea God. We walk in their footsteps and worship alongside.

Enjoy!

Maria
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Saronida Restaurant-Cooking with Angeliki and Stavros in Greece

Yum!Stuffed peppers and tomatoes

Eggplant stuffed with meat sauce, béchamel sauce and topped with grated cheese. Yum!

 

One of my favorite places to have dinner in Saronida, Greece is the Saronida Restaurant of Mr. Stavros and his wife, Angeliki. It's down home Greek cooking at its best! I've always wanted to visit their kitchen and witness the culinary alchemy that produces succulent, flavorful dishes but had never had the chance until recently.

Stavros and Angeliki welcomed me smiling into their spotless kitchen, even though they were in the process of cooking for the evening's crowd.

I was impressed by the freshness and quality of their ingredients and the pride which they take in cooking traditional Greek recipes with locally grown products. They only use olive oil for cooking, grown in their own groves and pressed in the local Messinia olive press. The meats are always Greek, the eggs come from their own chickens and the rooster stewed in wine is also from their own flock. The olives are cured by them and the quince preserves served over Greek yogurt are made by Angeliki from quince grown in her yard in her hometown, Drakoneri, Messinia.

Angeliki's Quince Preserves

eggs from their own chickens!

 

I'm impressed by the amount of work involved and by Stavros' and Angeliki's good nature despite the heat in the kitchen and the preparation. They are not new to this business, they've been at it for 24 years, since they moved upstairs from the restaurant with their young children. Those were hard years but with a philosophy of cooking simply good dishes using only the best ingredients they've built a loyal clientele that dines there night after night.

There's nothing like sitting in their large courtyard under the stars and dining on specialties like roasted lamb, stuffed peppers, Greek salads, feta cheese and pints of ice cold draft beer.

Next time you're thinking about where to go on vacation you should consider Saronida, in Attiki. It has one of the most wonderful beaches and that might be reason enough, yet Saronida Restaurant's culinary feasts are a reason to visit in and of itself!

Enjoy!

Maria