Lefkas in August

Another Greek post from the Ionian.  Or indeed, to be more specific, another Lefkas post.

This time from Nidri (Nydri / Νυδρί).   

First off I’d like to give a thumbs up to George, originally from Albania, who runs the Saranda Ola Kala taverna with his wife, Elizabeth, and their lovely daughters, Maria and Eleana.

At the time of visiting, it was crazy busy at the height of the season but George understood our dietary requirements, (Keto diet to control diabetes), and could not have been more accommodating or helpful.  

The taverna is decorated with dish towels from around the world, gifts from grateful customers, and while serving fresh, good Greek food, George entertains his customers and people in the street with colloquial phrases, like “cheers mate” said in perfect British accents, randomly shouting out “merry Christmas” and doing ball and cup juggling tricks in the street between taking orders.  (That may all sound a bit too ‘jolly’ and trying too hard but it works!).

George used to work on the Anna Maria ferry from Corfu to Paxos about twenty-two years ago and also used to do some acrobatics, all before he had four stents put in.  My notes also have something about his aunt, Raki, who is 77 years old but I have no idea what I was meant to remember about her!

George, Elizabeth, Maria and Eleana managed to work in the August heat but still bring that extra bit to their day to make sure everyone left smiling.  Thanks.

Meanwhile, almost opposite, on the other side of the road, is Cafe Pyxida, one of the many large cafes that opens both on totemain street and the harbour front and working there, is Glikeria.  

Glikeria also brought that extra something to work with her.  Looking after my other half, she was pandering to his every need, checking what size and shape mug he would like his coffee in, offering him hot milk if he preferred, that I jokingly complained she would show me up.  She immediately gave me a hug and withdrew the offer of hot milk from himself!  

When I asked if I could take her photo for the blog, like so many beautiful people, she was worried about how she looked but she is a truly gorgeous, lovely, genuine person.  Thanks Glikeria. 

So thank you to everyone above and thumbs up for making all our (Nydri) lives that bit better.

Now you've read this far, do you want to say thank you to anyone?  Well this is the place to do it.

If you would like to write a post to thank someone or tell us something nice that happened just get in touch and we would love to hear from you and to spread the thanks.  You don't have to know how to do the formatting and stuff, we'll help you with all that.  We just need some words and preferably some nice smiley photos.  (don't forget to ask if you can take them).  

This blog is for you, somewhere for you to have your say.  Thanks. 

Paxos, Italian food and London

It’s funny, I’ve always been good about bigging up strangers but never think to do it for friends.

But then I thought, how did this group of people working in a cafe become friends?  Because of their smiles and excellent service.

Caffe Italiano is a small restaurant cafe bar on the Greek, Ionian island of Paxos.  It is run and owned by the by Bartolo, originally from Bari in Italy.  

I love spending time there when on Paxos as the atmosphere is always one of great friendship; by all the staff making all their clientele feel like friends, they actually become friends.  It is the loveliest cause and effect circle.

There is Fiona, Bartolo’s wife, from Scotland, Daniel the chef, who we thought was Romanian, (not least as we visited him there in Bucharest), but no it turns out he’s from Transylvania and then there is Spyros, who lives in Athens but comes from a small village in Ioannina.  A truly international affair of an Italian restaurant cafe on a Greek island!

I hadn’t thought of doing a blog about them but then Spyros asked me why not and it was one of those lightbulb moments.  I am not a president that shouldn’t big up his own interests. (www.theguardian.com/trump - being written 3.3.19 - check the news of the day - this gets a big thumbs down), and just because they are friends now there is no reason I shouldn’t point out that these are folk that bring that extra smile to work and make everyone else’s day that much better for it, (added to some lovely food - thank you, Dani).

Spyros, Bartolo and Daniel

As well as being able to chill away hours with a coffee and a book, it’s a real hub of a meeting place and you can often find Ian of Il Pareo, https://en-gb.facebook.com/IlPareoPaxos/ the lovely next-door boutique selling gorgeous Indian and Balinese clothes and gifts, sitting at the cafe holding court.  You might also be lucky and catch the ever smiling Sam and Stuart of PaxosWeddings.com there.  Sam writes one of my favourite Paxos blogs Off Season Paxos https://offseasonpaxos.com I will probably get in trouble here for mentioning two lots of folk and then not a lot of others so forgive me, in Oscar’s style speech.

If you want to know more about Caffe Italiano they are on facebook at www.facebook.com/CaffeItalianoPaxosGaios and should be re-opening for the season some time in April until October.  But for now, a big thumbs up to Barto, Fiona, Daniel and Spyro, thank you for the smiles and look forward to more to come. 

And why might you ask has it taken me so long to post this thumbs up; oh life stuff but then this morning lovely Louise reminded me of the joy of thanking someone.  

We were at Prezzo in Northumberland Avenue the other evening, (after seeing the wonderful show Caroline Or Change https://carolineorchange.co.uk) and after we left, we were just getting to Charing Cross Station when the waiter ran up with my ‘phone which I had left in the restaurant.  I wasn’t thinking so didn’t get his name or anything else before he ran back to the restaurant but Louise, being one of the smiliest people I know, did think.  She followed up and wrote to Prezzo and we now know the lovely waiter who ‘saved me’ was Bajram.  So a big thumbs up and thank you to both Bajram and Louise.  

That's the end of a first post in a while but, don’t forget this blog is really for you, so if there is someone you would like to thank for bringing that bit extra to their work and your day, please do get in touch, details below. 

From Astoria, New York to Preveza, Greece

So I know I posted a blog last year saying it’s been a long time and hoping to get started again but....

Well I just couldn’t resist posting about Nicole and her smile making all our days brighter so maybe this will kick start the blog again.  Nicole reminded me why I started this blog in the first place - (first blog) - to promote the positive and say thank you to those doing their everyday job with a smile.

view of the commercial dock

So the boat was in Preveza. Preveza is a commercial port on the mainland of Greece on the Ionian sea and that's where I met Nicole.

Now we all know what a bad rap traffic wardens get and how it’s hard to hear a good word said about them.  Well in the boat world, the port police are a bit the same.  One goes into a port and the port police or their representatives come around to get the port fees each day.

Town Hall on the quay at Preveza

Normally this is the person everyone avoids.  Either they duck down below decks when the official is walking along and pretend they’re not there or one is just off the boat when they come by so they can’t collect the dues.

Not so with Nicole, (or Nicoleta as she is known in Greece).  Everyone I could see was making a point of catching her eye. Indeed she seemed to know most of the people by name and many people who didn’t necessarily owe any money, still made a point of stopping to talk to her.

view of Aktio from Preveza

Nicole was born in Greece but raised in Astoria, New York, returning to Preveza some years ago. 

Nicole and the "egg man"

When I asked her if I could write about her in the blog she said her cousin writes for People Magazine.  I pointed out this didn’t quite have the same circulation!  

When I took my pictures of her, she wanted to include “the egg man” and when I complemented her on doing her job with a smile, she referred me to her colleague Nick, who collects the money from the boats in the morning, telling me he’s just as nice if not nicer.  



Lovely self effacing 

A huge thumbs up to Nicoleta and I bet per boat moored she collects more money than other port police officer.  A few port police we know could take a tip!

I'd like to get this blog up and going again, so if you're reading this and you would like to say thank you to someone, to big up someone nice doing their job or just promote the positive, please do write in.  Don't worry if you don't know how to format for the internet or anything, I can help you do that.  All I need is your words about who it is and, if possible, some lovely smiley photographs.

Thanks for reading.

A Greek post

This is a mini post from the Ionian islands in Greece.  We have to make a little exception here to the term "staff" since on the islands in the tavernas in particular, nearly all the people who work are family. Of course there are exceptions but.... 

My first thumbs up and thank you goes to Yianna in her family cafe in Sivota on Lefkada (Λευκάδα - also known as Lefkas and a few other English variations).

Sivota has a big boating fraternity where sailing flotillas come in for one night and leave the next morning added to a few luxury motor yachts and the day to day yachties who spend their summers sailing around the beautiful Ionian.  However, because people come in, want serving and most of the time will never, ever come back this way, service can sometimes be a little perfunctory to get the numbers served without investing too much of one self.  Imagine, no one in a cafe one minute, then fifty English, Italian, German et al of all ages, wanting serving at the same time and then three hours later, no one again.  

Anyway, Yianna and her family were most definitely an exception.  We went in for a light lunch and had a lovely homemade beetroot dip followed by egg and chips with a chilled white wine, (okay, the lunch grew).  Yianna was funny and helpful to both us and in particular a table of Italians nearby who didn't have any Greek or English to understand the menus.  

Then, a rather unpleasant Belgium man came in off his footballer style motor boat; middle aged with paunch but still wearing a crop top with hot pant style shorts, a red bandanna tied on his head pirate fashion and dripping in jewellery.  You get the picture.  Whereas the Italians hadn't had the language to communicate, they made an effort and Yianna of course understood.  This "gentleman" used the method of saying the same word over and over, louder and louder within Yianna's personal space.  Yianna maintained her smile, and together with the whole cafe worked out what he wanted, (which she didn't have), and with a flourish she produced something alternative that she thought would please him, (it did), and the status quo was resumed.

So Yianna, thank you and a thumbs up  from us.

Staying in Sivota and next door, I would also like to give a thumbs up to the lovely guys in the Sivota Bakery but, my apologies,  I failed to get their names or photos).

Another person I failed to get a name or photograph for was the lovely lady cooking in one of our favourite tavernas, Trehantiri, in Vathi on Ithaka (Ιθάκη - aka Ithaki, Ithaca etc).  It was a very hot night and she handled an enormous influx of patrons brilliantly and I had one of the best pieces of chicken on a grill I can remember, and, all with such a warm smile.  So thank you and a thumbs up .

My last Greek post about service with a smile doesn't include a photograph or any names after some consideration, even though I did get lovely smiles on film, it just doesn't feel right and I hope you'll understand when I explain; we are now on Paxos, (Παξοί - Paxi), and we're sitting at a taverna at night, it's very hot again, still in the 30°s, (about 90°F), while the temperatures in the kitchens, which we can see must well be above 40°(about 104°F).

We could see this young woman in the kitchens doing all the washing up above the steaming hot water, and our companion, an Austrian yachtsman that lives in Greece, went and picked some bourgainvelia, and went over and gave them to her.  The smile he was rewarded with, and that she had on for the rest of the meal was truly a sight to behold.  Our decision to not use names or photographs was after consideration of the gossip that can occur in a small village and we wouldn't want any misunderstanding or a belief that there was more between this man and woman than this simple gesture.

Therefore a thumbs up both to the Austrian and the washer-up and in place of their smiles, a pretty picture of Paxos.  

Don't forget, if you have someone to thank or a smile to comment on, just send in a post and share it with the rest of us.   Look forward to hearing from you.