Limnos

I've been going to Limnos since I was 11 months old. I learned to walk there. I learned to fish there. I had my first crush there. I've been to baptisms, weddings and funerals there. It is more home to me than any place on earth.

For those that dont know where it is, Limnos is a medium sized island in the northern Aegean sea, about 3 islands down from the mainland of Greece and deangerously close to the western shores of Turkey. When most folks think of Greek islands they think of Myknonos and Santorini. They dont know that's what they're thinking of, but the white and blue buildings of the cycladic and dodecanese islands are prettier on postcards than what is more common I guess.

Limnos does have a pretty storied history though. It was a key launching point for naval battles ranging from some small war against a little town called Troy to berthing large warships during WWI. There is also a large Genoan castle in the main town of Myrina which dates back to the 14th century. Granted you wont find the magestic ruins of Athens, Rhodes or Crete here, which makes me guess that Limnos must have been a rarely visited gem back during the Golden Age too.

By first impression Limnos would look non-descript, barren and boring by tourism standards. Limnos is not touristy, although it is becoming more and more visited or should I say, discovered. Limnos doesn't have villages of neatly stacked, pristine white buildings, massive cliffs, black sand beaches, miles of olive groves or world renown nightclubs or boutiques. Limnos is genuine. It is arid. It is rocky. It lacks much vegetation. You'll not find a drunken northern European roaming the streets at 3am. You wont be kept awake by the incessant 'bmp-pss, bmp-pss, bmp-pss' of discoteques.

Limnos does have gorgeous beaches like Keros Beach and Evgati. It has amazing restaurants like Mantella. It has great nightlife with clubs like Karagiozis. It has breathtaking sunsets over Mt. Athos (100 miles away) and sunrises over Turkey. Myrina, the capital and home to about 8000 people has more life than many cities of millions that I've been to. I've been going there for more years than I can remember and somehow on every trip I seem to see or experience something new. It's quaint, it's quiet, it's unspoiled and it's mine.

With that, I decided to sum up in images what Limnos is to me and what it has meant to me over 35 years. My Limnos.

Day 1 - NYC

On the way to Greece we had a full day layover in New York City. Rather than sit around fabulous Newark airport all day, we ventured into the city to have lunch with some friends and give my wife the chance to get the all-important pedicure.

We took the train in during morning rush hour, arrived at Penn Station and walked down to Chelsea, which is one of our favorite areas and also the home of Bloomies nails, E's favorite mani-pedi shop. We ducked into The Garden of Eden, which is one of my favorite grocery shops ever! Grocery doesn't do it justice, it's really just a tiny Euro-style market. Anyway, we popped in to get something to eat on the run, and awaited Bloomies 10am opening.

This may sound shitty, but my favorite way to spend my time in New York is by myself, walking around all day listening to my ipod. Few things in my life beat that. There's a sort of magic to the feeling of being in this hugely dense metropolis, surrounded by millions of people, yet feeling like in a world of my own with my own personal soundtrack setting the mood. It's the best. Anyway, I knew the day would go fast, so I didn't get the chance to hit may favorite shops (Barney's, Bloomindale's and Prada) but I did get to get away for a bit and walk down to one of my favorite parks, Madison Square Park. It's beautifully situated at the intersection of 5 streets and anchored by the stately and timeless Flatiron Building. Here are some of my NYC pics.











The rest of the day entailed a bit more walking, a nice lunch with my wife and 2 close friends, then a mad rush back to the airport to make our 5:30pm flight to Athens.

Back from Greece

Well, we have been back from Greece since Wednesday and I am still in that hungover state where I'm constantly pondering what is it that I'm doing with my life. I've been back at work for a week already - which has felt awkward, like the first day of school and how it feels sort of uncomfortable seeing everyone.

I have also had to get our house back in order after 3 weeks of our 2 cats ruling the joint. It was a mess! Hair everywhere! Our poor house sitter made it a measley 2 days before she was defeated by her Kryptonite, which showed up in the form of cat dander.

Mostly though I've been just generally moping around wondering why I'm here. I know what you're thinking, nobody likes to come back from vacation and if the experience was great, you always think 'wow, why dont I live here, then I could be on vacation everyday!'. Well, I'm not delusional enough to think that. To me it's more of a lifestyle thing. The Greeks have a healthier work-life balance. I know what you're thinking now too 'work-life? The Greeks don't work?!?'. Well, I'm here to tell you that they do...just less than the rest of us.

While I was away, I had big plans to get back on the blog wagon and post daily with great stories accompanied by beautiful or funny pictures. Well, Greece may be great for lots of things, but internet access isn't one of them. I have much to tell, but now it must all be recounted from memory although this also allows for some creative embellsihments for anything that may have been mundane.

Anyway, I'm back, I'm unhappy and I'm ready to tell the world all about it!