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Travel Chronicles & Lasting Impressions of Greeks (and the Greek diaspora):

What each of us sees and experiences on our travels to selected destinations varies extensively - to be sure.
What appeals, motivates or captures the attention of each tourist in a sense depends on their expectations and what they're looking for during their travels - what they stumble upon or happen to 'bump' into unexpectedly, along the way - and where the visitors are 'coming from', who they are (for we are all but mere products of our own environments, afterall). Our familial, social and cultural backgrounds bear heavily upon our views and subsequently influence our impressions.

How each traveler manages to convey their own accounts and personalized portrayals of a distant, nearby or foreign land is interesting enough - but it is the flair of expression, a contrast of viewpoints, and the creative imagination of individual travelers that is by far the most intriguing.

Below is a fine example of some alternative impressions that have been documented by a Greek-Aussie girl on a recent holiday in Italy. Whilst boyz exchange predictable views on the current soccer play-offs occurring throughout Europe, this 'koritsaki' sees the Greece vs Italy debate from a very different perspective ...

Koritsi Stin Athina - GREECE VS ITALY!
(source: www.greekcity.com.au )

No I'm not talking about the Euro soccer games that will take over the next 3 weeks of any Greeks life, I'm talking about why I was away for a couple of weeks as I gallivanted around in Italy. Thinking I'm a cool European with my new passport and proximity to the centre of the world, a sweet 2hours Athens to Rome - rather than 24 hour flights to get anywhere decent!

It's a common misconception that Italy and Greece have a lot in common, but as we were landing in Rome all I could see were these beautiful green pastures with charming farmhouses. It was the nature that gave it away. There was no dryness, none of the raw nature you see all throughout Greece. I then realized that this point of difference in the nature of the land exists as a difference in the culture and the people. Italians are more calm and 'flowing' whereas the Greeks are rough and spontaneous!

So what do you think I was most excited about? No it's not the strip of designer stores, but rather the sidewalks that existed alongside these stores. Yes Rome actually has nice big footpaths, I wasn't forced to walk in the middle of narrow cracked concrete! As the only thing we did was walk through this ancient city, and notice the Greek influences of course. It was nice to see how the Italians had maintained their old buildings. It made me sad to think of the jungle that is Athens and the potential that has been lost due to lack of preservation!

I got over that though when we were out to eat at 10pm, you know have a shower and relax before a tasty meal of pizza and pasta, and we were the last customers in the restaurant. Are you serious 10pm? Across the Mediterranean Greeks are just leaving the house for dinner and yet the Romans are snoozing in their non balconied apartments! As for bars, the only thing we found in central Rome were pub crawls run by young Aussies!

Maybe the Italians were just too busy with their espresso's and downing as many as possible for the mere price of 80cents, to worry about actually sitting down and enjoying a frappe for 5 hours. What do I mean? There was no cafe culture in sight, yes there was a coffee culture - great coffee, but Italians were not calling up their friends saying "let's go for coffee", the piazzas were full of tourist traps. Sit down, watch people, hang with friends, cafes: I missed the buzz of streets lined with cafeterias. So close yet so far ... perhaps some wood-fired pizzas and fresh pasta in Greece and id be in paradise ...

Greek beach bars, sidewalk cafes and tavernas - - pure indulgence. A zest for playing outdoors at every opportunity - tends to be associated with 'die hard' Greeks (φραπέ is simply the optional, added bonus).

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Βρήκες ακατάλληλη στιγμή να με ανταμώσεις. Eγώ δεν έχω τίποτα, πάλι σου το θυμίζω. Mια καρδια μου έμεινε ♥ παρ’την, σου την χαρίζω. Δεν έχω όνειρο, ούτε φτερά για να πετάξω ...

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