Makis has been building his house since the late nineties. The house is actually where he and his family lived when he was a young boy. The stall where they kept the goats, sheep and donkey is now the kitchen. This also was where he and his brothers would bathe. Makis has memories of the goats licking him while he bathed by the fire.
Because this house has many memories for he and his family, Makis has worked incredibly hard to rebuild it. In the past decade, he has rebuilt everything from the ground up. There are now two floors, three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a large, open living area and kitchen. However, up until last year, the house was empty. The “living room” had one chair, a TV and a milk crate as a coffee table (which of course was for his bottle of Jack Daniels and a plastic cup). The kitchen was nothing but a toaster oven and empty fridge.
It wasn’t until we met did he finally have the extra push to finish the house. Now there is a fully installed and functional kitchen, two beautifully refinished antique brass beds (that actually belonged to his great Grandfather), a dining table and a large wardrobe in the bedroom for storage and clothes. It slowly is becoming more like a home.
I am most excited and pleased to say that we now have a couch, a desk for the laptop and a small bookshelf in the living room! The day we arrived back in Corfu, Christos and Haley gave us their old couch to make room for their new one. In the past, we had two deck chairs for our seating. Second hand or not, I am so HAPPY to have this couch and finally be able to sit comfortably and cuddle during a movie!
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| Makis comfortably watching TV on our new couch! |
Our new desk and bookshelf are also second hand – I actually found them in the garbage! We stripped, sanded and painted them and they look beautiful in the house. With the new couch and furniture, it finally feels like a living room, a place you want to hang out in or just simply relax and read.
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| The desk BEFORE. |
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| The desk AFTER. |
We had a piece of glass custom cut to fit the size of the top of the desk and I placed one of my favourite scarves underneath for some added pretty-ness. Unfortunately we didn't have the drawers for the desk so I stacked magazines in the slots instead. Love it!
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| Our new bookcase! |
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I really wish I took a photo of this BEFORE I painted it. I found this beside the garbage bins in the village. It was a hideous poopy orange-brown but I knew I could make it work. I sanded and painted it espresso brown and now it houses all my books, magazines, photos and little objects we love.
Besides working on things for the house, Makis and I spent a lot of our first week back out and around Corfu. We visited his friends Dimitri and Sofia, and their daughter Georgia (but we call her GoGo). She’s only four years old and is also Makis’ Goddaughter. Every time we visit them, Makis always likes to bring her a present. Since Carnival is coming up next month, we bought her a princess costume and she LOVED it!
A few nights later, they came over to our place for dinner. This is the dinner party disaster I mentioned in the previous blog. Whenever we visit them, Sofia always cooks for us, so I wanted to return the favour. I decided to make spaghetti and meatballs, with garlic bread. I thought this would be a guaranteed win – I mean, who doesn’t like spaghetti and meatballs? Not the Greeks, apparently.
After plating and serving the meal, Dimitri asked Makis what the sauce was made of. “Well, a number of things but mainly tomatoes”. Blank face. “I’m allergic to tomatoes”.
Yep, that’s right. Makis BEST friend and father of his GODDAUGTHER is allergic to tomatoes and Makis claims he DIDN’T KNOW. Uuuuuuuuuugh.
And it got worse. Since I plated the spaghetti for everyone, I rationed the meatballs between the five of us and put the sauce on top. I didn’t have any extra sauceless meatballs! So of course I tried my best to wipe them clean of the sauce he was allergic to and served them on plain spaghetti. Now you know when you make pasta and leave it in the pot for a while after it has been cooked and it gets kind of hard and sticky? Yeah, that’s how the spaghetti was at this point. So the poor guy had to eat wiped down meatballs on sticky, plain pasta. At least he liked the garlic bread.
The whole evening would have been better if they had at least complimented what I had made. His wife Sofia who ate the spag the way it was intended to be eaten did not say ANYTHING! No “Mmm”, or “This is tasty” or “Good job Kristal!” Nothing at all. What a disaster.
I know my spaghetti and meatballs were good. They’re all crazy.
On a different and much more enjoyable evening, Makis and I saw Little Fockers with Christos and Haley. The cinema in Corfu town is in an old building and only screens one or two movies every evening. The funniest thing about the theatre is that they sell alcohol at the concession. Only in Greece can daddy order a beer when he takes the kids to see Harry Potter.
The following day was beautiful and sunny, so Makis and I headed back to Corfu Town. We stopped for a cappuccino in Kanoni first. Kanoni is on a hill that overlooks the sea and two monasteries, one of which is on a small island. It is the most popular place in Corfu for tourists but luckily for us, there are no tourists in January. The top of the hill houses many restaurants, coffee shops and the only Starbucks on the island. Unfortunately, it was closed for the off-season.
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| The view of the two monasteries in Kanoni. |
I thought this an interesting example of how different the pace of life for the Greeks is compared to North Americans. At home, there is a Starbucks everywhere, not to mention all the Blenz, Waves and Tim Horton’s. Everyone is constantly in a rush to get somewhere and have their multi-daily fix of coffee in a paper cup. Here in Corfu, coffee shops are like lounges. Everyone sits down, drinks their coffee (from a ceramic cup - not paper) and has one or two cigarettes. There’s no rush, no hurry and no fuss. Although I am disapproving of the habitual smoking, I love this relaxed way of life.
Anyway, back to our day in Corfu Town. A short drive from Kanoni is a famous garden called Mon Repos. It was the Royal Estate for many British and Greek Royals with its name meaning “My place of Rest” in French. Our visit to Mon Repos was a first for both Makis and I. It is the perfect hidden garden in the center of town that is quiet, green and luscious. It's no Stanley Park but still a great place for a Sunday afternoon walk.
After Mon Repos, we headed to the Old Fortress in Corfu Town - another place I had never been. I think we were still feeling "touristy" after just being in Vancouver. We had a great afternoon taking photos and exploring new places. That's one of my favourite things about being here - the possibilities and new places to see are endless!
