Mental Vacation to Greece

Carrie in Santorini
Originally uploaded by gyatman.

Those of you fortunate enough to have Greek friends (I say this out of respect for our Greek friends...and because they read this as well) will most likely understand that in the summer months...our Hellenic friends migrate back to Greece, the village (horio) and Islands. Carrie and I have many Greek friends (like Len in the past postings), and consequently are now quite alone in Astoria...despite being surrounded with older Greek-American Astoria residents. The old folks...they're just not the same, don't like to visit the Beer Garden, like to be in bed by 9:00pm, wake up too early and most importantly can't move very fast. Sorry Yia Yia and Papou...we just can't hang out anymore.
The point to this post however is this...I'm mentally visiting Greece each day when typing away at my computer, watching the clock tick steadily toward the weekend and wondering "what if I just left right now....just got up and walked right the F out?" Never doing it of course...because I lack the courage, job leads and the healthy bank account to do so.
Basically put however we miss the horiatiki, souvlaki, frappes , light background music (in Greek of course) and most importantly the company of friends...conversations influenced by coffee, cigarettes and typical Greek emotion. So, in an attempt to place the final touches on my Greek Mental Vacation I'll mention some Greek spots in Astoria...if you're in the neighborhood...to help out.

Stamatis
Telly's
Lefkos Pyrgos
Taverna Kyclades
Titan Foods

It must be noted however that I do have a beautiful Greek girlfriend (posing perfectly in the pic) to ease me through our time of Greek separation anxiety (Again I say this out of respect for my Greek girlfriend...and because she may read this as well). So in the end, although our friends are away for the summer, hopefully they'll be back soon...with stories to tell and time to spare. Until then.....Kala Taxidia (Good Travels)!