+Description=
P>
Praise for Fodor's Exploring Guides"Astonishingly hip." -- New York Daily News
"Handsomely designed...Fun to leaf through...Conveys a sense of what each destination is like."
-- The Los Angeles Times
"Authoritatively written and superbly presented...Worthy reading before, during, or after a trip."
-- Philadelphia Inquirer
"Concise, comprehensive, and colorful." -- Washington Post
Fodor's Exploring Guides are the most up-to-date, full-color guidebooks available.
Covering destinations around the world, these guides are loaded with photos, essays on
culture and history, descriptions of sights, and practical information. Full-color
photos make this a great guide to buy if you're still planning your itinerary (let the
photos help you choose!) and it's a perfect companion to a general guidebook, like a
Fodor's Gold Guide.
All the great sights plus the history and anecdotes that bring them to lifeExtraordinary coverage of history and culture
Itineraries, walks and excursions, on and off the beaten path
Architecture and art
Practical tips and full-color maps and photosGetting there and getting around
When to go and what to pack
Quick tips on where to sleep in every price range
Savvy restaurant picks for all budgets
THE ISLANDS AREGeography
Island Landscapes
Geology, topography, and climate have combined in Greece to create some of the most stunning
scenery in the Mediterranean -- helped, of course, by a legendary blue sea that is glimpsed at almost
every turn when you are traveling in the islands. The Greek Islands are mostly the peaks of an
otherwise submerged landmass. Their appearance is so varied that it is impossible to make
generalizations: many of the larger islands have extremely fertile districts, as in the interior of
Naxos, for example, while some smaller islands appear to have been worn down to the bare rock.
Other small islands, such as Paxoi and its tiny neighbor Antipaxoi, in the Ionian Sea, are very
fertile -- Paxoi is entirely given over to olive cultivation while Antipaxoi is dedicated to
grapes.
The People
Meeting the People You might not be invited into people's homes, but even on a first meeting -- out strolling along
the waterfront or lingering over a coffee or an ouzo -- islanders are usually welcoming and open.
Their hospitality, like so much else on the islands, is shaped by the sea. History has taught
islanders to be wary of invaders; you might be met with suspicion if you hint of any plans to settle,
but otherwise you are welcome because you have stopped on their island, of which they are proud. Often
you will find yourself being shown around or told about the place with candor, wit, and humor.
Festivals
The Greek year is punctuated by festivals. There are saints' days every day of the year, and
many traditional festivals are maintained locally, celebrating everything from harvest to the arts.
The Lent Carnival is a time of freedom and excess. If you are lucky enough to be on an island during
a festival, join in, for a glimpse of real island life.
Taking Part
Greeks are extremely welcoming to outsiders: if you happen to be on an island at a time of
public celebration, feel free to join in. For religious celebrations, Orthodox church services are
generally more informal than those of Roman Catholic or Protestant churches. People come and go,
children run around and, provided you are suitably respectful, you will be welcome.
Food and Drink
Greeks love to spend evenings talking, laughing, drinking, and eating. A meal is always shared,
wine flows freely and bread is abundant as both body and spirit are satisfied. Mealtimes tend to be
late, leisurely, and, above all, are there to be enjoyed by everyone.
Eating Habits
Greeks eat little in the morning, so hotel breakfasts are often poor. It may be better to shop
for a picnic breakfast of bread, fruit and rich, thick Greek yogurt with honey. In comparison with
most visitors, Greeks eat the main meals of the day late: in Greek homes lunch is usually served after
2pm, and dinner at 10 or 11, although restaurants do serve meals earlier than that. Children are
welcome and Greek cuisine offers several dishes to their taste. Many dishes are cooked in the morning,
so food is often lukewarm, sometimes cold, but Greeks do not complain as they believe that hot food is
bad for the stomach.
Ordering Food
Before ordering, Greeks ask the waiter what's cooking, as specialties are often not on the
menu. You may want to look at the menu to familiarize yourself with the Greek names of food or to get
an idea of the price range, but ask the waiter if there is anything else.
Mezedes
Starters or mezedes are served with ouzo or beer as a complete light meal or at the beginning
of a larger meal. As soon as Greeks arrive in a restaurant drinks are ordered, a variety of dishes
is put in the middle of the table to be shared by everyone and the evening is under way. Anything
served in portions smaller than a main course will do, but there are a few classics: choriatiki or
Greek salad, tzatziki (yogurt with cucumber and garlic), grilled feta cheese, ochtapodi
(grilled or boiled octopus), melitzanosalata (eggplant mousse), taramá (fish-roe salad),
and tiropitákia (spinach and cheese pies).
Main Courses
Greeks are the biggest meat-eaters in Europe. The most common meat dishes are souvlaki
(lamb, veal or pork brochette), brizoles (chops), keftedes (meatballs), biftekia
(Greek hamburger), and kotopoulo (chicken). On special occasions a spit-roast lamb
(arni psito), kid (katsiki) or suckling pig may be available.
Restaurants and Kafeneio
Local Knowledge
Greeks love going to restaurants with company or parea, a group of friends or the extended
family. Like most Greek cuisine, Greek restaurants are easy-going, apart from a few more formal
places in Athens and Mykonos. The best advice is to choose a restaurant where Greeks eat, remembering
that they dine later in the evening. This may well mean giving the sea and the often tourist-oriented
waterfront a miss and venturing inland. Simple tavernas, filled with Greek families around long
tables, frequently produce the most delicious food and their waiters do not need to tout for business.
Where to Eat
An estiatorio is the closest thing to a restaurant, often with French or Italian
cuisine. A taverna is a straightforward place with plastic-covered tables and, a menu of mezedes,
grills, and stews. A psarotaverna specializes in fresh fish. These can be tiny beach cabins, where
fishermen cook the day's catch, or expensive waterfront tavernas with superb displays of fish,
seafood, and lobster. A psistaria is a grill house specializing in char-grilled meats, which
often serves kokorétsi, a sausage made of offal, or a lamb's head.
The kafeneio is the coffee bar where from morning till evening men sip coffee or play cards and
backgammon. In small villages without tavernas the woman of the house may serve home-cooked food or
offer some local cheese.
