Greece

Ok, so the last couple of weeks have been absolutely insane!

August 16: My sister Skypes us from Chania, Crete (Greece, that is), and informs us that she is getting married...to her Greek boyfriend...in Crete...within a month.

August 23: The day is set for September 12th, we begin planning, freaking out, and buying plane tickets. Somewhere in all of this (I think shortly after the tickets were bought and there was no going back), I began to relax and ride the wave. After all, I was going to Greece, yo!

September 8: 6:30 am I board a plane to take a flight to Philly, then to Athens, then to Chania. 24 hours later, I am hugging my sister, meeting my new brother in law and his family, and being offered food.

Yes...the food. I could spend a month's worth of blogs telling you about my experiences. How wonderful the family was, how much love there is between my sister and her new husband, how gorgeous and warm the Mediterranean is, how the Greek language was nearly impossible even though I'd studied it for three years in college....



But this is a food blog. You want to hear about the food. And you will. Because I can't stop thinking about it.

I have been all around the US, Canada, and Mexico. I have also been to Tokyo, Jamaica, Ireland, London, and Paris. Hands down, this was the best food I have ever had in my life. My sister's new Greek family owns an Italian restaurant in the Venetian harbor in Chania called Veneto. This is where we ate every meal (did I mention for free?). These people just love to feed you. They give you twice as much as you ask for, and then try to give you seconds...and thirds....and most of the time I took it.



IT WAS SOOOOOO GOOD!


Everything was fresh, local, hand picked out by the restauranteurs, made with love (even the phyllo dough was hand made), and abundant. We had fish soup, rabbit stew, lamb in 10 different ways, more fish, and a ton of fresh fruits and vegetables (by the way, now I know why I
hate tomatoes. My palette somehow knew that they were all wrong. The tomatoes there I
loved!) The grapes tasted like candy. And ooooh the wine! Each glass was absolute perfection. And it never ran out.


And this was just the regular, every day food. For three days around the wedding we celebrated and feasted. It was literally the best of the best. Even my mom, who has viewed me as an insufferable food snob for the past few years finally said to me, "Now I know what you are talking about when you refer to good food!"




September 15: We came home. I think we are all a little lost now. We were first off very sad to say goodbye to all our new beloved family members. Also, there is a true hole. In my stomach. I have not known what to eat, because I know nothing will measure up. I made Raj take me to a Sicilian restaurant last night.

I am trying to be inspired, I really am, but at this point I am only discouraged. Even I, who thought I knew what good food was, had no idea until now. And it's literally on the other side of the world.