Can't stay away from Arachova!Jul 28 '04 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Pros: Great people, beautiful surrounding scenery, good food, lots of crafts Cons: Very mountainous for hiking Recommended: Yes, definitely! True to our promise, we had to return to Arachova, about a fifteen-minute drive from Delphi. This time we search the end of town nearest Delphi for accommodations, and were lucky to find anything on a Saturday night. The whole tiny town with narrow, almost one-lane, streets was crowded with locals who came in from the countryside to socialize and get away. We got the last room at Filoxenia, a ski resort. The room was large with a kitchen center consisting of a stovetop for heating water, a small refrigerator with cheese and milk for coffee, some hard bread and packaged sweet rolls. The bathtub was square, with a built-in seat and portable shower. We also discovered it was necessary to flip a switch to get any hot water! Since we couldn't park there, we searched and found one on a quiet, dark, side street. It seemed wise to just take what we would need for one night with us, instead of lugging our suitcases up and down the very steep, cobbled or brick streets. So we packed our backpacks with those items, and walked back. By then we were starving, having only eaten a tangerine in the car for lunch, so we set out to find a suitable restaurant. We settled on Pomodori, a pizza parlor where they tossed the crust in the front window, drawing a crowd outside to watch. Our table in the balcony, overlooked this activity, and when the crust was just right, the young man called up and asked what we wanted on it. The he heaved it into an igloo-shaped oven for cooking. It was very good when finally delivered, and not greasy at all! Thinking it would be wise to wear off some calories before retiring for the night, we climbed 482 steps to the a church at the top of the mountain, from which we had the most spectacular view of the mountainside with it's twinkling lights. Back in town, we just had to mingle with the people, so stopped in at Sakhs for grilled formeila, a cheese only made in Arachova. It was served with lime juice, a nice combination. We could tell that was a good restaurant because it was crowded to overflowing, and the smells were wonderful! In the morning it was clear, but by the time we got dressed, fog was just rolling in through our open window. Clothes washed out the night before had dried, though, because we put them on the hot water room heaters. A tea concocted of lemon tea, milk and sugar, actually tasted good, and warmed us up. We took the packages of dried toast, honey and jam along for lunch, and then stopped at Celene's for yogurt and honey, a dish Greek people eat for breakfast, or for dessert anytime. It's wonderful! We were early to arrive, and enjoyed watching people coming in and waking up. Most fun to see were the families relaxing before or after church. Since the sun came out, we again climbed the steps to church to take some pictures and peek inside. The chandelier was golden with some red on it, and had places for candles. In one corner was a nitch with a carved, covered container which could have carried a person in it. Then there was a silver raised icon with a painted face inserted on the figure of Jesus, we thought. People had just come out from services and were all eating something that looked like bread or cake. We had seen that custom in one other small village, too. Continuing up the mountain, we thought we must be crazy, and marvelled at how people were able to maneuver cars up the steep pitches with such narrow streets (some with steps in the middle for walking) and sharp curves. The fog came and went as we continued on to the other end of town where there was a small hotel called Parnassos, (where we stayed before)overlooking the tall Clock Tower. At a local craft shop we found some attractive embroidered pillow covers and some fur slippers for souvenirs. And a visit to a cheese shop had us leaving with some of their famous local cheese, Formeila, and a crock of yogurt to take along. Arachova is such a charming town with friendly people, good food, unusual homemade crafts, and great scenery!  |
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