[June 2025] On our tour of eastern Crete, Greece, we were finally taken to a restaurant.
Lunch was included in the tour.
We were starving.
We stopped at a restaurant in a neighbourhood where construction materials are being excavated, seen on the way to Vai Palm Beach.
I think the name of the restaurant was Taverna Natural.
I had underestimated the tour lunch, but the quantity and quality were excellent.
The six tour participants and our guide sat around a table in the garden.
We started with tzatziki and aubergine paste, followed by Greek salad and rice-stuffed peppers.
The main course was roast chicken.
For dessert, we had sweet watermelon.
The foods were simple but delicious and the portions were generous.
We ate them happily and drank the white wine made locally.
Even taking into account the fact that we were hungry, I think the meal was excellent.
Here, I asked our guide, “Even though Greece is surrounded by the sea, it seems like Greeks don’t eat much fish. Why is that?”
The guide named George explained, “Seafood is expensive, doesn’t fill you up, and doesn’t leave you feeling satisfied.”
George is 26 years old.
I thought that was a typical comment from a young man.
We also talked about how important Easter is for Greeks.
They go on a meat- and alcohol-free diet for 40 days in preparation for the Easter festivities.
Apparently, this comes from Christ’s 40-day fast in the wilderness.
Eggs are an essential part of Easter celebrations around the world, but in Greece, they paint eggs red.
This is said to represent the blood of Christ.
And apparently, the Saturday before Easter is a time for partying.
The annual revelry, with so many casualties that people are killed or injured, sounded similar to New Year’s Eve in southern Italy.
Come to think of it, I remember my husband telling me there’s an expression that goes, “Italians and Greeks have one face, two souls,” which describes a similar sense of familiarity.
It’s during meals like these that the identities of your tour companions become a little clearer.
A British couple boasted about their daughter who is in the navy, while a mother and child from Germany boasted about their dog.
After a harmonious time and feeling very satisfied after lunch, we returned to the town of Agios Nikolaos.
