MILWAUKEE-NYC-ITALY-GREECE AND A DAY IN LONDON BLOG POST TEN

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

We always try to put at least one new destination in our itinerary every time we travel abroad. This time there didn't seem like we had a lot of opportunities for squeezing in a new destination. What we decided on was once we got to Greece we'd add a day trip to an island wed never visited.

You can only do so much searching on Google for the perfect Greek Island before you hit the "fake news" aspects of doctored pictures and solicited reviews. We weren't sure what to believe so we threw a dart at the map and ended up with Tinos. The online pictures portrayed Tinos as another quaint and picturesque village. The truth of the matter is iPhone photography and chambers of commerce propaganda can be a bit deceiving.

We're also not geography geniuses especially when it comes the Greek Cyclades Islands. Turns out Tinos is an island and when we finally found a map we could understand it is actually a very large island by Greek Isle comparison with over fifty communities.

We were only going to the city of Tinos on the island of Tinos meaning that the beautiful pictures we had seen could have been taken anywhere on the island and not necessarily from in the town of Tinos. Live and learn.

The expression on the face of the desk clerk at our hotel should have told us something about our trip planning. We thought this could be a little jaunt not requiring a full day or a guide. I think he might have thought otherwise but was too reticent to hurt our feelings by telling us we might have miscalculated on our plans.

Baring his concern we signed up for a 1:15 Fast Boat with a return at 6:30. It only takes thirty minutes to get there by snail boat so we felt we were giving ourselves plenty of time to see a photogenic little village.

We had great weather for a boat ride. We arrived on time, got off the boat and hopped into a cab to the center of town, about a two-minute ride we probably could have walked.

The town consisted mainly of two major streets both leading up hill. We chose the one most likely to have the best shopping. Well shopping isn't really the thing in Tinos unless you're looking for a Greek Orthodox religious icon or a five-foot novena candle. You get the picture. If religion is your thing Tinos is the destination for you.
We decided on grabbing lunch instead and it was the best part of our journey.

We now know the rules of restaurant selection when on a Greek Island. Never choose one located on a main street. It's a better choice to pick the side street versions where locals dine and this is what we did in Tinos.

That's how we ended up at Zeuki on a side street with just enough room for a couple of tables and a path for single-file travelers to pass through.

We ate light. You might not think so. We kept mostly to appetizers and everything was delicious. We started with Tinos wild artichokes marinated in olive oil and topped with fresh pepper and kalamata olives and capers.

Then we shared a plate of deep-fried tomato and zucchini balls

and an omelet stuffed with typical Tinos sausages spiced with wine and fennel seed and a melted coating of local cheeses

Our final plate of fried smelt were to be consumed whole, head and eyeballs included. This was the one thing Emmy said she was willing to try but only with her eyes closed. One bite and that was it. Rick ate most of them but the plate did go back half full.

After that indulgence we were ready for some shopping, another faux pas on our part. The stores in Tinos close for the afternoon and don't reopen until around six in the evening. Had we known that we might have shopped first and eaten later.
So what do you do if you can't shop?

First you climb the hill to the top. Don't ask why, but up we went to the church of Panagia Evangelistriia.

It explained a lot about the religious significance of Tinos. Architecturally it was very beautiful and very grand with magnificent stairways exposing views of fountains and dramatic vignettes at unexpected turns.

Serene courtyards with intricate tile floors and sculptural fountains dotted the complex.

Colonnades with robin's egg blue vaulted ceilings arched over the exterior paths leading to mysterious doorways all making for a very magical architectural journey as long as you didn't get sucked into the sanctuaries with the lit candles in hopes of granted prayers.

Well that took up a portion of an hour. With all the stores that weren't selling religious items closed we had no choice but to eat and drink until our boat was ready to sail.

We found a water's edge café that served Rick's new drink of choice: a Aperol spritz and Emmy and I had cappuccinos that we drew out for as long as we could.

In Tinos there is an annual pilgrimage where hundreds of worshippers crawl on their hands and knees up the 2,600 foot hill from our cafes vantage point to the church as a sign of their devotion. We had the time to watch an elderly woman make it up to the top. We had a lot of time to spare.

To top out the day our boat was an hour late and when we got back to Mykonos there were no cabs extending our return another hour and a half. Tinos tired us out. We should have lit one of those candles and prayed to have god call us a cab or a car service.