Frikasé a la Yaya...in Elassona!

A wonderful supper of "Arnaki Frikasé", salad, tzatziki and bread.This is a very traditional Greek dish, usually eaten around Christmas time. It is made from lamb, romaine lettuce with parsley, dill and lemon for flavor. It is perfect to warm you up on those cool winter evenings, but i love it anytime. If ever you are lucky enough to be invited to a Greek home for this dinner you may never want to leave. 

My Yaya prepared it for me as a special treat when i went to visit her in Elassona last night. Elassona is a town in northern Thessaly at the foot of Mount Olympus. It is a very ancient place that has been occupied for at least a few thousand years. Even Homer mentions it in his writings. There is not much in the way of archeological sites here, i believe it is because the modern town is built upon the old as it has always remained inhabited. 

The town has two rivers, Elassonitis and Titarisios running through it with four bridges, one being a very ancient foot bridge. This is a great place to use as a base camp for exploring the western side of Mount Olympus. For those of you interested in a longer (permanent ?) stay there is the beautiful Virgin Mary of Olympus Monastery that sits upon the hillside above the town.

The Virgin Mary of Olympus (Παναγία Ολυμπιώτισσα) Monastery over Elassona.

Elassonitis river running through the town.

Bridge over Elassonitis river.

The central square of Elassona from a café.

Ancient footbridge over Elassonitis river.

St. Dimitrios church from across the town square.

River from above the town.

Bourani : The path to true hap-penis!

The Bourani Festival in Tyrnavos is probably the dirtiest "Clean Monday" event in the world! It happens the Monday following the Sunday Carnival Parade of Floats. Although this is part of the Greek Orthodox lent celebration it obviously has strong pre-Christian pagan fertility influences as well. The Penis is King at this festival and you will see plenty of them represented in various forms and materials. Street venders sell a wide assortment of penis candies, penis pottery, penis lighter holders, penis bottle decanters, wooden penis sculptures, penis drinking mugs, penis ashtrays, penis cakes.

For the classier festival goer there are nicely decorated boxes containing a bottle of local wine or Tsipouro (local hard liqueur made from grape rinds) and a big ceramic penis. There is even a giant balloon penis floating above the town on this day. The spectators must kiss a large penis before being allowed into the village square. Those that kiss the penis get marked with charcoal across their face, much like the Ash Wednesday Tradition.

During the day, revelers take a break from the village square and go up to the Prophet Illias hill to eat a spinach soup called Bourani free of charge. Most Greek towns traditionally make bean soup for Clean Monday. While up there they partake in kite flying as well. Then they return to the village square to music, dancing and free Tsipouro. The men participate in a traditional dance where they rub against ground with different parts of their bodies singing “dirty” satirical songs, such as the “How do the Devil’s monks grind the pepper?”. Pepper is a frequent metaphor for sex in the Greek folk poetry. So if ever you are in Greece at this time of the year don't forget to catch this fun filled family event.

Like Mary Antoinette says "Let them eat cake!"

Festival guard standing erect!

And for the kids...pop-corn and penis lollipops!

Local wine, tsipouro and penis mugs...

A wide variety of phallic objects.

Gift box of Tsipouro and ceramic penis.

Do you want to lick my lollipop...!

Penises in a variety of Greek soccer team colors. Go team go!

The Carnival Bourani soup chef, holding a big..."pepper"!

A witch of Thessaly riding a...broomstick!

It's a bird...it's a plane...no, it's SUPER PENIS!

Carnival - Mardi Gras madness in Tyrnavos!

The Carnival in Tyrnavos is the best and the strangest in all of Greece. Literally thousands of people come to this small town in Thessaly to celebrate it every year. The event has come under attack from the Orthodox church and other conservative groups for some of its overtly sexual overtones. The events last one month with concerts, theater, mascarade balls and street parties.


The festival concludes with a parade of floats on the last Sunday before lent. The parade has school groups, youth groups and adult organizations participating with costumed groups and floats. Everyone in costumes, from children dressed as clowns, cowboys, cheerleaders to adults in sexy nurses and doctors uniforms performing lewd sexual acts on the road. The strange mix shows how the modern Greeks have found a way to blend the early spring fertility rites with the Christian resurrection ceremonies. Clean Monday following Parade Sunday gets even more wantonly pagan but we will wait until tomorrow to show you that, as it is truly worthy of its own posting.

Sexy nurses and doctors "riding" their patient! 

A quieter side of Carnival in Elassona, a town near Tyrnavos.

The Carnival crowd having fun!

The burning of the Carnival King at the end of the Parade.

No Carnival is complete without its transvestites..!

Last but not least, the final float of the parade.

No Peter Pan, but we have Pan's Peter...

Riding into Larisa!

Βυσσ'νί θύελλα, σούζα τ' αλογάκι, ιιιιιιιιι χα!!!

The horse is the symbol of Larisa the capital of and also the largest city in Thessaly. Larisa means "stronghold" in the ancient language of Pelasgian, an early Greek culture. There is archeological evidence that man settled here over 12,000 years ago. The region of Thessaly was famous for its horseman since times of antiquity. The very best of Greece's cavalry came from here. Greek mythology states that Poseidon, the God of the oceans, created horses and he likely first placed them upon the earth here. This was also the land of the Centaurs, the mythological creatures that were half man and half horse. This shows just how much these people love their horses !!!

Larisa is not the most attractive city in Greece, but it has many facilities and stores, making it the hub of the region. It is all function and little form. There is an exceptionally well-preserved Ancient Theater that is well worth a few minutes of your time. There is an Acropolis, but unfortunately it has been covered with buildings. Some say that Achilles was born here. It is more likely that he was born in Farsala, a small town in the region, but he definitely knew the town. He certainly would have passed through here on his way to Mount Pillion to study under Chiron the Centaur.

Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, was born in Kos, a Greek island off the coast of Turkey, but he died here in Larisa. If the medical system was as poor here then as it is now i am quite certain he died awaiting treatment. Modern Larisa is famous for two things: very "friendly" women ;) and Lakis Lazopoulos,the  most famous comedian in all of Greece (he also had a roll in the fantastic movie "El Greco"). So if you are looking for a quick laugh or a one night stand, this is a great place to spend a weekend...

A statue of Hippocrates.

The Ancient Roman Theater of Larisa.

Ancient Roman ruins downtown Larisa.

Graffiti in Greek: "Greek-fitti"

Meteora... hanging between heaven and earth!!

This is easily one of my favorite places in all of Greece, some claim that it is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. As you cross the flat Thessalian plain a forest of Giant Standing Stones spring up on the horizon. About 1000 of these gigantic rocks separate the plains with the Pindus Mountains. Monks began using caves in the area as retreats in the 9th century and they built the first of 26 monasteries in the 11th century. During World War II the Nazi's bombed and looted these monasteries extensively. Becoming a monk has become a less fashionable vocation these days so all but six have been abandoned.

In 1981 the James Bond film, "For your Eyes Only" featured The Holy Trinity monastery here. Surprisingly the monks were unable to convince Bond to join the brotherhood. The area is a wonderful place for  hikers and spelunkers. The Theopetra caves in the area have been inhabited for over 50,000 years. The oldest known man made structure on the planet is a 27,000 year old wall inside the cave. Humans first interior renovations, these cave men had style. Meteora is one place i could never get bored and i will come back to again and again. If ever you plan to come to Greece put Meteora on your bucket list.  

Imagine the work building these monasteries!

"Don't jump kitty, there is still reason to live!"

Can i borrow your ladder..?

I was refused entry because of the...dress code!