Greece: Day 10

This morning, as soon as we were up and ready to go, we headed off to the small mountain village where Gus' grandma lives. It was about a 40-minute drive, so not too bad. Now, the last time the kids met Yiayia Aleka was years ago. I don't even think Maya was born yet. And Niko was TERRIFIED of her and wouldn't talk to her at all. We had prepped and primed the kids for today, really hoping that it wouldn't be a repeat performance. And thankfully, it wasn't! Niko, in particular, took a liking to his great-grandma P. And both kids loved getting the grand tour from papou, who grew up in the house. And picking apples and pears from the trees, which they quickly became obsessed with!

And the view from the mountain from the front yard. Look closely, about halfway up and on the right:

There's a monastery up there, and a road that goes up to that point. So we drove up there (it only takes about 5 minutes), just to get a better view of the village below.

The village itself is largely empty nowadays... The year-round residents are mostly in their eighties and nineties! During the summer months, the population explodes as younger generations of family members come back from the U.S. to stay for a month or two. Many of them come from Chicago (which is where many of Gus' aunts, uncles, and cousins live, too). It really is a neat little village, but it's definitely more "old school." There isn't much to do, there's nowhere to buy groceries, etc. You have to drive to Tripoli for that sort of thing. But it's very peaceful and quaint, and it's one of Gus' absolute favorite places!

Anyway... that evening, Yiayia Aleka took the kids out for a walk, mostly so she could check in with her neighbor friends who she hadn't seen in nearly a year. And to show off two of her youngest great-grandbabies, of course!

On the walk, right around the corner from Yiayia Aleka's house, Niko met a little boy who was exactly his age. He was from Chicago, spending the summer there. They played for a bit. It's weird to think that these kiddos will very likely cross paths again over the years ahead... Niko likes this idea! Mostly because the kid had a Spider-Man ball, I'm sure, haha!

We ended the evening with some take-out souvlaki from one of the two small tavernas in town, and then we hit the hay.