Crete: day 9
A full day in Milia. If it were possible to have one day that was the best day of this trip full of fantastic days, this would be that most amazing day.
The Milia website mentions cooking lessons, which immediately piqued our interest. The kitchen looked supremely inviting, and given the choice between cooking and doing just about anything, we'd choose cooking. (Scroll to the 12/14/07 post.)
So we asked Tassos (the manager and one of the happiest men I've met) if it would be possible to cook. He brought us directly into the kitchen and asked Manolis and Maria if we could work with them. The answer was yes.
People who know me consider me a take-charge sort of person. But I enjoy taking orders from experts, and both Manolis and Maria had much to teach us. They started us out chopping and grating, and ended up teaching us how to prep zucchini flowers for stuffing (remove the sepals and sex parts). We made boureki, stuffed eggplant, made squash balls, and stuffed zucchini flowers, talking all the while.
Here's the thing about Greeks: conversation is the be-all and end-all. Manolis is not only an excellent cook, but an enthusiastic conversationalist. Here's another things about Greeks: no topic is off limits. So I wasn't surprised when Manolis asked whether we both had children. As a voluntarily child-less Greek American, I was prepared for the rant that followed. I think Cayce may have been more surprised.
It didn't interfere with our cooking...all part of the essential conversation. Two hours later we adjourned with a cigarette outside by the brick oven.
We thanked Manolis for a wonderful morning, then met our menfolk before lunch.
That afternoon, Michael, Joe, and I took a walk up the facing mountain, while Cayce stayed behind to read in a hammock.
We walked to the top of the ridge just across from Milia, through the olive groves, and enjoyed the views.
Michael wondered if we could tell the difference between olives and goat turds. Both were in great abundance.
With a little time left before dominoes, Michael toured the solar array and was impressed by both the battery storage
and the adjustable solar tracking array.
I photographed our surroundings, trying (inadequately, I'm afraid) to capture the beauty and uniqueness of Milia:
The dining room was airy and inviting.
Our bedroom was cool and cozy, with a superb mattress, eco-LED lighting,
and a shower that incorporated a large rock into the rear wall.
Cayce & Joe's house had a reading nook with a skylight.
me: happy, on our front patio
Labels: Milia