No soup for me!!!!

Well, it had to happen.  I finally put something in my mouth that I did not enjoy (and I'm being polite here not to offend my hostess!)  Lamb offal soup.  A soup made from the "waste material" (dictionary definition, not my own description) of a butchered animal.  This is a traditional meal enjoyed by Greeks after attending a midnight church service on Easter morning.  Matta said that it is my tradition that prevents me from loving this soup since I wasn't raised on it.  But I beg to differ.  I am an adventurous eater, as I've mentioned before, and I enjoy trying new things.  Many of which I like!  For example, I've had ragout in Haiti; a stew made out of pig's feet or cow's hoofs.  I've eaten and enjoyed griot that included fried pig skin with the under layer of fat attached as well some of the coarse hairs.  I've sucked on an entire goat head.  I've had a chicken curry in India that was made from the leathery claws of a chicken and a dish made out of fried mutton brains.  I've eaten all manner of odd looking roots dug out of the ground prepared in a wide variety of ways.  I've tasted snake and allegator.  And as recently as two days ago, I tried sea urchin eggs.  And I've enjoyed all these things!  So I must politely disagree with Matta's opinion on this one.  She also told me that a true cook and lover of food would enjoy EVERYTHING that was edible.  I asked her how she feels about insects, and that shut her up for a while.

Anyway..... the tables around me were filled with people smacking their lips and groaning in pleasure over their lamb offal soup so I'm sure that I'm in the minority here.  But I feel quite secure in saying that I will most likely die without ever eating another bowl of the stuff!  (Come to think of it, that makes two things I've put in my mouth and not enjoyed on this trip, the first being Turkish coffee)

So, my day yesterday.....  The early part was spent relaxing.  Matta and I took the tram down to the sea and walked around the beach.  We passed by a small group of men who were enjoying small grilled fish fresh caught from the sea.  When I stopped to admire, they offered us each a fish.  The small whole fish were simply seasoned with sea water, deliciously crispy on the outside and succulently tasty on the inside.  A delightfully unexpected experience!

After returning home, I read my book until I fell asleep and ended up taking a two hour nap.  This was mostly by design as our plan was to attend a midnight service and by nature, I have a difficult time staying awake past 8:00. 

Grigoris showed up around 11:00 and we left to pick up Olga around 11:30.  We drove up the mountain (more accurately, a large hill) to attend service at a beautiful old church.  There were already hundreds of people there when we arrived.  We purchased our candles and went to stand with the others outside the church doors.  From inside the church, we heard the priest chanting and leading the worshipers in some sort of remembrance ceremony.  Around midnight, he appeared at the church entrance with a "light" that he began passing around from candle to candle.  Matta tells me that this flame is literally flown in on an airplane from Jerusalem every year and delivered to all the churches, one by one, in countryside and city.

It was awe-some to watch as this flame was passed from candle to candle and to participate in something so symbolic.  From where we were standing in the church courtyard, we had an aeriel view of all of Athens.  The Parthenon sat illuminated on a hilltop in the near distance.  Around midnight, all the churches in Athens started sending off fireworks and from the hill top, I saw the whole city of Athens bursting with colorful explosions of light.  It was amazing!

From the church, we headed to the hotel to eat.  It was 3:00 a.m. before my head hit my pillow.  Can you believe it? 

So, today is Easter and Matta and I have just returned from a walk around the neighborhood.  Because everyone was at church until the wee hours of the morning this morning, the regular Easter service does not start until 3:00.  This morning, people are in their courtyards, or the streets, roasting whole lambs on a spit over a charcole fire.  Traditional Greek folk music is jumping through the air and some folks have taken to dancing while they wait for their lamb to finish cooking.

Happy Easter to all my faithful followers!!!!  (all three of you!)  May you enjoy a day of family, food, and remembering of everything that you hold important.