Psaros's, at the base of the Acropolis

Athens, cradle of democracy and hence protest. Their voices are heard and sometimes felt. Probably nothing new about it at all. Let's just hope that peace and stability will rise to the top.

Truly amazing stuff. How the could build such things?

For the Delta crews in Athens, Psaro's Taverena is the favorite dinner spot. We say we are with Delta and they treat us like kings.  It really is a wonderful restaurant sitting on a steep incline right at the base of the Acropolis.  In the summer you can dine outside and look up at the lit up Parthenon and it simply takes your breath away.

Perhaps equally amazing is the Greek food served here. A fresh healthy salad. So typically Greek. No lettuce! That must be an addition we in America and Europe add to make it go farther.

Moussaka, a very traditional casserole much like lasagna but with eggplant. Even if you don't like eggplant you will like this one. I keep intending to make some at home.

A baked smoked cheese which is just so unbelievably good. "crack cheese".

(some of you will get it) "Once you taste it your addicted and can't stop."

Fried calamari, so light and tasty. Athens is on the sea so the sea food is always fresh and cooked to perfection. If you over cook it, like most sea food, it gets rubbery.  If you have tried calamari and don't like it more than likely it was over cooked.

Samples of other's dinners. There is a stuffed squid, shrimp, and???? The huge portions they serve makes sampling your friend's choices so easy.

Leg of lamb.

A pasta casserole. 

OK yes, after that we all needed to take a run in the original Olympic stadium. Too cool. 

Beautiful historic city, a great restaurant, nice people, good prices, and great food.  

Keflavik Iceland and The Lobster House

My visit to Iceland was quick and certainly deserves another visit. It is definitely an interesting place.

A coastal country ripe with great fish. Dinner was The Lobster House sea food fantasy. But first about the flight, it was never really dark near the peak of summer this far north (I did this trip about a week after the summer solstice.) The arrival showed a very volcanic island with steaming vents and pools here and there.

It reminded me of New Mexico except north. One of my colleagues referenced it to lunar. Very different landscape.

There are lots of organized tours you can take but after being up all night I wasn't in the mood. So after a 3 or 4 hour nap I was forcing myself to awaken and see this place.

There were plenty of people enjoying the short sunny summer. I thought it was a bit too warm in the sun but it really wasn't so much the temperature it was just the intense sun that far north.

They have a lovely modern church fitting of this cute little town. I had to keep moving in order to meet up with the captain and a flight attendant or two. We had picked a lobby time for dinner and my walk was needing to be cut short.

The front desk recommended The Lobster House so off we went. It was a beautifully decorated colonial style home/building.

The food was fitting of the ambiance.

They gave us a free little raw bar sampler. It was excellent, just so fresh. I chose the sea food fantasy which was so good.

A wonderful looking salmon

Ok not huge portions but enough.

It was an interesting visit and a nice dinner!

Cinque Terre

Five lovely villages connected by footpaths along the cliffs of the Mediterranean are a mecca for the photographers, hikers, foodies, sun bathers, and romantics. This is a popular tourist resort area located along Italy's north western coast.

Each little town has its own personality. Each one deserving of a visit. We chose to make the visits via a ferry boat. After an hour or so on the train we made our way to the ferry and purchased an all day ticket. I wish I had taken pictures of the loading and unloading process. Picture a 12 foot long gang plank with hand rails rising and falling a foot at a time. Meanwhile it is continually moving in and out as the waves toss the boat.

Lunch was more than wonderful. I had seafood pasta.

I didn't eat the more expensive lobster. Feast.

We headed up to the next city for beach time.

This is me centering myself with the cosmic universe. Well a flight attendant placed the rocks on me while I dozed.

Pretty stressful!!!! NOT.

The day was ending and time to eat again...

That was the best melon and  Prosciutto ham. Yummy!!!

Pico De Gallo

I love spicy food in general and this one is the ticket. I've sampled it in Mexico many times and in Mexican restaurants galore. If you're one of my non USA readers you may not be able to get the ingredients.

One thing I love to do is go to grocery stores around the world. Even within the United States regionally there are differences. Up in New York where I stay between trips not only is the Mexican food generally lousy but the stores don't carry much selection of Mexican food ingredients.

Several years ago I was making a visit to Germany to stay with a friend. They requested I bring them salsa saying it was hard to get if you could find it at all.

Enough of that and hopefully if reading this leaves you craving pico you can find the  ingredients.

The first I ever ate pico de gallo was down in San Antonio Texas in 1985. My mother's cousin Bill Baker  made it for us. I've been eating it ever since.

For me lots of cilantro is critical. You may call it coriander. In the states coriander is just the seed and the green part is cilantro. If you grind the seeds you wind up with cumin. Just chop the tender leaves up nice and fine. Where I live in Texas you can get it in any grocery store for about $0.50 a bunch.

Next chop up some onion. The finer the better. Doesn't look like I did a very good job in that area.  I guess I was too excited to get it all together and start eating it!

Chop up some tomatoes. I like the Italian Roma variety because the are less juicy and more meaty.

Ah yes, the heat. Again in Texas these guys run about $0.50 per pound. If you prefer you could use a hotter pepper or a milder one. By removing the seeds and white veins you can cut the heat down. Leave them in if you want to jack it up. Funny but just writing this is making my forehead sweat.

OK pretend that piece of fruit is green not yellow! Yes, use a lime or two if you have them. I only had lemons in the refrigerator and didn't feel like running out for them. Sorry about that purests, you could use the bottled variety too.

Garlic salt to taste. You could use fresh garlic or garlic powder seperate from the salt but I find the ratio in the garlic salt to be good. If you do use fresh garlic be sure you mince it very fine because you want the flavor to come out evenly. You can manipulate the quantities of any of the ingredients as your taste buds deem perfection.

Get a bag of tortilla chips and dig in!! Thank you cousin Bill for turning me on to this treat!

If you know Bill, or have someone who has inspired you in a culinary fashion, or if you just like Pico De Gallo you should send him or her a message telling them about it, they will enjoy your appreciation.

P.S. Try to not eat the whole bag of chips, notice I dip it liberally!