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Published: January 6th 2023
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This posting is more about how we have settled into the daily life in Tolo. We are on our 3rd week and have one more week before heading to Portugal, and we are quite sad to be leaving our little village of Tolo.
Our apartment is comfortable, very functional, has nice open spaces and of course the views can't be beat. Other than having just one bathroom, which is not a big deal until we have guests...it has been a perfect landing. The owners check in every few days to see if we are ok, and if we need anything. They offer a cleaning service for $30 for 3 hours, which can't be beat. Clean sheets, towels and a sparkling clean apt...not bad! . We can easily walk down the hill to the village, and of course get our cardio walking back up the hill. Here is the link to the apartment with pics : https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/35537076?source_impression_id=p3_1671782503_Tn6K7jVca4gSxTjt
As we have acclimated to the apartment, we have also gotten acquainted with the village businesses, along with the personalities that accompany any small town. It is off-season and as such the town is quite buttoned-up. Two bakeries, 2 small grocery stores, 3-4
bars, and 2-3 restaurants are all that is open, which is actually just enough for us to exist. If we want the big time, we head into Nafplio about 15 mins away by car. We continue to get oranges, now it is from our neighbor who hands us a massive bag every few days....fresh OJ ever morning!
We have gotten into a bit of a routine of me up by 8a, Ken up by whenever, having breakfast and around 1030ish heading down to one of two places for a coffee and maybe a little sweet treat. Unless it is chilly (meaning low 50's which we still can't complain a lot about), we generally sit outside at Cleopatra's Bakery (pic below). Also known as the place where the village women come to chat, as they are always hanging out at the small tables in front. If there is no sun or cold, then it is is down to Esperando's Cafe and sit inside and also a gathering spot, but seems like mostly men.
As we walk through the town we are greeted with "Cali Mara!" which is greek for good morning from everyone we pass, whether it is walking
or those sitting on their balcony enjoying a coffee. We return the greeting and are always met with a smile. We have met Socrates, who I have deemed the Godfather of Tolo. He rotates between the cafes/bakeries for his coffee and is attempting to teach us new greek words, which is mostly a lost cause. Other than good morning and thank you, we are not doing well in the greek phrase category. We can get most of what we need from the small grocery stores, but do stop at the bigger, very modern stores in Nafplio for the odd item.
We have also joined a gym in Nafplio where we can do Pilates, and to date have done that four times!! Just down the street from the gym is an amazing butcher, with some of the most creative offerings. I have attached a couple of pics, and amazingly they actually have some vegi options as well as meat based. So far, all has been extremely tasty! In one of the pics there is a red pepper, which is stuffed with cheese and vegis, and in the other in the front center there is what looks like a little pumpkin.
It is not a pumpkin, but has a hard herb crust with a little meat loaf inside. Definitely fun to explore and even more to eat!
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Sonja Lough
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Idyllic
Love the blog. It sounds like you have left Ireland and landed in Greece or maybe Portugal. Catch me up by email when you have time. Happy travels!!