expat blogger

living in Serbia

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Yummies in Greece!

Milan and I agreed that while in Greece we should have a Gyros. Which we pronounce two different ways. Serbs pronounce it as a hard "G" like in goat. I pronounce the "G" as a "y" like in you. 
I told him that a Greek person had told me that it was pronounced that way, but he still didn't believe me.
I neglected to ask in Greece what the correct pronunciation was, but I looked it up in the dictionary and found two ways to say it... Neither way was with the hard "G". I love being right! But, I know there is a precious lot am wrong about.


The Gyros was good, but a little disappointing. I was looking for the version with no fries or ketchup. This seemed like more of an American version. The ones I am used to seeing have meat, cucumbers, onions, that yummy white sauce, and not sure what else. This was good, and too big to finish, though, it was not what I had expected in my gyro in Greece as were many other things.

Like these cool pretzels being sold on the street. I don't know the name in Greece, but they look like the djevrek in Serbia. (to my Serbian friends: I know I spelled it wrong, but try to make it so English speaker get the gist of how it sounds.)




There were loads of desserts. We had Gelato, Italian Ice cream. It has been a favorite of mine since my first road trip across the US. I found it on my pit stop  in Las Vegas at the Bellagio. That teamed with a cappucino is a little slice of heaven.

The gelato in Greece did not disappoint, it was soft and creamy and full of flavor. Try it if you get the chance. It has much less fat than ice cream, with none of the dreaded flavor of lite foods. Yummy!
We ordered all of our foods in English.

In most big places English was the way to go. In Stavros in Chaldiki and in many others the choice of languages is Greek or Serbian. So many Serbs come here to holiday, that the Greeks have learned enough to profit greatly. I think the Greeks and Serbs are like brothers who play well together. And when we are in the States and we meet a Greek, they always  have a friendly knowing look about Serbia. They are neighbors who have share good times and bad. History is present here and the people in both countries remember it well.

The similarities between the two countries is strong in the line of food. Both favor lamb, pig, and even the ouzo that is so common in Greece is a more refined version of Serbian Rakija, it is distilled 2x.
I think it is a bit comical that the anatomically correct male bottle of ouzo is next to the Extra Virgin Olive Oil, called Bio Bio. Ironically in Serbian bio means was.
We really enjoyed our culinary experience here, Even the food in our hotel was great. I especially loved the fresh cheese at breakfast. 

On our last day in Thesaloniki we stopped at the market for Greece's wonderful olives.
Olive trees were everywhere, but they have to be treated before they are eaten. These olives at the stand were super! We are still enjoying them.

Greece blogs will continue... there is still so much to share!


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