In Which I Realize Something I Already Knew

The woman behind the counter handed me the piece of cream pie in a flaky phyllo crust (for lack of a better description) as we spoke. She asked where I was from and I indicated New York. “What are you doing in Larisa?!” she was almost indignant that I should have come here. “I wanted […]

Aristotle the Great

Alexander the Great was one of the world’s greatest leaders and commanders. He conquered vast swaths of the known world and left his name everywhere he went. He founded several cities (20 seems to be a count with which Wikipedia is comfortable), and even named one after his horse. So you would think I would […]

The Second City Eternal

Thessaloniki is real. As I wind down this first day here, my primary impression is that there’s nothing fake about this city, a town that hugs the hills along the northern Greek coast and quietly goes about it’s thing. Thessaloniki about as real as it gets (for a tourist, anyway). You see, this is striking […]

Street Food, for the Win

The man at the counter asked what sort of gyro I wanted, pork or chicken. I didn’t let him finish, immediately indicating I wanted the pork. Then he asked what I wanted on it, mumbling a few things until slowly drawing out the word, “delicious?” His voice lingered over the sensual syllables and the word […]

Something to Remember

Well, at last it has happened:I’m back! Butterblogger, my friends, has returned. When last you heard from me I was in Rome headed home. And frankly, I wasn’t doing well. The journey was fine, but my teeth hurt from the fall, I couldn’t properly eat, and I just generally felt terrible. The intervening months have […]