In search of the Sarris Family

Entrance to Cemetery

Seems like the descendants of my grandfather George Sarris' family pretty much left this village long ago - couldn't even find any of them in the cemetery. But my grandfather's brothers died 40+ years ago, and in village cemeteries bones are exhumed and relocated in boxes to make room for others.

There is still one possible relative to seek out, actually the same person that I spoke with when I visited 40 years ago! It seems like I will indeed learn more this evening when the kafeneion in the upper village section Vrisi opens. (Kiparissi also has Paralia and Mitropolis sections.)

Meanwhile I and my erstwhile hostess Stella from hotel went up to look at the mills above the village, one of which was owned by my great-grandfather Nicolaos Sarris. Turns out that there were originally 6 mills (only remnants of 4 remain), and the Sarris mill was the first built, in 1821. There is a house near that mill owned by the family and in need of repair.

Paralia Beach

Walked all along the Paralia section beach, which is covered with small pebbles not sand. Picked up a few pebbles to bring home before going to the bakery for a few goodies -- and to make sure that at 6 am Monday I can pay the bus driver directly for the trip to Molaos. (Then on to Sparti, Kalamata and Koroni!)

Horta & Smelts!

And, yes, lunch at the Trocadero where I again had fresh horta along with fried smelts. Got some more info from Mr. Vorlis - it seems that everyone is interested in giving me info. And it's Saturday in a Greek Village; people will go out for a coffee/dinner at their local whatever and hang out. But before I go out, a short nap..

"Beautiful Kiparissi" Kafeneion (Vrisi)

P.S. Indeed, I later ventured up to the kafeneion in Vrisi, which seems to turn into the local restaurant at night. There I met a man to had written a book entitled "My Village" about Kiparissi; he was familar with the Sarris Family. More info to add to my notes on this once-isolated village turned tourist destination and how it developed after Greek Independence. Unfortunately, no more copies of the book were available..


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Road to Kiparissi, Lakonias - Part II (11-9-12)

Trocadero at Night

Last night I had a nice dinner at an out-of-the-way Taverna in Athens, but tonite I am sitting seaside in Kiparissi after my 3-bus/9-hour odyssey. The stars are ever-so-bright and the people at the Trocadero Taverna are preparing my fried calamari and horta, with bread that is being heated with oil. Not sure what this means except more calories.

(Did I mention that they have "putin" on the menu - the potatoes with gravy, a Canadian thing, not the President of Russia!)

Mrs. Poulakis promised to get a hold of Nikos Papavalo for me, but she was not sure which Sarrises I could find, as they have moved to Athens. So tomorrow, I have my work cut out for me..The Trocadero people (Vourlos, who lived in Montreal for 25 years!) were not encouraging either, except to say that if I go to the kafeneion in the upper village Vrisi tomorrow night at 7 pm the old men who'll be there will know something about my relatives.

Paraliako Hotel

Meanwhile, I am staying at a charming hotel called Paraliako ("along the seafront") run by a very nice young woman -- but seems like I am the only one here. My balcony has an ocean view, but I can't seem to figure out how the heat works..

I would be remiss in not mentioning that the road to Kiparissi gives new meaning to the words "hairpin curves." Now I remember why there was no real road back in 1974 -- it had to be carved out of some serious stone, and it also wends it way thru villages that can barely accommodate a (smaller) bus. At one point, I noticed some one was smoking; it was our driver, who also at least twice was seen talking on his cell-phone as he navigated those turns -- Oy!

In closing, let me just say that there is no sweeter smell than the burning of wood stoves in a Greek village at evening time. Good thing, as it has already been established that many Greeks will not be able to buy heating oil this winter.

P.S. The bread has just arrived, and it looks like updated "rigani bread" - my brothers will know what I mean..
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Road to Kiparissi, Lakonias - Part I (11-9-12)

Kifissou Bus Station

From Athens hotel to bus station at 5:30 am - luckily the taxis came back online @ 5 am after a 4-day strike. (No Metro either. Had made my way to bus station from airport yesterday to buy my ticket and then to hotel via 3 buses + hotel shuttle!)

The bus left the Kifissou station precisely at 6:30 - with a stop in Piraeus 30 minutes later, where seating becomes a problem (as the seats are assigned). Now there is an older man sitting next to me who must be a smoker..

Going along coast, and around Elefsina we went thru a toll booth and were really on our way. There was some fog, and did I see frost? After a pit stop in Tripolis, we continued - but the road was now a 2-laner and the climb steeper. I can see small villages nestled along the mountain sides, and a host of roadside enterprises.

LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of olive trees everywhere - and now we are in Sparti, a good-sized town with a Mr. Donut and quite a few palm trees (or are they date trees?)...Yikes, no one told me we have to grab our luggage from below and change buses!

Molaos Supermarket

It's 11:45 and I am starting to worry - will I make the 12:30 bus to Kiparissi? We're not so high up, so the bus is going a little (too) faster now...In Molaos, and my last bus actually won't leave till 1:45 -- giving me time for my favorite pastime: visiting a supermarket! Lots of different ouzos with their "mini bottles" and a large Tobasco Sauce for. 5.76 Euros. Always interested in what people are buying/eating - and the area does get tourists going through by car to the sea. I buy locally harvested Rosemary... 21 degrees C, beautiful weather and not a cloud in the sky..

The bus has departed on it's 2-hour journey. A Mrs. Poulakis sits next to me and the grilling begins. Turns out her husband's sister was married to George and Pete Pappas' brother Paul, and I may well have been in her house in 1974 when I came to Kiparissi by boat from Leonidhion with Pete and Faith. Now I see the Kiparissi sign, and the bus stops to let me out for the walk to my hotel past a field of curious sheep -- touchdown!  

"Bus Stop" for My Hotel

 










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Testing - Go Greece!

This is a test to see if I can post to this blog from my BlackBerry - leaving for Greece on November 7th, heading for Kiparissi Lakonias and Koroni Messinias to see those villages after so many years. And also to see what's going on over there for myself. Kali andamosi!
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Oldest Greek-American dies in Miami (10-5-12)

Stepping back a bit in time, I visited the Cathedral of St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church in Miami on October 19th - to attend the funeral of Marianthe "Mary" Dimakis, 109 yrs old. She was the oldest living Greek-American.

Mary was born in 1903, a year after my own grandmother Eugenia Sarris who died in 1984. I was not at my Yiayia's funeral for reasons that currently feel kinda lame, even if they were valid back then. So I am paying my respects to Mary.  Mary Dimakis was a founding member of St. Sophia's and there was a long article last week in the Miami Herald (which is how I found out about it). But there were just a handful of people at her funeral, maybe 40. Is that because all her friends are dead? Because it was 11 am? Because there is little respect for those who came before us and worked so hard to build Greek communities in the U.S.? Why?  (When my father died -- and he was a church stalwart for about 60 years -- I was shocked that the church was not full.)  Well, she came down down the aisle accompanied by friends and family nonetheless, and went to her final resting place as we all will some day. But Mary Dimakis left a pioneering legacy that sustains the Miami Greek-American community to this day, whether her descendents know it or not. I zoi se mas (life to us)...