Autobiography & Memoir
Jilliana's Vignettes
Jilliana's Vignettes
Willy's story #2
But how did Willy come to reside permanently in Crete? How come he had a passion for Greece and pre-Hellenic archeology?
One summer, years later, Willy and his wife Christina went to Corinth with their daughter Michaela to visit a Belgian singer friend Kalinka, who lived in Loutraki. Nearby Corinth was famous for its Acropolis and necropolis and thus of special interest to Willy. That day both Christina and Kalinka stayed behind in the kafeneio with little Michaela because both ladies instinctively felt they would be 'hurt' by what they would see. Also it was raining so thus Willy went off alone on a mini adventure that would change his life forever.
He arrived at the Acropolis in the rain and walked 3 steps into the archeological zone when the sky opened up and the sun shone over the entire site. The light was almost blinding and the sky was as blue as the sky in the Cyclades. This second vision lasted for a full long minute. Willy had a vision of Greek men and women from the Hellenic period wearing dazzling white tunics. He vividly saw the agora, temples and buildings. However, he felt calm and at peace and was unhappy when his epiphany ended and he was left walking once more in the rain. When he told Christina, she told him he was reliving one of his past lives!
This time Willy made a decision and a promise to himself that on retirement in his twilight years, he would move to Greece permanently. He had already decided he felt he had come home in a big Kafeneio in Athens 20 years earlier when he began to island hop searching for the 'ideal' Greek island, like most Grecophiles do.
Years later a Dutch friend would introduce him to Olga's pension in Rethymno, Crete and next door 'Stella's kitchen' where he could eat homemade delicious food lovingly cooked by the guest house owner's lovely wife, Stella.
Willy or Vassilis today in 2017, speaks Greek and eats 3 or 4 times a week at Stella's for lunch. He talks to all and sundry in 5 languages and walks or bikes all over the university city. He lives for the moment and, like a Greek, has difficulty making plans even for the next day! He 'goes with the flow' to quote him however, he still travels to archeological sites and is very happy with the simple way of life plus the famous 'Mediterranean Diet.' Just to complicate things he is also known as Giorgos, his father's name back in Bruges, as the Greeks, by tradition, call their children by their father's name!
Long live Willy, the adopted Greek, returning to his former life!
Written on the flight from a Rhodes back to London. 28/4/17. Story dictated by Willy himself in Rhodes. To be read in conjunction with #1.
References
Google - Stella's kitchen, Rethymno
Wikipedia - Réthymno
Wikipedia - Corinth
But how did Willy come to reside permanently in Crete? How come he had a passion for Greece and pre-Hellenic archeology?
One summer, years later, Willy and his wife Christina went to Corinth with their daughter Michaela to visit a Belgian singer friend Kalinka, who lived in Loutraki. Nearby Corinth was famous for its Acropolis and necropolis and thus of special interest to Willy. That day both Christina and Kalinka stayed behind in the kafeneio with little Michaela because both ladies instinctively felt they would be 'hurt' by what they would see. Also it was raining so thus Willy went off alone on a mini adventure that would change his life forever.
He arrived at the Acropolis in the rain and walked 3 steps into the archeological zone when the sky opened up and the sun shone over the entire site. The light was almost blinding and the sky was as blue as the sky in the Cyclades. This second vision lasted for a full long minute. Willy had a vision of Greek men and women from the Hellenic period wearing dazzling white tunics. He vividly saw the agora, temples and buildings. However, he felt calm and at peace and was unhappy when his epiphany ended and he was left walking once more in the rain. When he told Christina, she told him he was reliving one of his past lives!
This time Willy made a decision and a promise to himself that on retirement in his twilight years, he would move to Greece permanently. He had already decided he felt he had come home in a big Kafeneio in Athens 20 years earlier when he began to island hop searching for the 'ideal' Greek island, like most Grecophiles do.
Years later a Dutch friend would introduce him to Olga's pension in Rethymno, Crete and next door 'Stella's kitchen' where he could eat homemade delicious food lovingly cooked by the guest house owner's lovely wife, Stella.
Willy or Vassilis today in 2017, speaks Greek and eats 3 or 4 times a week at Stella's for lunch. He talks to all and sundry in 5 languages and walks or bikes all over the university city. He lives for the moment and, like a Greek, has difficulty making plans even for the next day! He 'goes with the flow' to quote him however, he still travels to archeological sites and is very happy with the simple way of life plus the famous 'Mediterranean Diet.' Just to complicate things he is also known as Giorgos, his father's name back in Bruges, as the Greeks, by tradition, call their children by their father's name!
Long live Willy, the adopted Greek, returning to his former life!
Written on the flight from a Rhodes back to London. 28/4/17. Story dictated by Willy himself in Rhodes. To be read in conjunction with #1.
References
Google - Stella's kitchen, Rethymno
Wikipedia - Réthymno
Wikipedia - Corinth