Friday, May 24, 2024

Anthusa

    Hi everyone. Happy Friday to you. It's just about a long weekend ahead here in the US. I started my summer job at a local boat ramp this past week, and I work Monday and Tuesday mornings. That means I actually have to work for a few hours on the holiday.  If the weather is good I expect it will be busy too.

     Today I have some more Greece photos to share. I hope you don't mind more travel photos since I took a whole lot of them. ๐Ÿ˜

    Today we're visiting a  very small village in the mountains of northwestern Greece where my friend's grandparents came from.  She had been told we probably couldn't get there because of snow and road issues, so we weren't really planning on finding this village. (You might remember my post when we drove up into the mountains. If you'd like to check it out, you can read it here.)  However, as we drove, my friend was using her phone's GPS, and suddenly she said we were just around the corner from the village. It was quite an emotional moment for her when we could actually get there.

    This first photo is for Nicole's Friday Face Off. I think this is a really fun fountain. I also wonder  if the face is anyone in particular.

I am also linking up to Gillena's  Friday Lunch Break  .




     This village is called Anthusa.  I believe my friend's grandparents immigrated to the United States during the 1910's (but I'm not 100% certain), but I do know that her grandfather went first, established himself a bit, and then her grandmother traveled over to join him. 

     I tired to find some information online about this village, but my internet kept sending me to Anthousa, which is not the same place.

       I don't know much about this village's population in the past, but I do know that other than a few year round residents, most of these homes are now nice weather getaway homes. I wonder how many of them are still in the same families. 


     I loved all the pavement tiles in Greece, and the one in the above photo is really interesting. I love how so many of the rocks are cracked from time. And speaking of rocks, you can tell that people used a lot of what they had on hand to make their village a home.


I'm not sure if this building is a restaurant, store or both. From this photo you can tell it wasn't open yet. There were lights on the metal bars that must hold an awning, so I picture tables out here in the better weather season. I bet it's the place to go in the village. 


Even the church looked closed up for the season.




Whoops, I forgot to flip this photo before I posted it.





Here I am in my bright pink jacket. (And shoes too if you look carefully๐Ÿ˜œ)


And finally, here's a little stone bridge to cross from one side of the village to the other.


I like to imagine what life was like when this was a bustling village, and I wonder how it looked when my friend's grandparents lived here.  Sometimes I  wish I could take a few minutes trip back in time to get a peak. 

Have a great start to your weekend.


24 comments:

David M. Gascoigne, said...

It must have been a lovely experience for your friend to visit the village of her grandparents. All the best - David

Valerie-Jael said...

It's always sad to see villages losing their inhabitants and just being used for breaks, but this seems to be a problem everywhere these days. Ghost towns! I love all the local stone that was used there. have a fun weekend and enjoy your work next week! Hugs, Valerie

Tom said...

...I wish you a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

DVArtist said...

People or no it is a beautiful place. I love the face you shared. Thank you for joining FFO and have a great weekend.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Thanks, Erika, for the village tour and always enjoy travel photos as I too am still posting from our trips last fall ๐Ÿ˜‰ It's too bad that the village is no longer inhabited on a regular basis and it would have been nice to see people there on your visit. Hope you enjoy a wonderful holiday weekend. We are still in PEI, Canada, and returning to New England over the weekend.

Angie's Recipes said...

The place looks like abandoned. Hope you have fun with summer job, Erika.

Christine said...

Wonderful photos of Greece!

Lisca said...

Thanks for taking me to Greece once again.The depopulation is a great problem here in rural Spain too. Young people move to urban areas as that is where the jobs are (and the fun). Ancient skills are dying out.
Enjoy your weekend,
Lisca

*Vicki* said...

Wow, all of those stones over there are so interesting to me! I love that bridge so much! It would be fun to take a peak back in time...but just a peak! LOL Hope you find time to enjoy your weekend among your work!

Soma @ InkTorrents.com said...

What an amazing place. I am so glad you found it. You can't help but wonder what it was like when people lived there.

-Soma

Divers and Sundry said...

The job sounds like fun.

Greece is a place I'd love to visit.

Fundy Blue said...

Thanks for sharing your photos, Erika! I'm glad that your friend found her grandparents' village. This site is not what I think of when I'm thinking of Greece. It's nice to have my perspective expanded. It looks like you two had a fun trip together! Happy weekend!

Gillena Cox said...

OMG these are funtastic photos ๐Ÿ˜Š

Thanks for linking to Art Gor Fun Friday

Much-♡love

Katerinas Blog said...

Thank you so much Erica for the photos.
Unfortunately in Greece the mountain villages are still losing their inhabitants and becoming deserted...
My grandfather had also gone to America and collected money and returned to Greece and bought the family's house.

Iris Flavia said...

Yay to your job, hope you meet plenty of nice people!
And yes, can imagine it was emotional for your friend. My Mom came from a village near Kรถnigsberg, which is nor Kaliningrad, in Russian hands, hence I can never visit.
Do you know the KI search-engine https://www.perplexity.ai/? Maybe that helps to find infos about the place you are looking for.
Love it when people wear bight colors in winter especially! Makes people smile :-)
Yes, time travel would be great. Do you know the series "Quantum Leap"?
Have a great weekend, hugs

Jim and Barb's Adventures said...

That last picture was my favorite. The craftmanship and history of that bridge.....

I am interested in your summer job, can you write about that sometime? What do you do?

Anne (cornucopia) said...

Fantastic photos! What a great place to get to visit.

CJ Kennedy said...

Charming place. I bet it didn't look much different from the time of the grandparents. I hope you're enjoying our gorgeous weather.

Jeanie said...

I never tire of travel photos! Keep 'em coming!

Carola Bartz said...

The village without its inhabitants and so closed up makes a bit of a sad impression. And it is sad when a place loses its residents and become a "fair weather place" for better well-off or wealthy people. The character and the life simply disappears.
Great that you got your summer job again! I hope it will be enjoyable for you. Have a lovely Memorial Day weekend. Hugs - Carola

Aimeslee Winans said...

Fab pic of you all 'in the pink'! I love all that stonework! Reminds me of the Hill Country German towns here in Texas, xoxo

carol l mckenna said...

Oh ~ wonderful photos of your travels to Greece ~ thanks,

Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

Lowcarb team member said...

I enjoyed seeing your photographs.
Wish you well with your summer job.

All the best Jan

Mia said...

You look pretty in bright pink, Erika. I made the photo bigger and you seem very happy being there. The village Anthusa is a beautiful place. Houses made of stone, like many greek villages. I think the building is the coffee shop/restaurant of the village. The face on the fountain is not a real man. Not sure if this is a church, it looks like a monastery. And I lllllllove the stone bridge. I always love seeing photos of water (rivers, lakes, see). Kisses!