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vinceconawayWhen I first started planning a Greek leg of my spring European tour I hoped that I would make enough money to be worthwhile but not so much that I wasn't motivated to improve. To sum up, I wanted to be motivated to come back speaking Greek, and I nailed it. I've had an excellent tour and I love the country and its people, and I've more than covered my expenses, but I think that a working knowledge of the language would pay dividends. I'm already looking at an expanded Greek section of my tour next year.
I've only busked two cities, Athens and Heraklion (on Crete), but they've been lovely. The weather has been amazing, the people generous, and the atmosphere fantastic. And Easter was a good time to come! At midnight, when Easter began, there were church bells ringing and fireworks bursting throughout the city. I've spent three Easters in Italy and I've never seen anything like it.
On Good Friday I had the gentlest shifting of my career when two cops were clearing the street for religious processions. As I was wrapping up my set they came up, tipped me, and very apologetically told me that from 8 to 11 there could be nothing going on in the main drag, but that other areas and days were perfectly fine. To see the processions was really intense; alter boys carrying crucifixes, priests swinging incense, old ladies singing hymns, boy scouts marching along, and portable alters carried on the shoulders of four men. I saw three of them, one complete with marching band, and even captured a little guilty video; it seems a little shameful to be holding up a camera when everyone else is crossing themselves and muttering prayers.
Tomorrow evening I'll begin a long voyage; taking an overnight ferry to Athens, a bus or train to Patras, another overnight ferry to Ancona, Italy, and then another train to Pesaro where I'll be spending two days kicking off my Italian tour. Making the hotel reservations for the next week was incredibly refreshing; even though I met with some setbacks in booking rooms it was wonderful to be speaking a language I actually know.
In the morning I'll leave my bags with the hotel as I busk a last afternoon set, and I may be tempted to perform another in Patras, but for the most part my time in Greece is coming to a close and I'm off again!
I've only busked two cities, Athens and Heraklion (on Crete), but they've been lovely. The weather has been amazing, the people generous, and the atmosphere fantastic. And Easter was a good time to come! At midnight, when Easter began, there were church bells ringing and fireworks bursting throughout the city. I've spent three Easters in Italy and I've never seen anything like it.
On Good Friday I had the gentlest shifting of my career when two cops were clearing the street for religious processions. As I was wrapping up my set they came up, tipped me, and very apologetically told me that from 8 to 11 there could be nothing going on in the main drag, but that other areas and days were perfectly fine. To see the processions was really intense; alter boys carrying crucifixes, priests swinging incense, old ladies singing hymns, boy scouts marching along, and portable alters carried on the shoulders of four men. I saw three of them, one complete with marching band, and even captured a little guilty video; it seems a little shameful to be holding up a camera when everyone else is crossing themselves and muttering prayers.
Tomorrow evening I'll begin a long voyage; taking an overnight ferry to Athens, a bus or train to Patras, another overnight ferry to Ancona, Italy, and then another train to Pesaro where I'll be spending two days kicking off my Italian tour. Making the hotel reservations for the next week was incredibly refreshing; even though I met with some setbacks in booking rooms it was wonderful to be speaking a language I actually know.
In the morning I'll leave my bags with the hotel as I busk a last afternoon set, and I may be tempted to perform another in Patras, but for the most part my time in Greece is coming to a close and I'm off again!
