Tag: Carlos

Gigs from Abroad Part 27 Greece – Part 2

In 2023 we decided to head to Crete for our 25th wedding anniversary. Crete is a fair size land mass and is the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and welcomes 6.3 million visitors per year. The island was the home of Europe’s first advanced civilisation, the Minoans who hung around for 1300 BC years and built the palace of Knossos.

Famous residents include the Greek god Zeus, actor John Aniston (Giannis Anastasakis), father of Jennifer Aniston, singer Nana Mouskouri and professional gambler Nick Dandolos, otherwise known as ‘Nick the Greek’. Though the latter named sounds like a fringe character on Only Fools and Horses, wonder whether he ever met ‘Dirty Barry’!  

Nana Mouskouri. Image Credit photos.com

It has two international airports, one at the capital Heraklion in the north, the second resides at Chania which is where we flew into. We were fortunate to grab some lovely accommodation in a suburb called Kato Daratsos village, which was a short bus ride away from Chania or a more leisurely walk along the seafront which we completed a couple of times.  Our lodgings were linked to a family run pool complex next door and the lady there could not have been more friendly and welcoming.

There were a few beach bars and some fine local restaurants, and we managed to source a nearby one with an enclosed outdoor veranda called Sterna Chrisi Atki on our anniversary. Whilst we were having our meal, completed with a mighty slab of Cretan Orange Cake, we observed a huge local family on another table. They were several young kids in their party, and it was thoroughly refreshing to see them all well behaved and thoroughly engaged at the table throughout their dinner with no phones, drawing books or tantrums!

There were several streets off the main drag running down to the sea and on one such avenue there was Kato Daratsos Thea Artemis Café where one night we saw a singer called Sebastian performing. Close by our accommodation we also caught a portion of Rock Lobbies set at Kato Daratsos Theos Village. We headed into Chania for a few nights out and there were many small windy streets and busy squares in the old town. At one point, we ended up at Chania Harbour where we saw a local chap called Carlos playing.  

In June 2025 we completed our latest trip to Greece and headed initially to the island of Zante (known locally as Zakynthos), which is part of the Ionian islands and also has the name of ‘Fioro di Levante’ which translates as the Flower of the East. During World War II the Mayor and the Bishop (it is not a precursor to a joke) refused the German requests and hid all the residents jews in rural villages, and all 275 survived the conflict and both dignitaries were later listed as Righteous Among the Nations for their bravery and compassion.

Chania Harbour. Image Credit pixels.com

Zante was battered in 1953 by a 7.3 magnitude earthquake which resulted in most of the buildings being destroyed. Subsequently all buildings were then strengthened and proved to be effective when a 6.4 scale earthquake struck in 2018 as it caused significantly less damage.

On our visit we headed into the resort of Argassi for a period of eight days and understandably given the time of year it was rather scorchio! It was a tidy spot with a plethora of restaurants and bars, many of which we visited. One particular spot deserves mentioning and that was the friendly Beer Academy where they had an extensive selection of Greek bottled beverages which I obviously took it on my shoulders to work my way down the list, with my favourite being a Thessaloniki brew called Nymfi.

On the inventively named Main Road there was Argassi Nonna’s Kitchen Bar where we saw an act called The Boys playing and further down at Argassi Diane Palace Hotel a chap called Stavros was performing. There were the predictable tribute acts on stage at Argassi Legend Sports Bar and Grill where we saw ‘Rod Stewart’ and at Argassi Captains Hotel we witnessed Gary playing.

The Beer Academy. Image Credit argassizakynthos.com

There was a chilled beach bar called Argassi Solesea which was a fine spot to while away a couple of hours gazing out at the Ionian Sea and on one particular visit there was a chap called Al tinkling away gently on the house piano.

There were two establishments that had music on every evening, the first was the Argassi Green Frog Bar, which had a busy restaurant attached to it. It was a cosy establishment and when we attended there was a decent ‘mash-up’ singer called James Erlam performing. At the opposite end of the resort was Argassi Artemis Bar which was a slightly weatherbeaten venue and an accomplished veteran blues guitarist called Nightshift Kim Starner provided the tuneage.  

We were a couple of miles away from Zante town and we mulched into there a few times, either on foot or on the bus which dropped you at the bus station which was situated on a dusty road overlooking the town. Due to the hot weather, the shops in the capital had proper siesta compliance with a complete shutdown in the afternoon hours.   

There was one restaurant on the front called Spartakos which we visited a couple of times and where we had a fantastic fish platter. Further sealing the deal was when I went to settle up the bill and I spied a picture of my favourite tennis player Rafa Nadal with the owner from when he had visited the establishment.

Gigs from Abroad Part 21 – Porto (Part 1)

In July 2024, Gill and I made our debut visit to the intriguing and picturesque city of Porto (also known as Oporto), Portugal’s second largest city behind Lisbon. I can now see why it was pronounced as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1996, and chosen as Best European destination in 2012, 2014 and 2017 and also became the joint European Capital of Culture alongside Rotterdam in 2001.

In 1387 John I of Portugal married Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt. The latter geezer has an old grungy pub named after him in the centre of Lancaster and I am sure you will be unsurprised to learn that I have seen a band there! At that time the world’s oldest recorded military alliance, the Treaty of Windsor was signed between the two countries.

Famous people from the city include Ferdinand Magellan the globe circumnavigator, Olympic marathon winner Rosa Mota, footballer Dioga Jota and Rui Reininho, lead singer of rock band GNR, whose most renowned album was ‘Rock in Rio Douro’ released in 1992 and it topped the Portuguese charts for a remarkable nine months.

The other famous ex-resident is the Harry Potter author JK Rowling who was an English teacher there between 1991 and 1993. It is said that the impressive art deco Livraria Lello bookshop inspired her vision of Hogwarts, and she began drafting the first novel while ensconced in the city. We only managed to view the shop from the outside as we shuffled past as there were astoundingly long queues.     

Livrario Lello bookshop. Image Credit pandotrip.com

The city centre suffered a dramatic loss of population between 1970 and 2010 before tourism breathed new life back into the area, the previously abandoned buildings being turned into shops and fashionable restaurants, and even a McDonalds is now contained within one of those grand structures. My pal Jason Bax captured it perfectly with his apposite description of ‘charmingly derelict’ when he visited the city to attend the Coliseum to see Nick Cave back in 2008.

On our trip, we left from Manchester on a brutally early Sunday flight and arrived in the city late morning and grabbed some lunch opposite our hotel located within a stone’s throw of the atmospheric Sao Bento train station with its 20,000 glazed tiles designed by Portuguese painter Jorge Colaco.  

Later that day we headed over the hugely striking Porto Ponte de Dom Luis I Bridge over the River Douro, where you can walk across either on the lower level or across the higher level with the expansive views and you amble in the shared space alongside the metro. Just prior to there was a chap called Carlos who was serenading the punters with some jaunty tuneage.

Ponte de Dom Luis Bridge I. Image Credit creativemarket.com

Now I must say I am very partial to a good bridge and there are some absolute crackers here with the first one being built in 1806. The Dom Luis I followed in 1886, and another was designed by Gustav Eiffel, the chap who built that other one in Paris! The additional impressiveness only increases when you consider the fact of the extremely challenging logistics of their design as there are such steep drops down to the riverbank. Later on in the trip we went on a river cruise under all of these structures, which was a visual treat.

On the far side of the bridge in the Ribeira area, we arrived at Porto Jardim do Morro which sits at a historically significant location as it was contained within the Serra do Pilar grounds. This area housed an Augustinian monastery built in 1670, that due to its elevated position played an integral role during the Siege of Porto (1832-34) in Portugal’s Civil War. It is also the location of Sao Joao Festival, a traditional event that takes place every June and includes a firework display set against the panoramic background.   

Jardim do Morro. Image Credit portomoments.com

It is a very bonny green space and as we discovered a really popular communal area with a posse of families basking on the grass in the evening sunshine. There were ice cold beers and Ruffles crisps on sale from a nearby kiosko, both of which we obviously partook in and joined the locals in watching the sunset. Whilst we there we witnessed a local singer called Tiago Macarata.  

What I became instantly aware of is that are singers/artists dotted everywhere across the city, thus I have honed the ones recorded in my annals down to acts witnessed outside specific bars and restaurants where we happened to be residing.   

Afterwards we left Jardim do Morro we headed down to the Ribiera riverfront to hunt down some tea at the swathe of restaurants in that area and post-tucker we saw Mick playing a set in Porto Theophilu’s Bar. Later on, outside another bar we saw Sally yodelling on the Porto Promenade.