I'm British, lived in south-east Asia for 20 years. But my fondest memories are of taking long holidays in Greece during the 1960's. My father was a university lecturer, which meant a long summer holiday for him, with the only requirement to mark his students' exam papers.
Every July, as a family (me, my 2 older brothers and my parents), would pack our suitcases, take the train from Leicester to London St. Pancras station, then by taxi to Victoria station and onto the boat train for Dover and Calais. A train to Paris Gare de Nord and then across to the Gare de Sud station for the sleeper train that would take us all the way through Switzerland in the night, emerging in early morning by the Italian lakes. Then followed a long day of train travel as we meandered down the eastern seaboard of Italy, arriving in Brindisi in late evening. We would then board the MV Apia for the overnight journey across the Adriatic to dock at the island of Corfu in the morning. Finally, a 2 hour journey by fishing boat to the small village of Kassiopi, where we would put up at the house of a local village couple, (we always stayed with them).
Then followed a month or 6 weeks of lazing the nearby beach, swimming in the crystal clear waters, or (for me), exploring the nearby castle ruins and catching all manner of butterflies and bugs.
In the evening, we would all eat at the restaurant owned by the village major, listening and dancing to Greek folk music.
To this day, my heart stirs when I hear traditional Greek songs, because it reminds me of these happy times in Greece when I was young.
I'm sure that the Greece that I knew has changed a lot. Now I live in Laos. If I were ever forced or desired to return to live in Europe, a Greek island with traditional music would be top of my list!
How about you?
(This is a very old photo of Kassiopi, but I remember the 3 buildings in this picture as if it were yesterday).