Una faccia, una razza… One face, one race… The Greeks love that Italian saying (which refers to the two nations’s shared Mediterranean kinship).

Some people call me a Zelig: I have one of those faces and no matter what Mediterranean country I visit, I generally fit in. And such was the case when I visited Greece in June for the Boutari blog.

But when we visited the small and wonderful village of Goumenissa in Northern Greece, the villagers could pick me out as a foreigner from a mile away.

And they couldn’t understand why an American, with a camera, was so fascinated by their town.

My money was no good there: when I photographed the fish monger, he prepared a package of fish for me; at the bakery, the baker wouldn’t let me pay for her breads…

Sometimes, when life becomes to hectic and I feel overwhelmed by the rhythms of modern living, I think about and long for Goumenissa, mon amour…

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