Certainly not PLF's best. A lot of lists and for some reason a focus on a historic begging culture that did have a good long paragraph on wandering to the far orthodox east. The shepherd wedding, his wandering through the monasteries in the mountains, and his crossing of Lord Byron's trails in Greece were interesting, but it was certainly no "Time of Gifts". ( )

A varied collection of travel experiences and ponderings that have in common their sense of place, cobbled together into a book that varies in style and interest. I enjoyed the account of the wedding with the shepherds, the search for Byron's shoes, the meeting with the soldier and partaking of a scrumptious roast leg of lamb, the visits to the Meteora monasteries, and most of all the short chapter included at the end on the Sounds of Greece, a paean to the whole country and beyond, as it mentions Constantinople, Cappadocia, Cyprus and Sicily. I just gape and feel humbled by Leigh-Fermor's knowledge and command of the English language (as well as of Greek).
These times have passed: not to be used as a guidebook. ( )

Inveterate traveler and Grecophile, Patrick Leigh Fermor, relates his minute examination of the less trod areas of northern Greece. The period of these travels and observations were post WWII until the early 1960s. His delightful narrative portrays the changing face of Greece and the disappearance of the nomadic way of life in these remote areas. He touches on every facet of life from marriage and courtship, to war and food, traditions and superstitions.This is a wonderful peek at a vanished world. The erudite Mr. Fermor doesn't stint with the etymology, but if you are not a student of the classics, bear with him and it will be worth your while. ( )

This travel book gives a flavour of a Greece of the 1960s, including an atmospheric trip to the monasteries of Meteora, detailed information about the Sarakatsans nomadic shepherds and following the footsteps of Lord Byon and the village where he died, Missolonghi. Some of the language is difficult and rambling and at other times Patrick Leigh Fermor's writing is so insightful and beautiful. A useful, if haphazard, guide to this area. ( )

The concept of "Northern Greece" is elastic enough to stretch from Crete to Honduras in this second set of virtuoso, quasi-random ramblings about Greece and the Greeks from PLF. As we might expect, he draws on his vast and diverse store of knowledge of two and a half millennia of Greek history and culture to wander off into strange and wonderful digressions, either fascinating or tedious according to how mellow you are when you read them.

I loved the involved and rather pointless tale of Byron's slippers, and had fun with the Greek version of thieves' cant. I found his tendentious speculations on "Roumioi vs. Hellenes" a bit much (although I did catch myself trying to fit some of my Greek acquaintances into his categories...). The best bit was definitely the section on mountain monasteries, though. I almost got as far as looking them up on the map, but I suspect that this is the sort of travel best done from an armchair. Real life with its buses and car parks and admission charges would spoil the whole thing. ( )