Χρόνια πολλά!, (Happy Birthday!)

I am getting flak from friends and family that I have not been posting photos of myself on this blog.  I guess that's what happens when you are positioned on the other end of the camera.  Aside from that, I am generally more comfortable behind the lens than in front of it.  But here I am last night at one of our favorite restaurants here in Munich, that we call, "The Greek."

A good friend, an expat from South Africa, invited us to join him there with our friends to celebrate his birthday.  We love this restaurant that serves great Greek food, charges one price for all of the wine and Ouzo you can drink, has belly dancers, and great music and dancing way into the night.  OH, and they encourage you to throw your plates on the floor!

The food was excellent.  I had seared calamari, my favorite, but the photo above is roasted lamb and veggies in a bag--delicious.

The belly dancers were very good and elicited all of the critical whoops and hollers from the male guests and a good amount of blushing too!

The wine, red and white, flowed.  When the flasks ran dry, someone took the empty to the open casks and filled it back up.

With wine so plentiful, and shots of Ouzo making the rounds, it was a conscious effort on my part to minimize my alcohol intake.  I am proud to say that I think I went home in the wee hours of the morning only having two glasses of white wine.  (I can't say the same for hubby who never over imbibes.  He had a rough night.)

But he had a whale of a time while he was there as you can see above with his unsuccessful attempt to balance a shot of ouzo on the top of a pepper grinder.  Not gonna happen, sweetie!

Good friends found the evening full of antics and lots of laughter; all of this before the music and dancers started!

But once the music was underway, the girls (and boys) came out to play.

The birthday boy, as the celebrations begin, answering a birthday toast, was overcome with joy with his near and dear friends there to help him mark his special day.

We all did our best not to disappoint and to make sure that our friend was having a good time.

By all accounts, we managed to do a very good job of helping him celebrate. Happy birthday, dear friend, and best wishes for many, many more!