The prolonged household of Greek-Australian footballer, Apostolos Giannou, who final yr grew to become the primary overseas sign-on for Indian Tremendous League membership the Kerala Blasters; paid the athlete a go to final month in unbelievable India.

Born in Naoussa on the Greek island of Paros, Giannou immigrated to Australia at an early age, and rapidly rose via the ranks {of professional} soccer.

Taking part in for the Oakleigh Cannons and South Melbourne FC as a teen, quickly sufficient he was picked up by a succession of Greek Tremendous League golf equipment.

After a two-year stint with China’s Guangzhou Metropolis FC, Giannou returned down below for a spell with Sydney primarily based aspect Macarthur FC.

In 2006 represented Australia within the males’s under-17 nationwide group scoring two objectives throughout eight appearances.

He went on to signify Greece on a number of events, earlier than returning to the Socceroos between 2016 and 2019; his whole profession appearances between the 2 nationwide groups totaling 41 video games.

However on 8 July 2022 the 33-year-old signed a contract with the Kerala Blasters primarily based within the metropolis of Kochi on the Indian sub-continent’s south western coast.

Pam Pollalis, Giannou’s aunt advised Neos Kosmos that since his transfer the household had casually floated the thought amongst themselves that they need to pay him a go to.

What started as idle chatter quickly grew to become a actuality, when in February 2023, Pam alongside along with her daughter Dimitra, her two youngsters and Giannou’s mother and father Takis and Athena made the journey of a lifetime.

“The reality is because the time to set off approached, our anticipation was joined by a bit trepidation… With my four-year-old and 18-month-old grandchildren with us we puzzled whether or not India was the best alternative for a household vacation,” Pam advised Neos Kosmos.

However undeterred, the clan arrived at their vacation spot and not using a hitch, and to their nice aid didn’t discover communication a problem; as English is likely one of the nation’s lingua franca and an official language together with Hindi-Urdu.

It was a rustic which left them with an enduring, constructive impression, one of many journey’s highlights being Giannou’s new hometown, Kochi Metropolis.

“The entire expertise was a mélange of alternating colors and aromas,” Pam recounted to Neos Kosmos.

“Kochi, it’s a metropolis within the southwest residence to about 2.1 million individuals; it’s constructed on canals related to 1 one other by a collection of bridges.”

“It’s verdantly inexperienced, which isn’t a shock when you consider all of the rivers and canals, it’s residence to one of many nation’s largest lakes too,” she defined.

As one of many area’s largest port-cities with a historical past courting again greater than a millennium, for a lot of the final 500 years it served as a key buying and selling submit for varied colonial powers, from Portugal to China and naturally, the British Empire.

Pams says that whereas the town was stunning, its individuals, their heat, kindness and hospitality had been much more so.

Specifically the hospitality of some native buddies left the group awestruck, “their visitors… they deal with them like gods!” Pam remembers.

As for the meals, Pam admits that whereas it was initially greater than a bit piquant, “however we quickly obtained used to it.”

The prolonged household spent a big a part of their time in Kochi in the identical resort as Giannou and everything of the Kerala Blasters soccer group.

“We had the chance to see them day-after-day.”

Although that was often once they shared meals, the group leaving the resort by bus each day to follow till their return round time for dinner.

Nearly each different weekend, Pam says, the group would play a match out of city, in cities so far as 4 hours away by aircraft.

“The distances concerned are large, they’d often be gone the entire weekend.”

So, in that point the household determined to go to the nation’s capital; New Delhi.

“After about 4 hours we landed on the airport, it was huge! Whereas we did need to queue for a while we obtained out comparatively rapidly; our resort was very shut so it wasn’t a fear.”

She describes New Delhi as a melting pot of vacationers and enterprise individuals from throughout the globe.

Not lacking the chance, the household quickly set off to soak up among the capital’s sights.

“Personally, the Nationwide Gandhi Museum left me with the perfect impression. It was full of supplies, pictures, private results and writings from his unbelievable life.”

“However to me essentially the most stunning half was his bronze effigy exterior the constructing.”

On the identical day as their go to to the museum, all seven members of the family visited the Indian Gate.

Accomplished in 1931, it serves as a nationwide warfare memorial, devoted to the 84,000 troopers of the British Indian Military who died within the First World Struggle and Third Afghan Struggle.

“That was the primary time I really noticed simply how crowded the nation might be, all of the toing and froing, it gave me an appreciation for the way huge any populous it truly is.”

“It was the primary time our driver left us alone in a spot stuffed with vacationers and folks! One of the memorable moments needed to be that my 18-month-old grandson had at the least 150 photographs taken of him due to his honest hair,” she mentioned.

However the capstone of their Indian journey was in fact when “after 4 hours driving” the household laid their eyes upon one of many new seven wonders of the world; the Taj Mahal.

Commissioned within the seventeenth century by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, because the tomb of his spouse Mumtaz Mahal; its building lasted over 20 years using roughly 20,000 employees.

“On our method again from the monument we realised a few monkeys had began following us! It was a tremendous expertise and naturally, the kids beloved it.”

Pam says household’s journey to India has left them with certainly one of a form recollections, “of the colors of nature, of youngsters enjoying on the street; of meals and sunsets and sipping coconuts on a river cruise. ”

“Right here’s my conclusion, if you happen to like to journey, you’ve obtained to see India.”

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