Life in Lefkada Town - Jun 1, 2006 - Levkás, Lefkás, Greece

"So how long have you two been married?" asked the handsome, tanned, well-built waiter as he cleared our table at a fantastic pizzeria in Lefkada Town.

"Twenty two years", we replied, talking over each other, just like a couple whose been together twenty two years. The waiter nearly dropped his meticulously balanced plates. "Twenty two years!" he said incredulously. He turned to Terry and said "Well, you must be ready for a new wife by now!"

Almost as fast as his tip disappeared, he headed to the kitchen to tell the chef. This guy came back wanting to know all the details of our lives - and we were soon to find out all the details of his. As there was a major football match on (or soccer match, depending on where you live), eateries without huge TV screens were empty, as was this one, so our waiter had plenty of time to talk.

At 38, our waiter had lived in the small port town all his life. Not having found a suitable partner among the local girls ("I always got bored," he said) he'd been dating foreign girls, either when travelling or when they, dining at his restaurant, had taken to his good looks and charm. In a town this size, a playboy soon runs out of options and he was beginning to fret. "I can't keep travelling to have relationships and I can't find a girl who'll want to come and live here," he sighed, "It's a small town." "Move," was our synchronised response. "I can't leave. My parents and family are here," he protested.

"But how do you know that you're the ones for each other when you got together so young?" he wanted to know. "Well, you don't, but relationships need to be worked at," Lara explained. "Besides, we didn't get married that long ago, we just like to celebrate being together on the anniversary of our first serious date." "So you lived together before you got married?" he asked. "Yes, and because we were young, it was hard," Terry added, "But if you love someone, you stick with it". "I could never do that here," he said. "Then you just need to find a more open-minded girl," Lara suggested. "Oh I could never do that here," he proclaimed. "We have a word for a girl who'd do that. It just wouldn't be right. Not in this town, it's too small."

We asked if he had his own place. "Oh, no! I live at home. My parents need me there." "Are they really old?" Terry asked. "No, they're in their 60's. They're both healthy." "So why do you need to live at home?" Terry pressed. "Well, they brought me up and fed me, how could I leave them?"

Girls, if you're looking for a good-looking, responsible 38-year-old 'family' man, email us. But make sure you've got some sharp scissors, because cutting those apron strings is going to take some work.