Why you should visit Greece with this foodie insider

Hearing George Stergiopoulos describe a Greek sunset is like listening to the romantic whisper of a man experiencing love at first sight.

"Just look at that," Stergiopoulos says, holding a snapshot of silhouetted bodies lined up against an orange-red sky near the Parthenon.

To Stergiopoulos, Greece is home. He knows about hole-in-the-wall falafel shops in Athens as well as remote country restaurants most tourists will never find.

He has a line on an olive oil museum. He can talk his way out of a speeding ticket on Greek highways. One of Stergiopoulos' favorite swimming holes is set among ancient ruins. Whenever he's there, Stergiopoulos enjoys enviable feasts with family and friends.

As Stergiopoulos flips through his vacation photos and talks Greek food, you can't help but wish he'd ask you to go with him.

Well, sound out Stergiopoulos' name — stir-gee-op-oo-los. You'll want to say it correctly when you're in Greece with him.

The plane leaves this summer.

Stergiopoulos is better known as the gracious general manager of his family's The Greek Islands restaurant. It's been Downtown on 906 S. Meridian St. since 1987 (Colts quarterback Andrew Luck told me he likes to eat there).

When you dine at The Greek Islands, Stergiopoulos greets you at the door. He talks to you like he's known you forever and shouts "opa!" louder than anyone in the room every time flaming saganaki arrives at a table.

Stergiopoulos mentions Greece — a lot. He was born in America, but nearly every year of his life, he has traveled back to the family homeland. Recently, he established It's All Greek to Me Tours. The first trip, July 11-14, is a chance to see the country with a true insider.

Travelers will visit a chapel the Stergiopoulos family helped build in Souli. Walking and donkeys are the only modes of transportation on Hydra Island. Food is a big part of the trip. One restaurant is set in a lemon tree grove. Another hangs off a seaside cliff. A celebration is planned at the Stergiopoulos family's homestead.

"When I take these people there, I'm not going to be introducing them as 'my tour' or 'my group,'" Stergiopoulos says. "These are people that I am traveling with, and that's a big deal to me."

The tour costs $4,295 (double occupancy) or $4,495 (single occupancy) per person. The cost of meals, accommodations, attraction entry fees and ground transportation are covered. Air fare is not included. For details visit The Greek Islands or the It's All Greek to Me website, iagtmtours.weebly.com.

Because he loves to travel, Stergiopoulos says he hopes the tour will turn into his new business venture.

"Two more (tours) next year will depend on how much people like this first one," Stergiopoulos says.

He picks up his stack of vacation photos and shuffles through them again.

"This is actually a dig," he says, pointing to a snapshot of people swimming in turquoise blue waters at Heraion of Perachora, an archeological site along the Corinthian Gulf. "People are swimming amongst thousands-of-years-old ruins. We're taking a side trip there."

"This is my buddy's bakery. We'll be going there."

"This is my friend. He's teaching me how to play a beat-up bouzouki."

"These are my parents," Stergiopoulos says, stopping to rub the photo with his thumb.

"You're going home with me," he says of the tour, "because to me, there's nothing more important than where you came from."

Call Liz Biro at (317) 444-6264. Follow her on Twitter @lizbiro, Instagram @lizbirodish and Facebook. Email her at liz.biro@indystar.com.