Greece

 GREECE

May 2007

 

            Any travel to Greece is divinely inspired, of course, but we’ve also been inspired by mortal muses.  The Jessops (Russ’ mother & stepfather) traveled widely thru Greece and their writings guide later explorers.  Daughter-in-law Anthea, whose father has traveled among the Greek isles, has a yen for Greece and contributed a book of info, supplemented by our usual Frommer’s book.  Albany Symphony violinist Katrin, a regular guest, has family on Kos and provided vocabulary tips and inscrutable recipe books in Greek.  Efcharisto (thank you) to our contributors.  We used a “Gate 1” package for travel and lodging  ̶  and subsequently found our dates/hotel choices listed as 1 of “40 Best Trips” in Budget Travel magazine. 

  This trip began thru discussions with Santa Fe (formerly Wisconsin) friends Diane & Jerry.  Couldn’t coordinate our schedules (they’ve booked a trip in the fall), but Wisconsin friend Kay, a companion on several happy trips, is joining us.  She arrives Saturday armed with a book on Greek religion, heavily footnoted and she says too complicated to remember much; but she manages to toss out tidbits of info here and there.  Marjorie & Kay rent “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” to get in the mood.  I’m eager to flex new digital photo & editing skills.  I’ve overcome my reluctance to leave the world of slide photography, took some Photoshop classes, & Marjorie arranged for me to get some digital tutoring from professional photographer friend Larry.  My motto: WWLP (What Would Larry Photograph?).

Monday, 4/30 and Tuesday, 5/1:

            Kay’s horoscope today says “head home” but she’s undeterred.  A pretty springtime drive to NYC.  Will tulips in our yard be depleted by our return?  I’m pumping some pills for a sore back that started over the weekend (and lasts the whole trip); it hurts most when I sit, not the best for long flights, but I try not to whine.  We listen to a CD of Greek music Kay brought.  Into an Avistar parking lot near JFK, shuttle to JFK, easy check-in and thru security . . . 5 hours early for our flight!  Oh well, nothing else to do today and my tour group twosome doesn’t complain (much).  British Airways plane leaves the gate on time but taxis over an hour, departing about 8pm instead of 6:30.  Arrival London Heathrow 45 minutes late at 7:10am (5 hours time change so far), then wait for a gate.  But BA rep is waiting to escort a number of us to our BA flight to Athens, busing us from Terminal 4 to 1 and via “Fast Track” thru security so we make it (even though delayed on the way by a fire alarm!).  Nearly an hour late taking off, 2 more hours time change, arrive Athens about 30 minutes late at 2:30pm.  We made it but not our luggage!  After waiting in the slowest passport line ever (2 other lines keep speeding past us) and another line to have luggage sent on to Santorini, making friends with 3 young women who’ve flown from Las Vegas and languished w/ us in the same lines, we connect with a Gate 1 rep.  While waiting for our last leg of the trip they’ve arranged some free food at Sofitel Hotel across from the terminal.  A nice touch of hospitality, our first samples of moussaka, souvlaki, baklava.  Gate 1 seems very well-organized: reps meet us at each step w/ all the info we need.  But a last indignity: we’re “busted” by security for having bottled water in our carry-ons; have to throw it out.  Aegean Airlines flight leaves at 7, licorice candy handed out.  Too cloudy to be scenic, too tired to care, 30 minute flight to Santorini.  What’s this: wet, windy, cool!  We’re reminded of our arrival years ago in Bermuda during a ferocious storm; things worked out OK then, so we stay optimistic.  Our Gate 1 group fills a bus for transport to the various hotels; it’s a nice mix of folks, younger & older, couples & singles. 

We’re at “Plan D” hotels (yep, the cheapest) and very pleased with our first: the small Plaza Hotel in Kamari, in the black sand beach area on the east side of the island.  Santorini is several islands surrounding a volcanic caldera, reputed by some to be the site of legendary Atlantis.  A pretty hotel room, white w/ blue bedspreads on low twin beds, white tile floor, balcony overlooking vineyards and a cluster of white buildings climbing up a hill in the distance.  It’s low season: we see posted room rate of 66 € now, 128 in July-August.  Marjorie gives thumbs-up to the shower.  Our first reminders to not flush toilet paper but instead discard it into a waste can  ̶  apparently the antiquities here include the plumbing pipes.  All our hotels have hand-held showers and a slot where the key is inserted to activate electricity.  Kay gets bottled water for us; this is advised for taste, not health concerns.  

 Typically Greek white hotel buildings, nice grounds w/ flowers and pool; olive trees line the road in front (a mixed blessing as it turns out).  TV here and other stops has the usual European mix: mostly Greek or other language, various game shows (1 seems like “Deal or No Deal” in US), soccer, beauty contests, an odd ballroom dance competition w/ small children, etc.  I’m tempted to say “It’s Greek to me” but M & K have decided we can’t say that!  Some English-language shows are subtitled in Greek; we watch an episode of “Monk” later in the trip.  CNN Europe and BBC World for English-language news: today there are May Day celebrations around the world, political turmoil in Turkey over an Islamist presidential candidate.  It’s quite cool, so extra blankets tonight.

Wednesday, 5/2:

            Awakened by a rooster at 5:30.  Kalee mera (good morning)!  It’s much calmer, sun poking thru.  I stroll 5 minutes to the village and beach, scooping up some black sand for stepsister Mar’s international sand collection.  Joined by a couple of dogs, my first photo ops: old boat on beach, fisherman, flowers and little garden plots  ̶  the trip is well begun!  I return to join the others for hotel breakfast: breads, cereals, coldcuts & cheese, hard-boiled eggs, etc.  It’s getting sunnier, will become a warm & sunny PM.  From here on we have fine weather, mostly or all clear days, highs in the lower to mid-70s (maybe 1 or 2 days into low 80s).  

 Our rental car for 2 days is delivered to the hotel, a bright blue little Fiat Panda (I still remember how to shift and have the St. Christopher medal Kay brought for Bavaria driving last year). 

First to the nearby airport for our luggage (Kay’s doesn’t arrive until the PM), then off to see countryside; Kay starts pointing out every blue dome; as Katrin said, the basic color scheme here is white and blue, so K can’t keep up.  Up an old cobblestone road to Church of the Panagia, 11^th C Byzantine in Gonias Episkopi village w/ beautiful but relatively dark & crowded interior typical of Greek Orthodox churches here.  Then our first classic Greek views of white houses clustered at the top of cliffs spilling down to the sea.  Very hilly, rocky, dry terrain.  Lots of vineyards, very low plantings to protect from wind.   

Up to Pyrgos, on a hill w/ pretty church, castle at the top w/ 2 donkeys for effect. 

Winding alleyways, flowers, panoramic views  ̶  Wow!   

A mid-AM cappuccino/pastry stop.  Then on the road to Akrotiri w/ fabulous caldera views.  But Akrotiri, a covered archeological site similar to Pompeii, is closed; M & K later learn it’s been closed 2 years after a roof collapse killed a tourist.  Think we’ll find other ruins to see in Greece?   

We follow a trail toward Red Beach, up & around crest of a hill to another spectacular view; but we don’t try to climb down to get sand for stepsis Mar’s collection.  Into a supermarket, but no “Jumpys” (a favorite snack on other European trips).  Getting warmer, and Marjorie figures out how to turn on the car’s AC.  A lounging break at the hotel, Kay’s the only one to bring a swimsuit and relaxes by the pool.

            Off to Oia at the northern tip of the island.  Early dinner at Restaurant Latza, on a terrace with spectacular jaw-dropping caldera views, excellent food: souvlaki, moussaka, pork w/ mustard sauce.  Yummy hummus to start, but no fish today for Marjorie.   

A great place to wander: nice shops, pastel buildings among the white, pretty churches, flowers (including daisies everywhere)  ̶  so many photo ops in every direction!  Many dogs sprawled about, must be group nap-time.  Kay finds olive oil fragrance soap and finishes much of her shopping for others; I’ve found a pretty magnet for my office collection (the usual extent of my travel shopping); Marjorie is still holding out.  

 A crowd begins to gather along the ramparts anticipating the famous sunset here (a counterpart to the Haleakala sunrise we saw in Hawaii but w/o a 4 AM wakeup and long drive to the mountaintop).  Sunset lives up to its billing, growing and deepening w/ what seems a bubble of light at the very end, churches and windmills in the foreground.  Applause from the gathered throng.  After some ice cream we have to search for the car, then a confusing drive thru the dark back to the hotel.  Full moon over the Aegean.  What a great day!  We feel we could do nothing else and still have had a wonderful trip.

Beautiful evening views of the village.After some ice cream we have to search for the car, then a confusing drive thru the dark back to the hotel.  Full moon over the Aegean.  What a great day!  We feel we could do nothing else and still have had a wonderful trip.

Thursday, 5/3:

            Up with the rooster again for a clear blue sky day.  CNN: Turkey still in turmoil with concerns the military might step in, French presidential candidates Royal & Sarkozy had “fiery debate” for runoff election Sunday, big storms in Texas.  We head for Ancient Thira archeological site high above Kamari; very steep (book says “vertiginous”) road w/ many switchbacks (Kay from the back seat: “My mother would not be happy with what you’re doing to me!”).  Very windy at the top w/ still more hiking to the site, so we just enjoy the view over Kamari and coast and will wait for archeological digs later on Delos.  After winding back down M & K are pumped up: “time for shopping!”  A quick stop in a linen shop in Kamari, a lovely old man who says 4 daughters make the linens.  

             On to main town Fira, known for its jewelry stores (as is Mykonos later).  Into a bead shop run by young man (who lived in Chicago) and wife; M & K find various bracelets and necklaces to their liking. 

Cathedral w/ beautiful interior, more fabulous caldera views.  Into “Memento” where M finds bracelet & ring made by young woman’s husband: “you’ll have nice memories of us” she says.  We’ll tell Diane about these shops for their fall trip.  Kay is now working on Christmas shopping.  A cappuccino break, then Marjorie needs another memory card for her camera; even she’s having a digital photo frenzy!  We learn that flower wreaths we see on buses and over shop doors are for May Day.  

 Posidon Restaurant for lunch, quieter out of the tourist craziness.  A lovely spot, outside under trees.  Friendly chatty waitress tells why moussaka is hard to make and shows the proper technique for breaking plates at music halls (presumably a form of cheering, tho they now throw flowers instead).  She’s goodnaturedly bossy, won’t let Kay order gyro (too touristy), insists I share my Greek salad w/ M & K.  Kay explains there are legal requirements for what can be called “Greek salad.”  Excellent olive tapinade to start, grilled shrimp (M), spinach (K) and cheese (R) pies.  Back to the hotel, M & K go looking (unsuccessfully) for more jewelry places nearby, then lounging (a fine thing to do on the Greek isles).

             We all stroll into Kamari and beach area on a beautiful late PM.  Poking thru markets: Kay finds quince preserves (but not her favorite Ritter candy bar), we see sweets like we saw in Istanbul and things Marjorie has found in the Greek neighborhoods of Astoria (Queens) where Matt & Anthea used to live.  

We’re accosted by a Greek bearing fresh fish for Marjorie: dorato (sea bass) that he insists she come in to see for herself, taking her right into the kitchen (M says she’s not used to having such a personal relationship with her food).  Another wonderful Greek meal: refreshing Mythos beer, saganaki (cheese appetizer) and amazing yogurt (again, just like Astoria), stifado (beef stew) for K, kleftiko (lamb w/ Roquefort cheese & potatoes) for R.  All while sitting in Trattoria Bella Napoli under a picture of the Bay of Naples  ̶  go figure!  Not many people around, shops still fixing up for the season later.   

            Just when the evening seems complete we wander (or blunder?) into the town’s main shopping area.  I unburden M & K of their loot to that point and head back to the hotel.  Left to their own devices, they find a nice shop w/ worry beads, pistachio ice cream for Kay, and bring me some cookies from their cappuccino break.

           

Friday, 5/4:

            The rooster ushers in a beautiful clear AM.  TV has a horoscope reading in Italian and a BBC report on how Prince Charles is reducing his “carbon footprints.”  We hang around the hotel chatting with a couple from Chicago and a woman from England who’s here for 2 weeks.  We learn Kos, where Katrin’s family lives, is near Rhodes and not one of the Cyclades islands we’re visiting.  Some entertainment: a cute little dog comes romping up the walk, spots a cat in the shrubs, is promptly sent yelping away by a swat from the cat.  Gate 1 bus arrives for transfer to the ferry port.  We drive high up over the hill on a winding road past many vineyards; guide says “Close your eyes if you don’t like heights.  Don’t worry, driver is doing the same.”  Panoramic views, then many switchbacks down to the port.  Catamaran “Flyingcat 4” leaves at noon for 2½ hour trip to Mykonos.  A nice view up from the caldera.  Two decks, economy (us) and business class (more spacious, cleaner windows), boat capacity is about 450.  There had been some concerns expressed in our little group about a sea voyage, but comfy seats and a very smooth ride.  Snacks of spinach & cheese pies with local Boutari wine.  Past Ios w/ pretty white church on the shore, rock formations off Paros, incredible blue water everywhere.  A mob scene to get luggage when we arrive.  Warmer now & very sunny, wish I’d brought my “European sport shorts” (an inside joke: I bought cheap shorts in a German Woolworths when it was hot on our Rhine cruise).  Mykonos has a very arid climate w/ little natural vegetation; book says it’s “known for sunshine and wind.”  Bus transfer to our hotel past visiting NATO naval ships (from US, Great Britain, Spain, Turkey, Greece).  

Hotel Artemis (Kay tells us Artemis, goddess of the hunt, is Apollo’s sister) is 1½ miles from town on a horseshoe bay across from a nice beach; our room balcony overlooks the beach.  Another simple pretty room, a bit bigger w/ a 3^rd bed. 

 Early dinner along the beach near the hotel: hummus, Greek salad, salmon, lamb chops, roast chicken.  Basically good home cooking served by a friendly woman who chats desserts w/ Marjorie and brings a mystery dessert at the end: yogurt w/ sweet shredded carrots on top.  Yummm!  And traditional Greek music accompaniment: The Chipmunks rendition of “Mr. Lonely.”  

  A beautiful clear evening, a bus into town past harbor w/ cruise ships, schooners, navy vessels.  A confusing place w/ a maze of alleyways & shops.  Frommer’s calls “getting lost in the labyrinthine alleys . . . an essential element of every Mykonos holiday.”  

We’re a success at getting lost, but finally come upon the famous windmills.  But they seem surrounded by tourists & cars!  Many photos are taken to find angles w/o people, cars, warships, etc.  There are so many churches here  ̶  we’re told “one for every day of the year”  ̶  and one place w/ 3 doors in a row w/ a chapel in each, tucked among the tourist shops.  Even the shops are photo ops.  And the windmills and “Little Venice” of restaurants along the bay are quite spectacular. 

 Into a taverna for dessert; like last night’s fish, they insist we come in to see the baklava.  The town becomes especially pretty as shops (especially jewelry shops) are lighted in the evening, lights on cruise ships in the harbor.  More poking around in shops, a long chat w/ a very friendly jeweler.  Taxi back to hotel.  Another fine day!

Saturday, 5/5:

            Noisy partying somewhere along the beach last night, more AM roosters.  Oh well, sleep is overrated.  Another gorgeous day, aquamarine Aegean Sea view from balcony.  I step out to the beach to gather some sand for Mar’s collection.  BBC: the Queen is visiting the US and will attend the Kentucky “Darby” today.  K & M use the computer in the lobby for e-mail.  This is another small family-run place; son seems to manage, mother handles the kitchen, father’s portrait hangs in the breakfast room.  Breakfast here a bit disappointing, only toast & some cake.  Kay doesn’t eat the cake-- “I limit myself to 1 dessert a day.”  (Hmmm, we’ll have to keep track of that on our cappuccino breaks.)   

No big agenda today, into Mykonos to poke around.  Shops just opening at 10, a produce market, men cleaning fish along the harbor, colorful boats and pelicans (descendants of the local symbol “Petros the Pelican,” I find a little figurine for my office).  

 We bump into the friendly jeweler from last night who invites us to stop by in a while for cappuccino.  Dimitrous then regales us w/ tales of local culture and the jewelry business (in Greece a “jeweler” is only someone who handles gold), shows beautiful designs of rings, necklaces, bracelets.  He’s very interested to learn that Marjorie will be starting a new part-time job working for a jewelry designer she’s met thru her Art Auction networking.  M buys a lovely ring w/ traditional “key” design (symbolizes eternity), K a beautiful pendant.  And the best cappuccino in the city!  This will be a very special memory.  Off we go to explore more, passing some budding out-of-tune young musicians we’d heard blaring from a building last night.  

 Photos have slowed some, but can’t resist all the lovely alleys, flowers, doorways, churches.  It’s fairly busy but not crowded in shops & restaurants; but this must be a mob scene in high season!  A quick lunch by the harbor, taxi to our hotel to relax: K on the beach a while, M in the shade as lifeguard; 

  I rest my sore back, then walk around the bay for photos, including a tiny church w/ colorful interior, flowers along the cliffs, panoramas of bay, fishing boats, beach.

            Back to town and another visit to our favorite jewelry shop (“Status”).  Kay decides she needs a chain for her pendant, Dimitrous’ partner/cousin finds just the right thing.  And more lessons: diamonds cost more in S. Africa to encourage export.  

 We get a dinner recommendation: Eva’s Garden.  A lovely spot, surrounded by flowers under a trellis w/ grape vines.  Best dinner of the trip: wonderful tapinade, exceptional grape leaves, moussaka, 4-cheese penne, lamb w/ lemon sauce.  I have to stand or walk periodically when my back is too sore.  Complimentary treat of cinnamon tentura brandy at the end (Kay vows to find some to take home, and is successful later in the trip).  More wandering, only mild confusion by now.  Taxi to hotel about 10, pretty late for us.  Another enjoyable and interesting day!

Sunday, 5/6: 

            Sunday AM TV includes: a Greek Orthodox service; children’s show w/ characters dressed as snowman, penguin, dinosaur, etc.; BBC dramatization of terrorist plot.  Who cares?  Today we’re off to Delos, the only Gate 1 optional escorted tour we selected.  But first, Kay announces she’s done w/ her Christmas shopping.  Our ride into town passes harbor area being filled in, we learn it’s for additional parking in the summer high season: ♫They paved paradise and put up a parking lot!♫ (as Joni Mitchell put it).  A smooth boat ride about 2-3 km to Delos, passing several islands (1 w/ a little church and not much else).  Delos is the birthplace of Apollo & Artemis, holy sanctuary for ancient Greeks, at one time the most important trading center in the Mediterranean.  One of 39 Cycladic islands, it’s now uninhabitated and a World Heritage Site w/ the most varied collection of ruins in Greece (tho only about 1/5^th  has been excavated).  

  The array of sites is impressive, w/ many wildflowers (and monster weeds!) spread thruout.  But we don’t find it as impressive and moving as Pompeii.  One oddity: very large noisy frogs in ponds below an aqueduct  ̶  seems to be the time for a young frog’s fancy to turn. 

 Marjorie’s head is all stuffed up today and it’s getting pretty warm, so we catch an earlier boat back to Mykonos, where it’s cooler.  3 large pelicans along the harbor, 1 calmly eats from a fish bucket surrounded by tourists snapping photos.  Light lunch at a taverna on “Taxi Square”: K finds pastitsio (pasta w/ cheese, sort of Greek lasagna).  We reconnect w/ our group returning from Delos to catch a ride back to the hotel.

            PM lounging around hotel & beach.  The beach is busier today; I consider joining a soccer game, but darn  ̶  I forgot to bring my young Greek body!  Instead I find more exercise for my camera finger: colorful boats, buildings, doors, flowers, even one of the local roosters we’ve been hearing (silhouetted artistically in front of white houses).  Back to the nearby beach hotel for dinner.  More good food on a pretty evening.  K’s mussels prove a big attraction for several cats.  An UNO game on the balcony at sunset, lights twinkling on naval ships.  Breaking news: Sarkozy elected President of France.  We have ice cream bars to top off the night.

Monday, 5/7: 

            Noisy again last night: loud bangs from firecrackers, a horn from departing cruise ship.  This AM we hang at the hotel waiting until our flight to Athens.  View from our balcony includes 6-7 cats arrayed along a wall below us to eat from little piles of cat food put out for them; that helps explain the # of cats here.  Activity in the bay as NATO ships begin leaving, tugboats & other little boats crisscrossing the bay.  Friendly hotel manager & his mother wave goodbye as our bus leaves.  It’s about 4 km to the airport, views of more of the island from rocky hills to a Starbucks.  We can tell some of our Gate 1 group have made use of the beaches for which Mykonos is famous.  20-minute Aegean Airlines flight, below we see coast & beaches, naval ships steaming in a straight line.   

            Arrive Athens about 12:15; 2 parts of the Gate 1 package merge here, since ½ had started on Mykonos and ½ on Santorini.  We know right away we’re back to city life: very heavy traffic (glad I’m not driving here!) and nightmarish parking.  To our Hotel Oscar Inn.  Our bus creates a jam while unloading luggage; bus driver behind us is screaming and waving and gets out, but happily no fisticuffs.  It’s your basic big-city hotel in a mixed commercial/residential area, 2 blocks from train & metro stations.  After settling in we grab a snack from a bakery across the street, then off to our 1^st metro ride, w/ only a little confusion about tickets and validation.  Metro is quite clean & quiet, museum displays in some stations.  

First trip is to Syntagma Square, a commercial center, just in time to watch changing of the guard at nearby Parliament.  K later tells us the guard uniforms are from the War of Independence against the Turks; we think maybe they died laughing at the skirted uniforms.   

We stroll along streets in the Plaka area.  Past an old church tucked under the corner of a skyscraper: a chapel for women who want to be pregnant. 

Incredible deep red bougainvillea (which we’ve seen thruout our travels) growing down 5 stories of a building.  Metropolis Cathedral covered with scaffolding, but beautiful interior and pretty roses by a statue outside in the square.  Nearby smaller and older “Little Metropolis” aka “Virgin Who Answers Prayers Quickly.”   

We find what K heard was the “most picturesque street,” but it’s not so special w/ stalls like a flea market; happily, they don’t have the aggressive hawking that we encountered in Istanbul.  

 

Periodically we round a corner to find ruins tucked among the commercial & residential area, the Acropolis looming above.  

I hike up seeking a view overlooking the Acropolis; I have to give up, but find some panoramic views overlooking the Agora ruins and city beyond.  We wander into the quieter Anafiotika residential area, pretty streets & flowers.  A pretty alley w/ stores of religious crafts, tile mosaics in the walkway.  

 An older man  ̶  says he’s “Louis from NY”  ̶  reels us into his outdoor cafe next to Little Metropolis, kissing hands of the ladies and promising a special mixed plate for us.  This proves to be a big splurge, but a very memorable meal: after large plates of salad, a huge plate w/ calamari, shrimp, sardines, mullet, dorato (Marjorie told them to skip the octopus  ̶  there are some limits to our culinary adventurousness).  Such fresh fish well-prepared that even a non-fish-lover like me enjoys it.  A guitarist for mood, complimentary brandy to finish.  And the entertainment of watching “Louis” work his wiles on every woman who comes along.  

Afterward we ride the metro closer to the Acropolis for lighted views from below (and get a 24-hour ticket to handle our transport needs thru tomorrow).  A long line of booths set up for a book fair, including colorful children’s books.  Kay the librarian decides maybe now she can write off the trip as business expense.

Tuesday, 5/8:

          The day begins with shower gymnastics: a hand-held shower w/ no shower curtain, something we’ve encountered elsewhere in Europe.  An extensive buffet breakfast: croissants, scrambled eggs & sausage, cereals, coldcuts, yogurt & fruit.  We chat w/ a friendly couple from Australia on their way to Bulgaria and Croatia.  To the metro Acropoli stop,

            then a nice walk around the base amid pretty flowers & trees to the Acropolis entrance (I keep calling it “Acropolypse”).  Lots of dogs being walked (or on their own).  A bit cloudy today which keeps things cooler & more comfortable. 

Heading for tickets I meet Maria, a licensed guide, who asks if we’d like to join a small group.  We join 4 others (father & young son from W. Virginia & one other couple from the states) for a very pleasant and informative couple of hours full of details about culture and history that really adds to the experience. 

Maria says that Marjorie’s stuffed head is probably due to an “orgasm” of olive tree pollen; there are so many dogs because of Greek Orthodox resistance to sterilization (but Maria supports government efforts to change this); euro notes are different from every country so you can tell where they’re from; there’s a lot of reconstruction being done to the Parthenon because of damage from 2 earthquakes since 1981.  She tells us a bunch of other good stuff, but I’m not telling you that for free!  As we leave it’s become very crowded w/ many bus tours and school groups  ̶  it was good to get here early at 8:30. 

 

             Today’s AM “cappuccino break” includes orange juice, hot chocolate, and Greek coffee (yuck!-- but K likes it) in view of Hadrian’s Arch.  Here and other cafes the bill comes in a tiny shot-glass sized cup that M & K covet.   

Thru a residential area w/ a pretty church to the Greek Folk Art Museum: costumes, crafts & ornaments, instruments, interesting masquerades for Carnival and 12 Days of Christmas when “evil spirits at large.”   

We stroll thru part of the National Garden on the way to Syntagma Sq., then metro to our hotel.  M & K explore a grocery store, I hit the bakery.  We have lots of dust on our shoes  ̶  dust is everywhere especially cars from lots of construction w/ little rain to wash things off.

            After a little relaxation, a metro ride to Central Market w/ large areas for meat and fish, veggies, spices, etc.  We stroll into a very interesting store w/ olive oil, vinegar, giant economy size bottles of ouzo (a powerful local alcoholic beverage), preserves and “spoon sweets” of oranges, carrots, cucumber, grapes, etc.   

Jeweler friend Dimitrous had suggested we go to Kifissia, a suburban end of the metro, for respite from the big city, so off we go passing the Olympic complex (we’ve heard local disgruntlement about the debt created by those Games) and “The Mall” (as the name suggests, a huge shopping center).  Kifissia is a lovely spot, cooler w/ a large park across from the station with a flower & garden show.  Impressive flower exhibits of many colors in a pretty green space w/ many tall trees. 

 M & K gasp when they see a large rose plant cut down; turns out it’s being readied for planting by a young Greek Orthodox priest in traditional black robe and beard; he smiles and hands blossoms to M & K.  He doesn’t speak English, but is pleased when Kay says efcharisto. Some sandwiches (plus pistachio ice cream for Kay), Marjorie gets some grocery items, then metro back on a pretty evening.  Back at the hotel for some baklava from the bakery.  Later an UNO game and wine to celebrate a fine trip.  We agree Athens has been fascinating, but we liked the islands best.

Wednesday, 5/9: 

            Up early again for breakfast and 10-minute walk to the National Archeological Museum on a clear sunny AM.  Kay notes the Museum has Ionic columns with 24 fluted ribs; she gets an A for paying attention to Maria’s lessons yesterday.  Fascinating acrobatic sculptures in front.  This is Greece’s counterpart to London’s British Museum (and, of course, Greece has complained about other countries “looting” Greek antiquities), impressive exhibits beautifully displayed.  We begin, appropriately, w/ prehistoric exhibits.  Even those artifacts have such beauty, w/ quite delicate figurines.  There are many gold figurines & ornaments, sculptures, pottery & metalwork, funerary reliefs, and on and on.  Reminders of the remarkable culture and history here; and so many gods and goddesses!  An exhibit about the Battle of Thermopylae, now seen in the movie “300 Spartans.”  A pretty garden w/ roses & the orange trees M has admired.  Our timing again proves fortuitous, many school groups streaming in as we leave.   

M & K find one more street market on the way back w/ beautiful produce (M especially remarks on the artichokes) and table linens.  A last cappuccino & bakery treat while waiting for our transfer to the airport.  Some confusion connecting w/ the bus, but we’re off to the airport OK.  A “McCafe” snack and chat w/ young women from New Jersey.  Flight departs only a little late at 3 w/ a pretty coastal view.  We’re late into London Heathrow due to headwinds, and it’s raining!  We’re again met by British Airways staff and escorted efficiently from Terminal 1 to 4 and thru security to make our connecting flight; and hooray, the flight attendant is able to confirm that our luggage is also on-board.  Into JFK a little early at about 8:30pm, easily thru customs etc., shuttle to our car lot.  We stop several times on the way home to stretch my sore back and pump in some caffeine.  Home at 1am.

            A wonderful trip!  As can be gathered from this account, many photos were taken: nearly 500 by me, another 200 by Marjorie.  Digital means never having to say you’re sorry for taking more pics, and I could enjoy looking them over on the flights home.  Now I wonder why I waited so long to go digital!  Our timing was impeccable.  The Bavarian weather curse from last year (rain & snow in May!) was lifted so we had wonderful weather, and didn’t have to struggle with crowds.  We kept remarking that it must be really hot & crowded in the peak July/August season.  With the exchange rate (1 $ = about .74 €) and general costs in Greece, this was probably our most expensive food trip.  And acceptance of credit cards is more limited here, so more liberal use of ATMs for cash.  But the very reasonable Gate 1 package rates for air/hotel, plus discount for early booking and “Plan D” hotel choices (nothing fancy, but comfortable, convenient, quite fine for our needs), enabled some splurges on dining, guides, other “incidentals.”  Gate 1 proved very reliable in handling all the details.  They hire locals as guides & escorts; the young woman escorting us to & from the Delos tour had several signs with her, digging thru to find the appropriate one for whichever group she was affiliated w/ at that time.  Once again Kay was a delightful companion, especially for poking around the lovely shops w/ Marjorie (while I wandered in search of more photos), and Kay did her usual good job of tallying up shared expenses (though we owed her money at the end, so maybe there should be an audit).  I had a pain in the . . . but not because of the company.