May 20, 2019
Our last full day & this and that
Sunday was our last full day here in Athens and the plan was to stay in, catch on up things, do laundry and pack for the next leg of our trip and rest. That is pretty much what we did and having leftovers from the previous dinner made for an easy lunch. All went well until the laundry part. Colin was somewhere in this huge apartment making music and I was downloading and editing photos. I got up to check on the laundry to see a flooded bathroom floor ( where the washing machine was ), creeping along the hall and onto living room hardwood floor 😯 Long story short, the last user had somehow dislodged the drain from the hole in the wall and we had a massive mess to clean up. Done, laundry outside drying on the provided racks.The only other problem was that my shampoo and conditioner bottles had leaked but my trusty ziplock bag provided containment and no mess. It was an overcast, coolish day so a good day to stay in and rest up the old body.
When we arrived we were informed of a pigeon sitting on an egg of the back balcony.
I have yet to see a McDonalds here in Athens so I just Googled it. There are two, the rest closed as the locals prefer their own cuisine 😀 The other thing I noticed is that cars do not honk their horns. Car alarms go off every now and again but the drivers simply wait patiently for whatever has stopped them.
Just the one egg laid in a plant pot. Usually they lay two and it takes between 16 – 19 days to hatch. Sadly we won’t be here that long. Papa comes in for the night shift while Mamma flies off to do whatever she does. Yesterday afternoon Papa came by with a tiny twig to add the the wee but not traditional nest. She would not get off the egg so he wedged it in under her. We have taken to feeding them bread crumbs which they love and have provided water.
Did you know that Greek tomatoes and cucumbers are the best? Every bite so consistently tasty. I think I could live on Greek salads and a protein like fish or cheese, but then there is the tasty, but heavy breads and tsatsiki. We have only been drinking the house wines which are very good and sell on average for 5 Euro per 500 ml. Actually that had become my cost meter. If the wine is higher than that, I figure that the menu has been marked up too much. We buy somewhat cheaper wine for here in house if we can find it. So far we have found supermarket wine very expensive unlike Italy and France on last years vacation.
Somehow I don’t think that they have many break ins with the type of deadbolts the doors have. Both Canada and the US could take a few notes.
From one of our favorite restaurants and the only one we have been to twice, including last night.
The tall post has a number of positive sayings in many languages.
In French….I was pretty much on point with my interpretation but decided to check with my French expert Rae for accuracy for you my blog readers. Tout vient à point” means all that should happen will happen” and “à qui sait attendre” means “to those who know how to wait.” I think that an equivalent English phrase would be something like “Good things come to those who wait,” even if it’s not exactly the same.
We walked two blocks down to find a new place for dinner. We love each restaurant that we have tried thus far in this area but it is always good to keep seeking. The tables here were also at slight angles. We later found out that this used to be a quiet area and has been discovered in the past few years. Many locals are coming here to dine in the many great restaurants hence making it very busy. Sadly that means lots of smokers and we have had to shut our balcony doors a few times as it drifts up here to our third floor apartment. This place is called Auyepiros and is where we decided to eat. Turns out they don’t even put ashtrays on the table unless you ask. How lucky was that for us. It was a perfect final meal.
I was concerned that we would have problems with the language here, especially reading the street signs, but is hasn’t been an issue at all. We somehow managed to find everything and to walk everywhere. We spent a total of 13 Euro on three taxis, no need for the metro ( we walked as far as three stations in a few directions ) nor the many buses and trams. Athens is a very friendly city. We have felt safe everywhere in our travels over the last few years but there is something special here. Back in Nice last year folks were unhappier and abrupt and yet I spoke the language fluently. Remember how Colin got buttermilk thrown on him walking down the street. We encountered so many brushes with pickpockets in the big cities of Italy. This really felt like home to us. Despite their economical hardships the Greeks are lovely people.
We started dinner with year another salad and this was the best one ever. The tomatoes were perfectly ripe and so tasty as was the rest of it. Good thing we split it. If we weren’t leaving I would be there everyday having that salad for lunch.
I had falafel with more tomatoes and lettuce and really good sauce for the falafel. I forgot to find out what it was. Colin had a falafel pita ( wrapped in white on the right ) that had everything I had on my plate in it but in smaller quantities. He even had some fries in it as well. The fries were not greasy, almost like they are lightly baked. I wasn’t going to eat them but they were good. Of course Colin had some of my food as well.
We ate everything. Dinner was a two thumbs up. Oh the wine was great as well and our best price for only 3 Euro per 500 ml. We had two bottles 🙂
We both had been hearing the Song Never on a Sunday as we walked. I was young when I first heard it and did not realize until now that it originated here in Greece. It was nominated for and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song back in 1960. Anyway Colin just suddenly started playing it when we got home, somehow he knew the music and somehow I knew the words. We have to polish our act a bit but I think it is a keeper for us.
You can listen to it here. Listen to it as you read about the end of our time here in Athens.
Our time here in Athens has come to an end. Time for a new adventure. In 90 minutes we are about to head to the Piraeus Port here in Athens to board the Celestyal Crystal. We are off on a seven day cruise of the islands. As there is no onboard internet unless you sell your firstborn (which I don’t have) to pay the exorbitant daily fee, I have no idea when I will be posting again. I plan on posting everyday by finding free internet in every port but we shall see what transpires. Please stay tuned for whatever surprise posts I can send your way.
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Thank you for your wonderful write up of Athens. The salads made me miss Bulgaria. Rather wish you were going north to Bulgaria instead of on a cruise but I’m sure the cruise will be really fun too! 🙂 Have fun and don’t worry about being off-line too much.
You have had a wonderful time there in Athens, now off to enjoy your cruise, have fun.
I too love Athens like that. Sometimes a big noisy city but vibrant in it’s food, people and monuments. I will never tire of returning to Greece (I am sure there is a 3rd trip there in our future at some point). I love the islands as well – look forward to that!
Glad to see you had a good experience in Athens. We loved Greece and I am sure you will love your cruise.
What a great post! The food, the wine, the places you’ve been and the things you’ve seen. Can’t wait for the cruise! Have fun and continue with the bread, wine and thou!
Thanks for these great posts about Athens! We have the 4-bolt deadbolt lock on our entry door here in Guadalajara; it takes two full turns to lock, and we feel quite secure. It also has a completely different type of key that I think makes picking the lock much more difficult. Looking forward to hearing about your cruise!