[A] Athens- August 21-26

We had a relaxing and fascinating time in Athens, Greece, for four days in the middle of our August adventure. We arrived late at night from Istanbul and took a taxi into the city center to our hotel, passing the new Olympic stadium on our way. Once at our hotel, which was in a relatively sketch neighborhood, we collapsed and rose the next day ready to Acropolate. Because it was a Sunday late in a flat Grecian tourist season, we found little crowd on the Acropolis (that is to say, it was not Acropolyptic), the site of the treasured Parthenon and ruins of the Theater of Dionysus, the Ancient Agora, and the Temple of Athena. The stunning marbles glowed in the sun as we ascended the hill by foot, baking slowly. We had a lengthy photo shoot at the apex before a stumble down towards water and food.

  

 

 We explored the ancient neighborhood of Plaka, the most touristy because of its proximity to the Acropolis and its rather pleasant, old Europe layout. We found a restaurant sunken into a garden and had our first true, dynamic meal since before Turkey, land of the shameless tourist cuisine. It was delightful.

That night we went to dinner in Gazi, a recent product of urban renewal, where greek fusion cuisine is the commodity to treasure. After a stroll around the square which surrounds the Keramikos metro station from which we had exited, an exemplary, polished, white marble cavern to which the Grecian fiscal turmoil can be starkly contrasted, we settled at Mamacas, one of the pioneers of both the urban renewal fo Gazi/Keramikos and of modern greek cuisine. While the food was perhaps overrated, the atmosphere was poppin, and Pomai fed (from a safe distance) one of many kind, stray dogs that roam the city.

 The next day we decided to explore the waterfront area, Glyfada, and to relax a while there on a Mediterranean beach. To reach it we took the tram from Syntagma, the square which abuts both Parliament and the National Gardens. We strolled through the national gardens to the old Olympic stadium before returning to take the tram. After about 50 minutes, we spotted a private beach area and hopped off. Before settling in we had sandwiches at a Glyfada bar, mine coming with some truly stellar fried potatoes. The beach for the afternoon, which melted into evening, was very relaxing. We got back home and asked for a restaurant recommendation near (very near) our hotel, and were directed to Archeon Gefsis. This was by far the most unique dining experience of our stay. Archeon Gefsis, or ancient tastes, takes its theme from the rediscovery of ancient greek cuisine. We were greeted by a waitress in a red toga and taken to our tables set with spoons and knives- forks did not exist in ancient Greece- and wooden tableware. We were brought an aperitif of honey, rosewood, and white wine. Each item on the menu included a quote and citation of an ancient greek text in which the food was directly mentioned. There was no guesswork involved. Pomai ordered duck garnished with fruits, and I had the rabbit. It was a great meal.

The next day, after a late start, we went first to the Acropolis museum, a newly and elegantly designed home to the layers of history and artifacts, as well as the non-pillaged Parthenon marbles, that sits at the base of the hill. The depth and breadth of history was fully present, and the aesthetically pleasing new building made for a nice visit. Afterwards we wandered back into Plaka for a gyro and went shopping for a little while. That night we decided to explore Piraeus, the port area, having heard of great seafood. What perhaps I underestimated was the sheer size of Piraeus, being, in fact, a city that until very recently stood on its own apart from Athens. The attempt to walk from one side, to which the metro brought us, to the other was thwarted by a massive hill. We wandered defeated into a small harbor and found a good meal for a good price that brightened our spirits. Our trek home- thirty minutes walking and an hour on the metro- left us fully exhausted.

 The last day we decided to return to the site of greatest relaxation, the beach. We settled this time on a different one, one with a large inflatable play area on which we paid to play. At the end of the long, calm day (and after the same sandwich and fries as earlier that week) we returned home. We went out again to the Gazi area, this time to a seafood restaurant called Sardelles. I had a series of skewers of prawns, and Pomai had fried cod. It was very good, and there was also a kitten.

 The next day was perhaps the most disastrous of our trip. We missed a flight to Barcelona because I read 3:45 as any sane person would- an afternoon flight. Instead, in fact, the flight had left by the time we woke up, and we scrambled to purchase the last two tickets to Spain (mind you, not Barcelona) that day, as our hotel could not accomodate us for another night. We got to Madrid at 8:30, just in time to miss the last high speed train to Barcelona.