Breakfast with a view of the Parthenon or to be accurate the Acropolis, who could hope for more? We ate our breakfast at the 6th floor Sky Bar buffet. Amazing views, despite the fog or smog (?) in the air. There is was quite a spread - Any sort of bread you might want, fresh fruit, dried fruit, jams, jellies, honey, quiche, spanakopita (a personal favorite), eggs 2-3 ways, sweets, juices, etc. The coffee was very good served with a pitcher of warm cream.
In the early afternoon we walked around and found an ATM to get more Euros. I had about EU$80. from a previous trip but after paying the taxi we need more. We discovered our hotel is at the top of a hill, thus the good views. Some streets are lined with orange trees with fragrant blossoms. We saw several shops and browsed a deli as well. It was tempting to stop at one of the many cafes but the truth is we are too full from breakfast. I bought some Mastiqua, which is sparkling water distilled with resin from the tree by the same name. It is supposed to be really healthy and good for digestion. I need that after the plane yesterday.
We relaxed the rest of the afternoon (John slept) and had our orientation for the tour at 6p, with welcome drinks. Alexandra is our guide and she seems super. We have 3 men, 28 women on our tour, 14 of the group are friends from Maine. We went through a briefing of the days of the tour and then headed out to our dinner spot at To Kafeneio Restaurant at Loukianou 26, Athina 106 75. (saving address for later) There are Greek letters that we don't have, nothing is equivlant, so it is a challenge to know the correct translation or find it when I Google. However, the food needs no translation here, it is fantastic! By the time the appetizers of salad, eggplant, spanakopita, stuffed cabbage, and other things were done we were full! Then came the lamb and pork dishes followed by dessert. Everything was fantastic. We dined with Ann from CO and Tom and Barbara from OH with pleasant dinner conversation. From there Alexandra took us on a different route back to the hotel showing us a small market and such. Some of the group is going to mass at midnight. It would be nice but we will be too tired tomorrow if we do that so we will stick with the schedule. There is good and bad to traveling to Greece on the Easter Holiday, but we have no regrets. We went to the Sky Bar to see the Acropolis lit up and take other photos after we got back. They have the buffet area set up for Easter Brunch with the red eggs and special bread.
Breakfast View
The Last Flight of Stairs, Phew!
We relaxed the rest of the afternoon (John slept) and had our orientation for the tour at 6p, with welcome drinks. Alexandra is our guide and she seems super. We have 3 men, 28 women on our tour, 14 of the group are friends from Maine. We went through a briefing of the days of the tour and then headed out to our dinner spot at To Kafeneio Restaurant at Loukianou 26, Athina 106 75. (saving address for later) There are Greek letters that we don't have, nothing is equivlant, so it is a challenge to know the correct translation or find it when I Google. However, the food needs no translation here, it is fantastic! By the time the appetizers of salad, eggplant, spanakopita, stuffed cabbage, and other things were done we were full! Then came the lamb and pork dishes followed by dessert. Everything was fantastic. We dined with Ann from CO and Tom and Barbara from OH with pleasant dinner conversation. From there Alexandra took us on a different route back to the hotel showing us a small market and such. Some of the group is going to mass at midnight. It would be nice but we will be too tired tomorrow if we do that so we will stick with the schedule. There is good and bad to traveling to Greece on the Easter Holiday, but we have no regrets. We went to the Sky Bar to see the Acropolis lit up and take other photos after we got back. They have the buffet area set up for Easter Brunch with the red eggs and special bread.
Delivered to Our Room, Happy Easter
Holy Saturday
Roasted Pork Dish for Dinner
It is uplifting to see how Easter is celebrated here in Greece. EVERYONE seems to honor this season in a remarkable way. Maybe because the country claims to be 95% Christian. I am sure there are other faiths here that may not celebrate Easter. John says it may be more social Christianity from what we have seen so far. It is a blessing to celebrate Easter in this atmosphere.
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