October 10th to 15th, 2001
The dream from last year has come true! In
spite of the unsettling terrorist attacks on Sept. 11th, and the war
starting October 7th in Afghanistan – we decided to do it! We left
Dulles Oct. 8th to Frankfurt – then to Athens, arriving ~ 1:00 PM
local time on the
9th. Ilias met us at the airport, then took us to his office through
some amazing traffic before heading to his
home in Elefsina about 4:30. Rania prepared a huge feast
(meant to be lunch – turned out to be dinner!) of wonderful local cheeses,
roasted peppers, salmon canapés with caviar,
Greek
salad, roasted beef and potatoes, roasted
goat, a zucchini-like vegetable, etc.! Whew! After a much-needed shower and nap, we headed to a
local nightspot (called a “café” – “tavernas” serve meals) for MORE drinks and
snacks, and met some of their friends – nice!
We stayed up talking and eating MORE food
(including a wonderful cheese dessert in homemade phyllo) until 1:30 AM!
Today Rania took a day off to give us a
wonderful tour in the Peloponnese region, lasting
7
hours! We scrambled over some immense ancient rocks in the
Mycenae ruins – the
capitol of the Mycenaens, who won the Trojan War and dominated Greece 1000 years
before Socrates! The fortifications and tombs date back from the 14th
to the 12th centuries B.C. – incredible! Then
,
after a winding drive through olive groves and
little towns, we arrived in lovely Nafplion on the coast for lunch: cheese
(batter-fried), bread, shrimp, octopus, and tasty little red mullet – fried
whole, plus Greek salad, of course. After a walk and a coffee, we headed home,
passing the impressive ruins of Argos, where the initial construction was
thought to begin ~ 680 B.C.
The trip back on the larger autoroute took us
through some impressive countryside – large mountains – some barren, some with
trees – olive groves and farmland, but no towns. A wild land – strong –
impressive. I’m already overwhelmed, but excited, about the history of this
region – factual and mythical – but all quite ancient. Much more study is
needed to better appreciate what we’ve experienced and what lies ahead.
Tonight Paul heads to his first big soccer
game: The Olympiacos vs. Manchester United – and I’ll have dinner with Rania
and her friends. More tomorrow!…
(10-11) Last night Paul enjoyed
the 'Champions League'
soccer game – but the Greeks lost 0-2. Sadly, Ilias had his wallet stolen, so
they had an adventure in the police station making the report – finally arriving
home at 2:00 AM! I had a delightful seafood and pasta feast with Rania and four
of her friends (2 spoke perfect English), with the highlight a fantastic
appetizer of eggplant, melted cheese and mussels --- Yum!
Now we’re just winding down from an exhausting,
but exhilarating day. Although it was hot and dusty, our bright and lovely tour
guide “Laura” (grew up in Corfu – British mother, Greek father – speaks Greek,
English, German and Italian – and “loves” Americans!) made our tour of the
Athens Acropolis (“top of the city”) and the surrounding historic area really
delightful and incredibly interesting. We walked and climbed for hours and will
need to purchase a book to
record everything accurately – but it was definitely
time well spent. Just considering the level of civilization, engineering and
culture taking place so long ago makes one pause to appreciate how much we owe
the ancient great ones….. (I will definitely be purchasing some books on
mythology and ancient Greek history to enhance what we’ve seen.)
Athens is a busy, crowded city with CRAZY
traffic and wild, aggressive drivers – so pedestrians beware! We’re both
relieved that we didn’t need to rent a car – I would have had a nervous
breakdown!
(10-12)Last night we had a wonderful
feast at a restaurant in Elifsina: TRATA, owned by Ilias’ friend Alex, where
they serve ONLY fresh seafood. It was a lively family affair with George
home from the University in Lesvos (now a sophomore majoring in Marine Science –
looks great – with longer hair and a goatee!), Ilias’ parents who live upstairs
(George, 87 and Emily, 70 – both very sweet), Ilias’ brother Andreas, his wife
Rita, and their 7-year-old daughter Emily – adorable! When Greeks sit down to
eat, there are no “courses” – the plates just keep on coming! We arrived at
9:00 PM and finished at ~11:30! Drinks were ouzo (of course!), a local light
red wine, and
a white retsina – surprisingly good! Starters were cheeses,
wonderful local vegetables, bread, Greek salad, clams on the half-shell, steamed
clams, grilled octopus, wonderful stuffed calamari (fresh, tender, and huge –
stuffed with cheese, chopped green pepper, tomatoes, & herbs)– then more
vegetables (red beets, sautéed beet leaves & squash), red mullet (lightly coated
with flour and gently fried – better than Wednesday’s batter-dipped), a rare
local fish (? Name) that was scrumptious, and another plate of larger fish –
rich and wonderful – looked like it was from the grouper family. Dessert was
perfect: huge platters of tart green apple slices and sweet local grapes. A
WONDERFUL evening! We also met many of Ilias and Rania’s friends at this
popular taverna – all sitting outdoors in this glorious weather – many not
arriving until 10:30 – 11:00. They included the mayor of Elefsina, a judge, a
TV director, a publisher, etc. – all very warm and friendly to the only
“foreigners” in the place.
A little more about Elefsina – our “home” these
past 4 days. It is a working-class town near a working shipyard where Ilias has
lived since he was 3. It’s ~ 30 km from Athens on
the way to the Peloponnese.
Their house is lovely – gated entrance with many plants, tiled floors, an open
living-dining-kitchen area that is bright and welcoming, and a delightful back
area paved with different stones set in cement and covered by OLD olive trees,
jasmine, bouganvillia and surrounded by countless plants – tended to by
“grandpapa”. Ilias’ father is absolutely adorable -- speaks no English (but
does know some French) – smiles all the time, and really seems to enjoy being
with us. His mother is quiet and sweet – always trying to please. We’ve been
very spoiled!
Today we traveled to Aegina by car ferry to
explore one of the lovely islands closer to Athens.
The ride took ~ 1 ½ hours and was very comfortable. We toured the area along
the marina with countless wooden fishing boats and some beautiful sailboats,
then enjoyed the fish market and sampled the local wares at an outdoor spot 3
feet from
the stalls – Ilias’ favorite – and NO tourists! Again – with ouzo – we chomped
down more octopus, vegetables (cauliflower & kale), a garlic dish made with
soaked bread and olive oil (yum!), and an assortment of little pan-fried fish
that you just pop in your mouth – one bite each! After a brief car tour –
beautiful homes and sights – we returned to the ferry and home. Tonight – after
10 PM – we go out for live Greek music until the wee hours! More tomorrow……
(10-14) Last evening – our last night in Athens – we had
quite a celebration with our friends. At ~ 9
PM we went for dinner in the center of Athens to “Alexandras” – a wonderful
Greek restaurant (unknown to tourists, of course!), where Ilias, Rania, Andreas,
Rita, Paul and I feasted at a beautiful outdoor table on a “sampler” of non-fish
Greek specialties, including wonderful salads of chopped fresh vegetables,
bread, spiced meat patties, sausages, stuffed grape leaves, cheeses, etc. etc.!
– too many dishes to remember! With several carafes of red and white wine,
coffees and a not
very
tasty (complimentary) Turkish dessert, the bill for six was only ~ $75 – a real
bargain! After this “snack”, we headed through narrow roads to find a rare
parking place near their popular club, which featured live Greek traditional
music starting at 11:30 PM! It was a blast! The music was really
wonderful –
sad,
sexy and stimulating – with ongoing impromptu dancing by aWll – especially the
traditional dances for men and women (Video of Greek
nite club). We left “early” at 4:30 AM after enjoying the added company of
George and his beautiful girlfriend “Penny” and Alex (owner of Strata
restaurant). Arrived “home” at 5:00 AM, “crashed” until 10:00, then had to pack
for the upcoming cruise… with some regret… time with our friends went too fast!
Ilias’ mother Emily prepared a fantastic farewell lunch for us: mousakka, tztzini, Greek salad, and the cheese and pepperocini dip for the
wonderful thick slices of Greek bread, accompanied by delicious Greek white
wine. After the farewells, Ilias drove us to the port of Pireas to join the
cruise ship.
(Continues on Athens to
Istanbul)
