Greece
Trip Report: What can you say about a trip to Greece?
Athens
Part 2
Part 2
Day 15
We had an 11:45am Aegean Air flight to Athens arriving at 12:30pm. The kid who gave us the tour was waiting on time for the airport run. We arrived at the airport to discover a line up out the door. Thankfully it wasn’t our lineup, but some junket flight to somewhere. The airport was a zoo both outside in the ticketing area and in the small boarding area. Boarding was done in typical Euro fashion with an announcement and then a crush of people all trying to board the shuttle bus at the same time. But the flight went without a hitch. As we were taxiing in at ATH we noticed a mass of military in dress uniforms and a fleet of limos on the tarmac. Someone was in town. That someone – the President of Azerbaijan from the flags on the cars - got downtown to Syntagma Square at precisely the same time as our flat-rate taxi did because they closed the intersection briefly as the limos whipped in front of the Hotel Grande Bretagne. Our destination was close by: the Alice Inn.
We had an 11:45am Aegean Air flight to Athens arriving at 12:30pm. The kid who gave us the tour was waiting on time for the airport run. We arrived at the airport to discover a line up out the door. Thankfully it wasn’t our lineup, but some junket flight to somewhere. The airport was a zoo both outside in the ticketing area and in the small boarding area. Boarding was done in typical Euro fashion with an announcement and then a crush of people all trying to board the shuttle bus at the same time. But the flight went without a hitch. As we were taxiing in at ATH we noticed a mass of military in dress uniforms and a fleet of limos on the tarmac. Someone was in town. That someone – the President of Azerbaijan from the flags on the cars - got downtown to Syntagma Square at precisely the same time as our flat-rate taxi did because they closed the intersection briefly as the limos whipped in front of the Hotel Grande Bretagne. Our destination was close by: the Alice Inn.
- Review Alice Inn "Location, location . . ." This is a small B&B – just 4 rooms – in a side street in the middle of the Plaka. As usual, I had searched for an affordable hotel with a balcony. After our luxurious stay in Santorini, it was a bit of a shock. A flight of stairs and then a tiny circular staircase brought us to the top floor – the Belafonte Room. Yes, this place is eclectic. John is the affable owner and he helped haul up our major suitcase. The living area was quite big with a decent bedroom and but only a small basic bathroom. The patio area for the room – complete with cleaning supplies and sundry ‘junk’ - was on the rooftop with a somewhat view of the Acropolis. The phone was not usable and the WiFi died after the first day with some supplier problem. The room sufficed for a couple of nights. Location, location, location after all . . .
- The breakfast was a good make-yourself affair with more than enough on offer.
- Yes, after the beauty of Santorini, Athens was a shock anew, especially on the fringes of the Plaka. Dirty. Noisy. Horrid sidewalks. And the ever-present ugly graffiti. We unpacked and set out for a late lunch to another place from my list. John gave us directions and he commented that my choice was a good one. Paradosiako, which was only 3 blocks from our B&B.
- Review Paradosiako "Don't pass this by" As other reviewers have noted, this place is small & easy to ignore on a busy, gritty street corner of the Plaka. Map-toting tourists didn't give it a second glance as they wandered by to the tourist eateries on the pedestrian streets nearby. We stopped for lunch & the near-surly waitress directed us to a dirty table in a manner that had my wife really questioning my choice. The table was quickly cleaned, the food ordered from a sparse lunch menu & our reward was a good basic cheap meal. Large portions of fried saganaki & stuffed burger were happily consumed.
- After lunch we did a quick reconnoiter and I started to realize that the Plaka is a seriously confusing area when you are trying to get from point A to point B. I pride myself on my navigation skills but almost every time we set out for somewhere, we ended up blocks away. It was never a real problem but I can’t help thinking: If the streets were prettier, it would have been amazing.
We walked to Hadrian’s Arch and couldn’t find a reason to pay to go into the Olympian Zeus area. With the heat of the afternoon on full and an ominous gathering of dark clouds overhead, we returned to the B&B for a siesta, walking in just seconds before it started to pour.
You can certainly tell that we are at the end of our vacation by our waning enthusiasm level. Of course, we had covered the greatest hits on our first swing through at the top of the trip. Acropolis. Check. Museum. Check. Agora. Check. Benaki. Check. Funky Gourmet. Check. The only major that we had missed was the Acropolis Museum and it was placed on our strong possible list for tomorrow. And tomorrow was also a much-promised shopping time. And THAT was non-negotiable. For the duration of the trip - in fact, every trip – my wife’s spoken and unspoken request is always hovering in the background: for shopping time to buy some touristic gifts with taste (I know, I know - an oxymoron) to take back for miscellaneous people back home. For this trip, I actually planned the last day for this. I hoped it wouldn't be the whole day . . .
For dinner, I called the nearby restaurant 2MAZI and reserved a table in the garden. Thankfully, the rain had blown through and it was clear again for outdoor dining.
- Review 2MAZI "A garden oasis in Athens" We came for an early dinner (with a reservation @ 7:30) & the restaurant was wide open with no one inside. Very strange. We waited for 10 minutes with another walk-in couple before someone wandered in & hustled us to the garden next door where other diners were in full swing. The food - welcome amuse bouche, their multi-color salad, beef fillet & lamb shank were all very attractive plated & very, very good. The efficient & personable service was as well. The tables set up in a garden setting on crunchy uneven gravel was a tad odd but the meal was great.
Day 16
The last day. Shopping was on the agenda. Hers but not mine. So we walked to the Dionysus gate of the Acropolis and arranged to meet here in 3 hours. I decided that a trek to see the Pnyx – the early gathering place for the social experiment that became the Greek democracy – might be a good way to kill a few hours. And it was. I walked up the broad avenue by the Acropolis to the circle at the end. It was a noisy maelstrom of buses, taxis, tourists, tour groups – yeah, a good thing to flee from. As soon as I entered the park at the nearby entrance, it all dropped away. I had a really nice leisurely stroll with only the occasional dog-walker as company. A crew was setting up chairs in the assembly area in front of the Bema for an event and a cop was loitering nearby but other than that, the whole area was empty. I could see the steps of the entrance to the Acropolis in the distance and it was jammed with tourists baking in the sun. A constant stream of them snaking up the steps were just multi-colored blotches from this vantage point. I was very happy to be sitting on my rock on the lonely Pnyx with an amazing view of the city of Athens in front of me, rather than packed in with the masses. I sauntered along following the empty paths through the woods with an invisible distant flute player adding to the atmosphere. I stumbled upon the excavation of an ancient road with wagon ruts cut into the bedrock. Kimon’s tomb was further up the path. Just more remnants of the ancient peoples who lived and died here.
The last day. Shopping was on the agenda. Hers but not mine. So we walked to the Dionysus gate of the Acropolis and arranged to meet here in 3 hours. I decided that a trek to see the Pnyx – the early gathering place for the social experiment that became the Greek democracy – might be a good way to kill a few hours. And it was. I walked up the broad avenue by the Acropolis to the circle at the end. It was a noisy maelstrom of buses, taxis, tourists, tour groups – yeah, a good thing to flee from. As soon as I entered the park at the nearby entrance, it all dropped away. I had a really nice leisurely stroll with only the occasional dog-walker as company. A crew was setting up chairs in the assembly area in front of the Bema for an event and a cop was loitering nearby but other than that, the whole area was empty. I could see the steps of the entrance to the Acropolis in the distance and it was jammed with tourists baking in the sun. A constant stream of them snaking up the steps were just multi-colored blotches from this vantage point. I was very happy to be sitting on my rock on the lonely Pnyx with an amazing view of the city of Athens in front of me, rather than packed in with the masses. I sauntered along following the empty paths through the woods with an invisible distant flute player adding to the atmosphere. I stumbled upon the excavation of an ancient road with wagon ruts cut into the bedrock. Kimon’s tomb was further up the path. Just more remnants of the ancient peoples who lived and died here.
We easily met at the allotted time at the designated place. Since it was lunch time and the heat was coming on, we made the mistake of ‘picking one that looked good’ in Lysikratous Square. The Diogenes.
- Review Taverna Diogenes "A Bad Review? You Betcha!" After 2 weeks hopping around various parts of Greece, we had been amazed at the level of service in restaurants. Universally friendly, typically very efficient . . . a big WOW! And then came the Diogenes. Yes, this restaurant singularly attempted to undo all of the goodwill accrued by the Food & Beverage Industry of Greece toward us. Actually downright rude. Surly. Ignoring requests. Ignoring tables near us. Throwing food plates on our table. They really pulled out the “Please Don’t Come Again’ mat for us. The only time our waiter cracked a smile was when he was literally bringing the bill.
- Which is all too bad because our food – Greek Salad & the Politico Kebabs - were actually pretty good. And the location - outdoor tables set back from the road in the heart of the Plaka at Lysikratous Square - is nice as well.
And to complement the sour taste of this restaurant’s pitiful service, a stereotypical Ugly American – I kid you not - was holding court at a table of his fellow cruisers. Loud and boorish, he was the real deal. And as if that wasn’t enough to throw me over the edge, after I had paid Mr Surly and his cohorts, as I was gathering my wife’s purchases to take back to the B&B, one rolled out of the bag and bounced on the ground and shattered inside its bubble wrap. To her credit, she said nothing. I said nothing. Other restaurant patrons gasped and said nothing. Time stood still as I scooped it up, stuffed it in the bag and stomped off.
My wife had wished to continue shopping, so once again we arranged to meet – this time at the B&B door – since I had the only key. And once again, the rendezvous worked. I opened the front door just as she was reaching for the buzzer that I wouldn't have heard up on the 3rd floor. We debated and decided to pass on the Acropolis Museum. We just didn't have the energy left and I was utterly, absolutely fed up with crowds. We were done with Athens. We walked a few blocks and found an inviting café for an espresso and a cappuccino fredo. They were pretty addictive.
But contemplating the Plaka area, I just don’t get it. It has little-to-no charm and it is wall to wall shops selling all of the same ticky-tacky that every other tourist shop sells in Greek cities. And the restaurants? It doesn't take much research to realize that there are only a few restaurants in the whole Plaka district that offer much beyond common tourist food. If that is what you are happy with, then the Plaka is the place to go. As for us, we were very glad that we didn't spend more time there.
For our last meal in Athens, I booked the Mono Restaurant for 8pm with strong approval of my choice again from John. This is one time when my sense of direction failed me completely. After a few blocks, as I was staring at the map and trying to decipher the streets signs on the buildings, a man came up and told us what street we were on. He then asked where we were going and offered to show us the way or better yet: to take us to a much better place. Uh, no thanks.
My wife had wished to continue shopping, so once again we arranged to meet – this time at the B&B door – since I had the only key. And once again, the rendezvous worked. I opened the front door just as she was reaching for the buzzer that I wouldn't have heard up on the 3rd floor. We debated and decided to pass on the Acropolis Museum. We just didn't have the energy left and I was utterly, absolutely fed up with crowds. We were done with Athens. We walked a few blocks and found an inviting café for an espresso and a cappuccino fredo. They were pretty addictive.
But contemplating the Plaka area, I just don’t get it. It has little-to-no charm and it is wall to wall shops selling all of the same ticky-tacky that every other tourist shop sells in Greek cities. And the restaurants? It doesn't take much research to realize that there are only a few restaurants in the whole Plaka district that offer much beyond common tourist food. If that is what you are happy with, then the Plaka is the place to go. As for us, we were very glad that we didn't spend more time there.
For our last meal in Athens, I booked the Mono Restaurant for 8pm with strong approval of my choice again from John. This is one time when my sense of direction failed me completely. After a few blocks, as I was staring at the map and trying to decipher the streets signs on the buildings, a man came up and told us what street we were on. He then asked where we were going and offered to show us the way or better yet: to take us to a much better place. Uh, no thanks.
- Review Mono Restaurant "A Good Destination in the Fine Food Wasteland of the Plaka" Easy to find on a small street just steps from the Metropolitan Church of Athens, this restaurant was our last dinner in Greece. The tables that spill out onto the sidewalk are the best in the house. Our wine selection was a Greek red Tempranillo – they have an excellent list of moderately priced wines. We shared a starter – The Village – which was yummy fried cheese with thin toasted bread & a red sauce. For mains, we tried the marinated pork – a cut of loin with potatoes & the lamb – a tasty & tender kebab with accompanying sauces. All was served by a friendly waitress who was the sole server but this was never an issue because she managed it well. My only minor quibble was that all of the dishes we tried leaned towards sweet. We finished with their wonderful lemon tart. Overall it was a very pleasant way to end our Greek odyssey.
Day 17
Going home day and you all know the routine. Checkout. Taxi. Airport. Plane. Baggage. Etc. It all worked except our flight was not much fun as we had turbulence for 3/4 of the 9 hours in the air with the seat belt light blazing.
/end trip
Going home day and you all know the routine. Checkout. Taxi. Airport. Plane. Baggage. Etc. It all worked except our flight was not much fun as we had turbulence for 3/4 of the 9 hours in the air with the seat belt light blazing.
/end trip