As many of you know we are big fans for food tours when we visit new countries. It is a fun way of learning more about the favorite foods of the culture. Although we had been to Greece before we had not taken a food tour on our first visit so we signed up for one this time. The Flynn’s joined us for this tour which we found on TripAdvisor: “Small-Group Greek Traditional Food Tour around Athens with Tastings”. Normally there might be as many as 10 people on a tour but today it was only the four of us with our local lady guide, Boula. She was a delight and we learned a lot about food customs in Greece. And there was way too much food during the 3.5 hour tastings.
Boula pointed out this very unique shop that only sells eggs….and wine! She says they seem to be successful.
Olive oil is used in many products including soaps. Greece also is known for its sponges.
Dried vegetables.
Abstract art dominated the building.
Passing what appeared to be a protest gathering on our way to the food tour. We kept walking!
A stop at a honey shop where we tasted various types of local honey.
Sausages waiting for customers to take them home.
One of the many small tree-lned streets in the neighborhood. I imagine they are really appreciated during the heat of the summers.
Futile attempt to make a selfie with Michael and Sheri Flynn, Yvonne and myself.
Several street vendors were selling fresh olives.
Different types of olives for sale. Black ones were green at one time; they are fully ripened now. We had a tasting of both olives and olive oil.
Part of the breakfast buffet at the Moxy. It featured an interesting layout.
Our tour guide, Boula, explaining what we were eating.
A very old chapel tucked in the middle of a very large city.
Spice shops are common. They sure smell good!
A traditional Greek breakfast item: spanakopita, filled with either spinach and cheese, or simply cheese. They were still warm…and delicious!
Dried meat and cheese samples.
Feta cheese. Somehow it seems to taste better here!
One of the typical “tiny” restaurants we stopped at for a food tasting.. They are very common here.
Pita bread, tzatziki, zucchini fritters and a marvelous chicken dish. Of course there was some local wine to go with it. This was a meal in itself!
Group shot.
Boula explaining how to properly make Greek coffee. It is strong.
A walk through the local market.
The fish market. There were no flies! We were told they hose the area daily and spray for insects.
Every conceivable type of seafood you might want.
Sardines and mackerel are popular here.
The adjacent meat market- immaculate cleanliness.
Candy similar to Turkish delight.
Greek candy. It was very sweet.
Produce market. The olives are bitter when picked; they need to be “brined” before being palatable .
Beautiful egg plants-all grown locally.
They are bothered by “taggers” as we are.
Calamari, butter beans, orzo. We are getting full!
Luckily we got to often sit and rest as we ate.
Typical street vendor selling salads and appetizers.
It is not a Greek meal unless there is ouzo (white liquid in glass), Greek yogurt with honey, fresh fruit (plums) and Greek coffee.
A lady stopped by to help Boula do a “reading” of our coffee grounds.
After the waking tour we retrieved our luggage and went to the Divani Palace Acropolis hotel which the tour is using during our stay in Athens.
Entrance to the Moxy hotel.
The arch of Hadrian, also called Hadrian’s Gate was built by the Roman emperor in131-132 CE.
Our room at the Divani Palace hotel
View from our room. We did not get the expensive ones that offer a view of the Pantheon.
We met with our fellow travelers in the early evening before heading to a local restaurant for a group dinner. Normally a Road Scholar tour will have about 20 people. Because our tour includes accommodations on a 40 passenger boat the tour group numbers 40. As a result they have arranged for 2 tour directors who would each have responsibility for leading their group of 20. Our group of six were assigned to a group being lead by Androniki Stavroulaki, a native of Crete. Each group met separately with the tour leader for a “get to know you” session. We quickly learned that “Niki”, as she preferred to be called was going to be marvelous guide for our tour of Greece.
The open outdoor, rooftop restaurant (Strofi) where we had our group dinner. What a view of the Pantheon!
Cheesy appetizer.
After dark the pantheon is lite.
A tasty Greek veal stew.
Greek yogurt with honey was served as dessert.
Niki gave us a list of some popular Greek phrases. Not as obvious as to how to pronounce them!
Tomorrow we begin our local tour of the marvels of Athens.
Steps for the day: 10,565. We should sleep well tonight!
We are heading to Athens, Greece today but not from our usual airport. As it turned out our nephew, Shawn Bishop, the youngest son of my middle brother (Rick) was getting married in Merrillville, IN on October 11. As this was the wedding of the last of our nieces/nephews we wanted to participate so we headed to Chicago a few days ahead of the wedding to visit siblings who still lived in the area and attend the wedding.
The Bishop brothers: Chuck(84); Rick(76) and Gerry(75).
Yvonne’s sisters: Maria (71), Elaine (78) and Yvonne (84) with their spouses.
So that accomplished we are heading to Athens from Chicago this morning. We are flying on one of our favorite airlines active in the region of the world where we are headed-Turkish Airlines. Better yet, it is on a 787 ( the successor to the famous 747) and we will be in business class. Flight time to Istanbul is about 10 hours, with a short Istanbul layover (1.5 hours) before the 1.5 hour flight to Athens. The reliability of modern aircraft is astounding. Our plane arrived from Istanbul at 9:40 AM and by 11:15AM we were on our way back to Istanbul on the same airplane!
The top rated LOT business class lounge at O’Hare. It was pretty spectacular.
They served
some Polish delicacies, like these packzi (stuffed jelly filled) donuts
It was a bit too early in the morning to try some Polish liquor!
The flight was smooth and we arrived on time in Istanbul around 6 AM their time. I was amazed at how busy the airport was that time of the morning.
Our route was pretty much over the polar region. The trip was less than 10 hours to Istanbul.
Today’s luncheon menu.
Breakfast menu.
I decided to try the Turkish wine. It was surprisingly good.
Appetizers come on a dolly. Pick and choose from 6-8 options that appeal to you.
They serve what they claim is the oldest bread in the world, dating back 12,000 years.
We both had the chicken as our entree.
Trio of Turkish pastries was one of several dessert options offered to us.
A parting gift from Turkish Airlines.
Never saw this before. Cameras showing us landing!
Quite a sight.
I was surprised that our short flight to Athens was also on a large wide body aircraft, a 777 in this instance. I was also surprised to see how many Chinese people were on our flight. There were multiple tour groups visiting Greece .
Preparing to land in Greece.
Obviously a stone quarry.
Greece has a population of 10.4 million and Athens has a population of 643,000 (urban population of 3.1 million). And as is common in most parts of the world they have severe traffic issues. It took us almost an hour to go the 33 km from the airport to the city. The one saving grace is that they are patient drivers and I heard very few horns.
Because of my status with Marriott I was able to get early (11AM) check in to our room where we proceeded to catch up on the missed sleep on the planes. We limited ourselves to 4 hours so we would be assured we would be able to sleep tonight.
The Marriott “Moxy” hotel, their hip and modern chain.
Our modern hotel room at Moxy.
I commonly will ask hotel staff for restaurant suggestions and they came through with what turned out to be an excellent choice only a 10 minute walk from the hotel.
A nearby restaurant recommended by the hotel staff. It proved to be an excellent suggestion.
When in Greece expect a dish of olives at every meal!
Tzatziki and avocado, another beautiful marriage.
An unique twist to potato salad that had oranges and avocados. Superb!
A “deconstructed” pork gyro. It was the most tender pork we have ever had.
A small chapel in the middle of the city. Unfortunately the signage was in Greek so I do not know its history.
The climate is obviously good for growing limes!
Initial reactions to Athens: There is graffiti everywhere and the buildings are in disrepair, even the ones housing upscale stores like Nike. Sidewalks near the hotel need repair. Streets are narrow and clogged with cars. Surprisingly though, many of the streets are lined with healthy trees. So far what we have seen is not overly impressive from a visual standpoint.
We are scheduled to take a walking food tour tomorrow morning before meeting our fellow tour travelers later in the day when our formal trip begins. Now it is time to try to get a good nights sleep to get our bodies into the local time zone.
We first visited Greece in 2008 on a land trip. My recollections are it was a wonderful place to visit with a tremendous historical culture. Perhaps it was time to return; but when? Summers can be brutally hot; autumn would be a more desirable time. Literature from one of our favorite travel organizations, Road Scholar suggested an October visit that included several days in Athens followed by a cruise in a small (49 passenger) yacht that focused on visits to some of the lesser visited Greek islands caught my eye! At our age we are liking the ability to only unpack once ot twice so a cruise seemed perfect. And we always love the educational content that Road Scholar trips provide. Mentioning the trip to several of our neighbors resulted in their desire to join us, so the three couples (Michael & Sheri Flynn, John and Elizabeth Koslezski, the Bishops) are convening in Athens on October 14 for the 1o day Road Scholar trip entitled: “Classical Greece: Islands of the Aegean”.
The 49 passenger MS Panorama. It is 173 ft in length.
It should be a fun trip and a chance to relearn Greek history!
