Week 15- Greece
We all agree this is one of our favorite stops so far. It took us a while to get into Athens to see the sights, because the transit system seemed daunting at first. There are buses, subways, trams, and several types of tickets. There are supposedly kiosks where you can buy tickets, but in reality you can only buy them in Athens, which means taking a taxi for the first trip. However, the days we spent exploring around our house in Artemida (and trying to figure out where to buy bus tickets) were actually pretty enjoyable. For one thing, the food is amazing. We ordered in our first night after traveling all day and it was excellent. I soon discovered the local shops and am still in my morning marketing routine. It's a good thing that involves a lot of walking because it also involves a couple bakeries with delicious breakfast pastries. Similar to Naples, there are small markets that have most of what we need, but also greengrocers, butchers, and fish shops. I love picking out the freshest options and planning the meals a day at a time, and we've had some good ones. The locals are super friendly and mostly speak English, or if they don't they holler down the street for someone who does. They're very kind about our attempts at Greek, though I’m still stumbling over "simple" words like thank you. We're also near the beach, so at some point each day I fit in a second walk along the shore. I didn't know this until now, but in Greece all coastline is public property, so homes and businesses have to allow access. This means you can walk along the coast as far as you want in either direction. Here, the coast is rocky and jagged. You walk along the cliff top and there are countless little beaches to choose from, so you always can have one to yourself, or just walk and enjoy the view.
There was really only one day that was warm and calm enough to swim, though I do see locals swimming.
Now that we figured out the bus and subway, we've been to Athens twice. The first time we did a hop-on hop-off tour like we did in Edinburgh and Naples. It's touristy, but it's a good way to get an overview. We enjoyed exploring the area around the acropolis, though we haven't yet gone in. We've been advised that some of the less famous sites are more fun because you're allowed to explore more. We're definitely planning to do the temple of Artemis, since it's near where we're staying. We did enjoy viewing the acropolis from below, and took a carriage ride around it.
The second trip we tried something different. Airbnb offers experiences led by locals in some locations, many of which look really interesting and affordable. We had a great guide, a student of ancient history, who showed us around old Athens pointing out the connections between buildings and statues and the Greek myths represented. This was especially great for little C, who has read a lot of mythology recently and was eager to relate it to actual places. It was a good refresher for J, big C, and me, and mostly new for S. She did an excellent job meeting each of us where we were in our knowledge. Turned out she was also a Montessori teacher. We're definitely going to be doing more of these experiences.
It was fun to be in the city at night and our guide gave us a wonderful traditional restaurant recommendation so we had another great meal with Greek dishes we'd never tried before, beyond the spanakopita and things like that which are popular in the states, though we had those as well. It was a wonderful day.
Next week, we have the temple of Artemis, a Greek cooking lesson, and a long weekend trip to Nea Stira on the island of Evia.