After breakfast we had a taxi called and not surprisingly paid 10€ less than last night's fiasco. Greek Election Day is in a few days, and political posters were plastered everywhere.
democracy at work
It was a 35 minute ride and the driver interjected with names of sights along the way. The traffic was terrible in the center near our hotel and he told us it was because of the Agora, or daily market. Saturdays is always the busiest and the narrow side streets are clogged with cars. After checking in to the Hotel Attalos, we walked to the Agora. There was a huge hall of seafood and another of meats.
the seafood hall of the Athens Agora
the proud octopus seller
where's a grill and lemon juice when you need them
the surly butchers
The sellers were really pushing their goods, amping up the sales pitches towards the end of the market day. If you hesitated to look at anything they yelled out prices and a list of sea creatures. It was around 3:00 and beginning to breakdown so we saved the produce and goods section for another day.
Very close to our hotel was Monastriaki Square and a restaurant recommended for gyro/souvlaki called Savvas.
Monastriaki Square, 5 minutes from the Hotel Attalos
Ken at Savvas taverna
We sat outside and it was a frenetic scene. Every few minutes someone came by selling CDs, DVDs, or junk souvenirs. The pedestrian only street was jammed with people and tables and noise - lots of noise. It was also in the 80s and balmy, much warmer than we were used to in Amsterdam. Welcome to Athens! I planned for my foray into meat to be a gyro and a souvlaki, not necessarily in that order. I ordered the beef gyro which came open faced on a plate with fries and tzaziki. Oh man, it was scrumptious. Ken ordered some veggies: fried eggplant with long peppers and white beans in tomato sauce. The beans were not gigantes like we expected but more like cannellini in a tomato based soup. It was delicious and we knew there'd be plenty of gigantes opportunities to come.
After lunch we went on a long walk and saw a lot of the old part of the city. It is not a particularly beautiful city but it makes up for that with history and at every turn there are ancient ruins. We went to the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, filled with sculpture from the beginnings of prehistory through late antiquity.
Athens Archaeological Museum
a harpy perhaps?
Zeus or Posesidon? The experts can't decide
For us the highlights were the Mycenaean gold burial masks and the Cycladic room. Ken bought a Cycladic statue at the museum shop.
Cycladic figure
1550 B.C.E. Mask of Agamemnon golden death mask
Exhausted, we took a break in the museum cafe and sat in the courtyard where a man in a safari hat admired the ancient statues lining its perimeter. He was attracting a lot of attention.
man on safari
We dragged our tired selves back to the hotel for an energizing siesta and showers. We went up to the hotel rooftop bar and watched the sunset on the Acropolis as we sipped our first frappés. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's instant Nescafé, water, milk and sugar blended and poured over ice. As it settles, a thick foamy milky head forms on the top (that's the best part). Think coffee milkshake. I think perhaps this is the inspiration for the Starbucks frappuccino.
view from Hotel Attalos rooftop bar
sunset over Athens
frappé! and the ubiquitous ashtray
Our guidebook recommended a restaurant for dinner called Vizantino. It was on a street with a lot of tavernas but we first wanted to look at the menu before committing to it. As soon as we paused to look at it, we were swooped upon by waiters trying to get us to come in. We didn't like that approach so we walked down to the next one. The same thing happened : "If you don't like, don't pay!" and "Free wine, Greek hospitality!" After cruising the area and deflecting sales pitches left and right, we decided to go to our original pick. The food was good and the menu standard. Menus are pretty much the same at tavernas, but there are some dishes that are different. We ordered a spread of mezés - cheese saganaki, fried small fishes, and boiled greens. Here's some bad food photography:
steaming fried cheese (saganaki)
boiled greens (horta) and small fried fishes (marides)
It was a good dinner washed down with house white wine. We weaved our way through the Plaka after dinner and if you looked up you could always see the Acropolis. We stopped for a nightcap at taverna Spilia Tis Akropoleos and I got eaten alive by mosquitoes but that didn't stop me from having an excellent first night in Greece!
the night in ruins