Athens Day 3•Sifnos Day 1

We had 3 hours to spare before the taxi pick up for Piraeus port. This was prearranged by our travel agent. We hit the streets and walked through the shopping district along Ermou and Stadiou streets, big boulevards with shops and department stores.

Greek Parliament at Syntagma Square

We also stopped to see the exhibit at the Syntagma Square metro station. During the digging of the metro, loads of archaeological treasures were found and they are now nicely displayed in the station. You probably couldn't dig six inches anywhere in this city without stumbling upon a relic or two. While we were walking on these modern streets, we came across the random Byzantine church or two.

Panagia Kapnikarea dating back to 1050

We also did one last stop at the Agora. We didn't get a chance yet to see the produce and goods sections. We bought one thing to bring home which was 2 packs of Greek oregano.

a good deal on eggplants

beautiful array of olives

a shaft of light on hunks of snow white feta
yeah, I am passionate for cheese





bird watching

We had a taxi pick up at 1:30, pre-arranged by the travel agency. The taxi driver was concerned about getting us to the port in time because of unusual traffic due to a bomb scare. He thought the tour operator should have given a larger time window. It made us nervous wrecks! The traffic cleared once we left the ring road and we made the ferry with plenty of time to spare. Off to Sifnos!

the ferry

on the ferry

We took the slow ferry. When the novelty of sitting outside wore off, we chomped on cheese pies and sat inside for the rest of the trip. It was about a 5 hour ride. There weren't many people on the boat.

off season ferry to the Cyclades

When we arrived at Sifnos, we walked to the Aegean Thesaurus Travel Agency. This is where I booked our entire itinerary and we were told to stop in to get directions to our room upon arrival. The B&B offered to pick us up but we wanted to walk. It was only 5 minutes and a bit of a hassle with our oversized luggages along the shoulder of the road in the dark. We were met at the entrance of Sifnaiki Konaki and taken to our room. It was decorated with beautiful antique furniture and marble top tables.

the room

The bathroom, while totally renovated and new, did not have a shower curtain. It consisted of a toilet, sink, and hand held shower head with a drain in the middle of the floor. It took one time to get the hang of it to not saturate the entire room. I know this kind of bathroom is common in Europe and it takes some getting used to. The room also had a large terrace but it was too dark to see the view.

tricky taking a shower without getting water EVERYWHERE

The main drag of Kamares, the port village, is lined with tavernas. The menus are all quite similar. There were 2 Italian restaurants as well. Da Claudio looked more authentic so we ate there for a change from Greek cuisine.

Da Claudio, a piece of Italy

We sat outside and had a great meal. The waitress, also the wife of the chef and owner, was very friendly. We first shared the Amalfi salad with capers, sundried tomatoes, and cheese. Then I got the penne with spicy eggplant sauce and Ken the arrabiatta. We had a carafe of red Terrano which was very good.B ehind us, we overheard a couple speaking Dutch. Fueled by the wine, I turned to them and said in my horrid Dutch "We live in Amsterdam!" They live part time on Sifnos and South Africa and were from eastern Netherlands. After a quick chat, playing with the local cats, and a complimentary grappa, it was time to sleep.

guests at the next table