Arrival of Friends in Greece

We arrived in Piraeus, and I have to admit, Bill did some great maneuvering with the car as those streets are so tiny and so many one way streets. I had to admit I was so glad I wasn´t driving, so we just decided to park near a hotel we had on a list a tourist office had given us.  And we walked back to find the hotel was quite pleasant, Hotel Argos Anita.  We got a room, and Bill let me take a rest as he fought with the traffic and one way streets to bring to car into the parking lot, the hotel provided.

Then despite the fact that I was starving, we went to investigate the laundry place the hotel recommended to find out they were open until 9, and decided to drop our stuff off before heading out to dinner.  And then when Bill returned, we ask for a recommendation for dinner and our lovely hostess sent us high off into the hills.   Though the further we walked up into the hills, the more I wondered if we were getting anywhere further than a residential area.  I was feeling too hungry to keep walking, so Bill stopped to ask a local working on his computer where we were and where we needed to go.  Bill realized the wrong turn we took, and up the hill we continued.

We did get to see a great sunset over looking Athens, but no camera yet to capture it so we just enjoyed it as I pulled at Bill saying that ít´s time for food.  We finally found the ¨Bowling Center¨ area which had two Greek restaurants that our hostess recommended.  And the first one I found is the one we went to mainly because they said they had roasted lamb, which Bill had been looking for since we got here. He got into a big discussion with our waiter on what the price was as it was priced in a kilogram and he didn´t want two pounds of meat, but after this long discussion, he was told they didn´t have it and only lamb chops.  Bill strikes out again.  But the meal was still pretty good and we had some good house wine to help ease the long walk back.

The next morning, Bill went to pick up the developed film we had dropped off from Petra and driving around Greece.  And he also tried to get our laundry, but she told him to come back in an hour, so he figured he´d just try again when we returned that evening.  And he also brought me a Starbucks, which was a pleasant surprise.

Then we set out to pick my friend, Janine, up from the airport as she was arriving at 10:20.  Bill had got directions to the airport, but we missed the turn that kept us going on the highway and weaved our way through town following airport signs and getting stuck in traffic.  It was quite nerve racking for me, and I wasn´t even driving.  We had calculated our time based on staying on the main road so needless to say we were late, and Janine´s plan arrived early.  But I thought we had gotten there as perfect timing for her to get out of customs, but as I ran in to check the board, she was yelling at me.  Though she had been waiting with one other girl in the same boat, and she was glad to be picked up first.

We drove out towards the Temple of Posiden that sits at a tip of Greece overlooking the water.  But before we made it there, we stopped for lunch and made Janine picked the restaurant as we were treating her since we made her bring a bit of our stuff with her from the States.  And she made a good choice as we stuffed ourselves on Greek food and learned what eggplant salad means.  It´s more like a hummus dip that a salad with lettuce. I think in the rest of the world, the ingredients have to say lettuce for it to actually be in the salad.

We made it to the Temple and it was impressive for some of the ruins we´d seen as many of the columns still remained.  And the view was gorgeous looking around at the water making it a great choice for the location of a Temple to the God of the Sea.  We headed to the Athena temple to see that there wasn´t really anything left except for a few pieces of marble in the sand.

Afterwards, we stopped by the ocean and I introduced Janine to Greek style cafes where you rent the table with a great view.  We got some ice blended coffees and Bill looked at the price so he stuck to water.  We enjoyed a relaxing bit as we waited to head back to the airport to drop off our rental car and pick up my cousin, Amy, who was also joining us.

And so, we headed to the airport to pick her up and got there right before her flight landed, and Janine and I sat watching all the people come out of the terminal.  And finally, Amy came, but since Bill was standing, he greeted her first.  It was nice to have my two friends with us.  And to the bus we went to get back to the hotel.

When we got back the hotel, Bill went to get our laundry to find out the place was closed.  Apparently, in Greece, business have long hours on Tues, Thurs, sometimes Friday, but Mon and Weds they can close early as no one likes working those days.  We´d assumed they´d would be open late, and we had tried to pick our it up earlier but she said it wasn´t ready.  And so our hotel called and about 40 mins later, we finally found out that they would deliver it to the hotel that night.  What a relief as we were leaving for the islands on an early morning ferry.

So now, we could go and enjoy a nice Greek dinner with Amy and Janine.  Bill suggested going to the same area, but taking a taxi, which I agreed to as it was a beautiful area. We got to take pictures as Janine had brought us a new camera that Bill´s mom sent with her.  And we enjoyed a good meal at the second restaurant that was recommended, but the wine wasn´t as good.  House wine can be hit or miss in Greece.  And off the the islands we go...

Michelle