Date: May 3, 2004
Cities: Pireaus, Athens


The Triton docked around 5:15 and made lots of engine and anchor noise, which woke us before the alarm. By the time we got on deck, the crew were washing the lifeboats, and buffet breakfast was set out by the pool.

We gathered in the lounge while Eirini gathered our checked luggage in one spot after it was taken off the ship. This greatly eased our exit and made for a short, organized treck to the bus.

Greece
2004Greece
2004The bus to Athens dropped us at the Amalia Hotel around 9:15, and we went to the Plaka to explore together. We were past the point of wanting to buy anything, so we wandered until we got to the Roman agora. We paid €2 each and wandered inside the 110m x 90m area.

There was a workman in the agora using a trimmer to keep the site visible above the grass. The Turks had the same trouble in Ephesus as well. Spring in Greece is very green, and everything grows rapidly before the summer sets in with its blistering heat. After the Roman agora we circled past Hadrian's Library and through the flea market district before returning to the hotel.

Allan went back out to find the Quick Pita for lunch. Even with the street address, it wasn't obvious where to look. Allan zig-zagged from the corner of Syntagna Square to find Mitropoleos Street, which is called Othonos instead of Mitropoleos for it's last two blocks next to the square and at the intersection with Amalia.

Lunch at Quick Pita was yummy again. There was a TV crew filming something inside the restaurant, but Allan couldn't tell whether it was a commerical, a news feature, or something else. Afterwards Allan sat on the roof with some of the college students and watched the city go by. We packed our bags and Allan did enough wash to get home. There was a hair dryer in the bathroom, so drying went quickly.

Greece
2004For dinner 14 of us, including Eirini, went to Psaras tavern near the Tower of the Winds and the Roman agora. The food was excellent, and we had grilled kalimari (which is even better than fried), perfect mousaka, lamb, tzatziki, and beer. We followed those with desserts in the baklava family, but in slightly different forms.

Afterwards some of us walked back with Eirini and stopped to look at the Roman agora by night. Back at the hotel Allan helped out by collecting the tour survey forms from everyone. We had lots of positive things to say on our forms, and as usual for us, we wrote novellas on the back.

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Allan West and
Jane Dominguez
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