Corinne CrawfordThe day Jodi was set to arrive, I took a taxi from the hotel where I had stayed for 3 nights to the Airbnb apartment we had booked in a different part of the city. Our 5th floor apartment with 2 bedrooms and a sofa bed was right on the border of the Syntagma and Plaka neighborhoods just a block from the main pedestrian thoroughfare that goes through the heart of the city. I met our host and checked in and immediately did a load of laundry as I was almost completely out of clean clothes. Plus, with no dryer, I had to hang them to dry and that might take more than a day. Jodi arrived in the evening hobbling in having pulled a hammy. This is very Jodi-like. It seems on every trip we have taken, something happens with Jodi. Either she gets sick, or has vertigo or a foot problem, but she powers through like a champ every time. I met her at the metro station close to the apartment to guide her back to the apartment. I figured that is one less hassle I can help her with. After a brief rest, we wandered out to get dinner. She was super tired from her travel so we picked a simple place with beer and pizza. The most common beer here is Mythos. Nothing special but decent taste and quite mild in the alcohol content so when asked if we wanted a large or a small, we both said large. What came out was a humongous glass mug that held the equivalent of 2 pints. We had to initially pick it up with both hands, but don’t worry, we managed to drink it all over the course of the evening. We ordered a pizza and at various times our adorable waiter, Kostos, would show up with a shot of something. One time it was Ouzo, one time it was Raki– a traditional drink made from the leftovers from the wine making process, and one time- I have no idea. Two of those times he brought a shot for himself too. All on the house. I have noticed that there are way more male waiters than female in every restaurant I have been to in Greece. We took the long wandering way back to the apartment before heading to bed. For some reason we both thought that our other friend Debbie was arriving the next day but it turns out she was not arriving until the following morning so we held off on sightseeing until she arrived and both did some work, more laundry and I did some minor sightseeing while Jodi rested off her jet lag and pulled hamstring. I downloaded the Rick Steves Athens walking tour and put on my headphones and wandered through the Plaka neighborhood and beyond checking out a few small 12th century chapels, some churches, Hadrian’s arch and the ruins of the Temple of Zeus- one of many as it turns out.
Jodi was ready for dinner when I returned so we went out and enjoyed a simple traditional Greek dinner. I love eating out in Europe because of the outdoor dining nature of almost every restaurant and café and Greece was no exception. I don’t think I have eaten a meal inside the walls of a restaurant since arriving as the covered patios with the fresh air and comfortable chairs make for great people watching as well.
