Strolling, Shopping, Packing


One of the first things we did when we arrived was buy a pass for the metro system which includes the subway, buses and trams. We've used the subway the most. The stations are clean, the trains look new-ish, there's a lot of escalators. Today we went to the market and strolled around Plaka which is the hippest neighborhood of Athens, according to all travel sites. Yesterday Pan told us we're close enough to walk but we rode instead. He also told us we should definitely go to the hourly changing of the guards in front of the Parliament but we saw the beginning when we drove by yesterday and there were only three guards. Not as impressive as some changing of the guards, like in London for example. Sundays at 11, the official ceremony occurs with the guards dressed in traditional clothing. We'll miss that because of leaving at 5:30 to get the ferry to Santorini.

We walked around the area close to Plaka until we found an open market. Going shopping is the thing to do on Saturday.  We could tell because the subway was crowded, the market was packed, the streets were full of shoppers. We thought we were going to the Central Market but even after researching markets, we don't know where we were. There are lots of open markets in Athens.  It was big though. Lots of fish, meat, produce.
We stopped for coffee and croissants at one point and later noticed we paid twice as much as a similar place charged about two streets away. That's how hip it was.

We heard a lot of bands as we walked around the area and saw a church and a cathedral. 

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation 

The cathedral was built between 1842 and 1862. Workers used the marble from 72 demolished churches to build the massive walls.



This church is beautiful but even after extensive research, we don't know the name of it. 

After walking around Plaka, we went back to the condo, rested and started packing. We decided to have an early dinner because it was Saturday night and we hadn't made a reservation.  We went to a restaurant called Mani Mani just two blocks away. It's on the second floor of a building, accessible by a spiral staircase which is beautiful but seemed like it could be dangerous depending on how much alcohol you've had. They let us in without a reservation and told us we had only two hours and then we had to leave. We assured them we'd be finished by then. There were several other tables being served even though it really wasn't supposed to be open yet. While we were looking at the menu, a young American couple with a cute baby, told us they'd been in Athens for 10 days and this restaurant had the best saganaki and pastitsio they'd tried.  They were right about both of those; the special which was pasta with pork, mushrooms and truffle sauce was also wonderful.  They make their own pasta, bread, and butter. Best meal we've had in Athens and not expensive. Best wine too. When the young couple left, they asked where we're from. Of course, they have relatives in Glendale. 

Pan said the trip to the port could take up to 50 minutes so I ordered a pickup at 5:30 for a 7:30 ferry because everyone should be there waiting to board an hour before it leaves. We got there in 12 minutes. The driver asked what we had seen since we've been here and was disappointed we missed the changing of the guards. 

There was a small line but we were entertained by watching semi trucks backing in and cars pulling in. I think they let us board around 6. The ferry is huge. It holds 2000 people and a lot of cars. There are 3 stops prior to Santorini.  We have reserved airline seats, called airline because they recline. They're bigger and more comfortable than airline seats. Most of the people who have these seats are sitting at tables in the lounge areas. There's snack bars and a burger place.

 I went out on the deck when we first left; I probably didn't need a jacket. There's three levels to the outside area, the two upper levels have bars. It's cooler now because we're moving faster. I read the outside is crowded whenever the ferry docks. We want to see what we can at each stop. I've been advised by several people to be outside as we approach Santorini for an amazing view of the island. The ferry is nice except for kids running and screaming in the aisles. There's dogs too but so far none are running around. We'll get to Santorini around 3.

View from the back of the BlueStar Delos

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