Flying home tomorrow

The third day in Nafplio was rainy. We thought some of the people would go home but Old Town was still crowded with families. They were all gone when we left this morning because tomorrow is a work a. We ran into a small rally for the May 1 celebration. A few women gave speeches but of course we don't know what they said. The people with signs chanted in between. We can't read the signs either but our Greek consultant said they're asking for higher wages and social equity. A lot of people in town were wearing yellow headbands made from flowers. 

It seemed we spent a lot of the day looking for places to eat. We would have liked to eat outside on the pedestrian square but all the restaurants were packed. Most people were just drinking coffee and people-watching which is what we wanted to do. Also, most restaurants don't serve breakfast. 

We finally found a gigantic restaurant but the tables outside were full so we ate inside. The service was slow but the food was regular American breakfast--bacon or sausage, eggs, toast. Our driver today said Greece is a coffee culture; they usually drink it 3 times a day. There's a coffee bar on every corner so meeting up with friends seems to be a prevalent pastime.

This was the only grocery we saw. I'm sure most stores are in New Town.

We went here twice for chocolates. Unusual flavors. Delicious. 

We walked around looking at the stores again and went back to the apartment to start packing. Later we had dinner in a quiet area just up the hill from our apartment. We were able to eat outside because the rain had stopped. The food was good but it took a long time to get it. Even longer to see about dessert and pay the bill. There were waiters but they mostly stood around smoking and trying not to look at us. We finally grabbed one to ask about dessert. He said they bring it for free. When it came, it was sliced apples with cinnamon. In some areas, we ordered dessert and then got a free shot of some liqueur. In other areas, we got free dessert, usually Panna cotta. I don't know if that's the tradition here, but it could be they didn't want to make their dessert menu given the crowds that come for May Day. 

Today we were picked up by the driver we've used before, Pan, to drive us to Spata which is close to the airport. I always book airport hotels first and had booked and canceled the Sofitel on airport grounds because it was so expensive.  I found Zeus Cinema Studios that is just 10 minutes away from the airport. This studio is huge. 3 beds, kitchen and gigantic bathroom. One wall of the studio is a screen. It looks like you turn on the computer in the room and it projects on the wall. Maybe there's preloaded movies.

Spata, at least where we are, looks like a town on its last legs. We did see some nice stores on our walk to a restaurant but there's a lot of empty buildings. I looked at the hotel reservation I had canceled. It was over 500 euros for one night.

We were notified our flight was delayed so that we'd miss our connection in Atlanta. Luckily we were able to book an earlier flight going through JFK without having to call. We should get home about the same time.