Greece Part V: Μερικά ακόμα πράγματα, όπως γιαούρτι

(A few more things, including yogurt):

 

Saturday night we went to a deli down the street to see if we could gather some charcuterie for meals the next day. The owner was super friendly and insisted on us having samples of anything we so much as glanced at behind the counter, as well as several things we didn't. And everything was GOOD. Lots of salamis and prosciutto…many kinds of cheeses (feta being the very best of them)…the most delicious sheep's milk yogurt in little terra cotta pots. He even talked us into some olives, which are usually not my favorite, but these were big and meaty and didn't really taste like anything else I'd ever had. The guy said to us, "If you don't like something as much as you expect, come back and I'll give you your money back. If you like it more than you expect…come back and pay me double!" Ha ha. We almost would have considered it! The final meal was amazing. 

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Greece Part IV: Πράγματα που πιστεύετε ότι πρέπει να δείτε στην Ελλάδα

This part is called "Things you think you should see in Greece." I wrote it in Greek (via Google Translate…of course!!) and am now considering writing this whole post in Greek because it looks much more mysterious and exciting that way! Αν μπορείς να το διαβάσεις αυτό, έχεις το χάρισμα της γλωσσολαλιάς.

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Greece Part III: Πόρος και Αίγινα

The other two islands were Poros and Ægina. (I don't know if they really use that "Æ." It just seemed like an ideal opportunity for it.)

You can see Hydra down there at the bottom. And then the big landmass is the mainland. Poros is right next to it and used to be part of it, but an earthquake detached it so it's now technically its own little island. The narrow channel between Galatas and Poros is really beautiful!

Then Aegina is up at the top. (And Athens is across the water, to the right and off the screen.)

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Greece Part II: Εδρα

December in Greece is, obviously, the off-season, which is part of why we found a good deal to go there. And I think it can be cold there in December. But it was so perfect and beautiful when we were there. Every moment it was just the right temperature. When we walked outside I'd usually take a sweater but never really need it. The afternoon sun felt gentle and energizing. The night air felt soft and refreshing. However, it was certainly not weather for going to the beach, so I wasn't sure if we should even try to visit the ocean at all, or just stay in the city.

Of course there are a million Greek islands. (Actually from 1200 to 6000, Google tells me.) And there are cruises that go for days and weeks to take people between the popular ones. But I found out there are some islands close to Athens, in the Saronic Gulf, which are close enough to have ferries to them! Well…you know we do love a good island. So I found a day cruise that would take us to three of those nearby islands. And then a shuttle bus picked us up from near our house and drove us down to the marina early Saturday morning.

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Greece Part I: Αθήνα

Maybe the best thing about Athens was the view from the apartment we stayed in. We rode the tiny elevator (one person at a time…that's how tiny it was…and Malachi just ran up the stairs because he didn't want to wait) to the 5th floor, walked through the doorway and looked out the window and saw this:

I knew we were seeing the Parthenon, I remembered that much from ancient history classes, but I hadn't realized it was up on a big cliff like that (the rocky hill is the Acropolis, which apparently isn't only a word for this hill but any ancient Greek fortification…but really, I think this one is "the" Acropolis) and I definitely hadn't realized it would just be right there!

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