Athens and Greek Easter

I have just returned from a wonderful Spring Break in Greece! I cannot believe that I had the opportunity to spend eight full days there, and every moment was wonderful. We were very lucky with warm weather and friendly people, and were able to see and do so much.


When Morgan and I arrived last Thursday at the airport in Athens, Soulis and Voula were waiting for us and took us to the apartment we would be staying at for the week. They happen to have an extra apartment in an area right outside of the city, and set us up there with plenty of eggs, olive oil, cheese, coca cola, and greek coffee...all the staples! The apartment we stayed at had a balcony on both sides, a garden in the back with lots of delicious-smelling orange trees, wisteria, and vines, and a flat roof perfect for sun bathing. The apartment is right near a range of mountains on the border of Athens called the "Crazy Mountains," because all the storms and bad weather come from their direction.


After we had gotten ourselves settled in, we went with Soulis and Voula to their apartment in Pagrati to have lunch/dinner and chat for a while. We ate a bountiful meal (to us, at least--they have a huge lunch every day and tend to skip breakfast and dinner), of meat cooked in tomatoes and olive oil, potatoes, greek salad, rice, etc... We ate, talked, and played with their puppy, Hermes, for about three hours, and then George (a family friend who's been friends with their son Petros since they were babies, and lives across the street) came over! It was great to see him, and he hasn't changed a bit since I saw him almost four years ago at Christina's wedding.


George drove us around Athens to give us an overall tour, and then we had coffee before he took us back to our apartment. It was late and we were tired, but so excited for the next day, when we could fully explore the city.



On Friday, we took a taxi into Athens (which are for the most part, very inexpensive compared to other European cities), and walked around the Plaka and the Parliament Square all day. The weather was fantastic and warm, and everyone was so friendly and happy. While we were approached by several people because we are clearly non-Greek tourists, it was not a creepy type of approach, but rather, a reflection of the welcoming and warm Greek demeanor. We bought ferry tickets for Monday to the island of Paros, and in an internet cafe where we booked a hostel, the staff gave us free smoothies and free chocolate Easter Eggs..."Greek Hospitality," they said.

After going back to our apartment, sunbathing on the roof a while, and changing, we headed to Soulis and Voula's for dinner, and then went to an Easter procession for Good Friday on the streets in Pagrati. There, we saw George and other relatives/friends (I'm not exactly sure who is related to me and who isn't in the big groups we met - it's complicated!) and that night we went to a cafe/bar/lounge with George, his girlfriend Evi, Panos, and some other friends of theirs'. They were all so nice and eager to get to know us, and it was fun to go out with all Greek people!





The next day, Saturday, Morgan and I got a kind of late start and arrived in the city at around noon. We walked through the Plaka and up the hill towards the Acropolis, and on the way there, decided to eat lunch at a rooftop cafe. There, we were again encountered with extreme hospitality, and were given free desserts - spongey polenta-type cake oozing with honey. We sat and ate and looked at the view for a long time, and when we arrived at the top of the hill at the Acropolis, we discovered that it was closed early because of the Easter weekend. So, after looking at the vast surrounding view of Athens from a nearby climbing boulder, we called George, and took a nice long drive with him along the coast to the small town of Sounion.




Sounion is a small, hilled peninsula that is surrounded on three sides by water, and has a huge temple to Poseidon. It is allegedly here that King Aegeus threw himself from the cliffs when he thought his son had died in a mission to kill the Minotaur, thus, giving the sea its name -- the Aegean Sea. It is also a spectacular view for a temple, for Greek sailors coming into the coast. Sounion is a very peaceful place, and the drive there alone was a treat to see. We had yogurt and honey and Nescafe Frappes (a Greek specialty!) at a cafe on the hill, and then drove back to our apartment.

After showering and getting ready, Morgan and I headed to Soulis and Voula's at about 11:00 so that we could go with them to a midnight mass for Easter outside their church in Pagrati. It was so beautiful,
everyone in the streets had candles, and at midnight, firecrackers went off and doves were released. After the ceremony, we returned to the apartment and had a late dinner of liver soup (delicious!), lamb, potatoes, greek salad, the works...We then had to get to bed, because the next day (Easter Sunday) we would be driving early to get to Soulis and Voula's friends' home in the country.




On Sunday, we drove about two hours (including a short trip on a car-ferry, a first for me!) north of Athens, to get to the home of a couple friends of the family, who live in the countryside by the beach, north of Athens. The day started out a bit gloomy, but by noon, the sun was shining and it was quite hot. While a spitted lamb roasted on the rotisserie, alongside some liver wrapped in intestine, Morgan and I took a walk through the fields and along the beach...it was lovely.

Everyone at the party was so friendly and we were able to speak to the few who could speak English. I got a couple "shame on you"s for not speaking Greek, but otherwise everything went smoothly. To fully redeem myself for my lack of Greek speaking-skills, I let the party coerce me into trying the brains and tongue of the lamb. I won't go as far as to say they were delicious, but it went down OK. We also had to try the liver wrapped in intestine (which I didn't know was intestine until it was already in my stomach), and another kind of grilled liver, before the lamb itself was even off the spit! All-in-all a very authentic and interesting experience. I have always considered myself quite the carnivore, but if anything could make me a vegitarian, it would probably have been this experience!


After eating ourselves sick, and sitting out in the sun for hours, it was time to drive back to Athens. Soulis and Voula dropped us off at our apartment, (not before supplying us with more hard-boiled eggs and cookies for our trip to the islands) and we packed to depart early in the morning for Paros. More on that part of the trip to come!


It was so nice to spend time with my relatives in Greece. Greek family puts so much importance on family ties, and it means so much to me that even though half a world separates us, we are able to be just as close as I am with much of my immediate family in California. They are so generous and we had a fantastic time. They told us several stories, about Greek mythology and times when my own family came to visit long ago, as well as political theories and the history of Greece. I feel like every time I see them I learn a lot, and am of course fed to full capacity. It is incredible that I only gained about half a kilo on this trip, I ate more than I thought was humanly possible (but perhaps my stomach just felt more pressure after having just recovered from my parasite, haha).


The Athens leg of the trip was a great start to our Spring Break, and a good way to ease into the full relaxation of real vacation, in Paros...


On the right, I've put up six new albums from the trip to Greece, please check them out! And, another post will be up soon!


Xoxo,

Ashley