Isabella wanted to see the Acropolis and so we worked an EasyJet Rome-Athens flight into our itinerary and arrived last Friday afternoon. As we were driving in the taxi from the airport to Athens, Gregorio and I were watching the dry, barren landscape and wondering if we would have the energy to visit the acropolis in this heat. Isabella, ever the wise older sister announces “I think I will have to ask Eleni to explain the Greek alphabet to me”. Little Mati, sucking her thumb, pipes up “but there are some letters the same. Look, there’s an M, but what’s that O with legs?!”
We visited the Acropolis on Saturday morning, and I know I have said it before on this holiday, but it was hot and I mean seriously hot in Athens. We hopped from one spot of shade to another, walking at the pace of snails. Each time our dear friend Eleni, an expert on all things Ancient Greek, talked about the Acropolis, how it was built and told the girls about Greek gods and goddesses. Isabella knew all the myths Eleni mentioned. I was impressed. Despite the heat, Isabella seemed to be loving every minute. It was an absolute pleasure to see her enjoying the visit. Matilde did not seem to be taking so much in, or so we thought. But later in the Acropolis Museum, when we were watching a film about the Parthenon she said “we saw that this morning with Eleni, pointing at the metatope corner friezes.” Isabella’s comment on the film “why are we watching this, Eleni already told us all this?!”
Not only were we restored in the museum with food and air conditioning but we had fun meeting up with friends from Washington DC. After the museum, we quickly slipped into the Greek way of life and returned to our hotel for a siesta and remerged about 6 pm for a swim prior to going out for dinner. We found a delightful taverna in the plaka area and collapsed into a deep slumber around midnight.
On Sunday we took the ferry from Piraeus to Aegina, to visit Eleni and Themis’ family home. The port is filled with fishing boats and lined with tavernas and small shops and stalls, many selling the staple crop of the island, pistachios. It is not a big tourist island, but rather a retreat for the Athenians, very relaxed and simple. Nonno Themis (a big italophile) met us at the port with his ‘Bentley’ and took us through the pistachio and olive groves into the hills above the port to their delightful home that he has created. Here we spent four very relaxing days.
Eleni and Themis were quickly adopted by the girls as their Greek grandparents; the girls played with the dogs, picking up Greek phrases very quickly to call them or using greetings such as kalimera (or ‘kali - whatever’ said Matilde). They spent an afternoon learning the Greek alphabet with Eleni and even told me to put the volume back up on a Disney DVD they were watching – even though it was in Greek.
We enjoyed the fruits and vegetables from the garden – plums, figs, zucchini and of course olive oil. It is amazing how delicious a tomato can taste with a little oregano, olive oil and feta cheese. Not to mention the octopus and fresh fish. We also dined at lovely tavernas, one was literally on the beach and another in a beautiful tree filled courtyard – both filled with local Greek people. Eleni and Themis, the perfect tour organizers, (I work with them when sending groups to Greece) knew exactly what to order so that we tasted the best dishes.
Eleni gave us a tour of the island of Aegina. We saw the Temple of Aphaia and discovered the best beaches , needless to say they were filled with crystal blue waters. Isabella and Gregorio enjoyed jumping into the sea from the rocks, Matilde and I are more sandy types; me, so I can slowly wade out to deeper water while Matilde likes to sit on the shore and create a mermaid castle.
If Athens had been hot, it is hard to find a word to describe the heat in Aegina. It must have been at least 40C. The cicadas were singing all day long. Gregorio commented, "how do they have the energy to make that noise all day long?!" Thankfully the evening provided a little breeze. We retreated indoors for siestas in the afternoon and ate dinner around 10 pm. We slept, ate and swam. What more could we ask for? It was a truly relaxing week. We are now back in Italy in the mountains in Piedmont. When we landed in Milan it was 20 C. Quite a change.
Overall it seems to have been a very successful week in Greece, though Isabella did comment that she was disappointed there weren’t a few more ruins everywhere. Perhaps she is right, but we also decided that the acropolis in Athens was the highlight and we weren’t going to push their energy too far by trying to see more. We will return.
On arrival in Italy, we drove to Susa, where Gregorio’s father’s family is from, yesterday evening. Gregorio spent many summers as a child here and has happy memories. Yesterday was the Feast of the Madonna di Rocciamelone. There was a big procession through the streets to the Cathedral last night followed by fireworks. The girls were asleep but we sat on the hill outside the house and enjoyed a wonderful welcome back to Italy.
Tune in next week to hear about our walks in the mountains.
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