Saturday March 28, 2009

Today we decided to take a day trip to an island on about an hour from Athens, Aegina. Getting there turned out to be more of a struggle than we expected because the metro line to the port was closed that day…we’re still not sure why and everyone else looked about as confused as we did. We ended up having to take a bus through the city in high traffic so we missed the ferry we wanted to catch. Thankfully they depart every hour so we made it on the next one.

It was another sunny day so we stayed outside on the upper deck for most of the trip. Compared to our eight hour ferry the day before, today’s one hour trip flew by. As we rounded the island it was apparent the terrain and architecture were nothing like the cliff side dwellings of Santorini but just as beautiful in a different sense. The port was full of small fishing boats and lined with seaside cafes full of people taking advantage of the sunny day.

We walked along the shore and then deeper into the town’s pretty narrow streets. We knew there was a temple and an archeological site somewhere on the island so we headed in the direction it was in. It turned out to have a charge so we decided the view we got from the ferry was enough to fulfill our history lesson for the day. Next to the ruins was one of the islands beaches so we spent some time hopping from rock to rock exploring the sea life visible through the crystal clear water.

It was about that time for lunch and seafood was definitely looking appetizing so we stopped at a quaint spot near the beach to eat. The seafood options were a little different than what we see at home featuring sea urchin and octopus as two of the most popular dishes. I opted for a Greek salad and fried shrimp not wanted to waste money or hunger on exploring new foods. They were both delicious in my opinion but Rachael and Mel couldn’t stand to eat theirs since the heads and legs were still intact.

After lunch we continued to stroll the town stopping in the shops along the way. Aegina is known for having the best pistachios in the world so of course they were being sold everywhere. We each bought some to snack on for the ferry ride home. We didn’t have time to travel deeper into the island since we got there so late but still had a great time.

Back in Athens it was Jenny last night in Europe so we headed out to the popular bar/café district of Athens, Psiri. It was a Saturday night and the city was alive everywhere…on the way we stopped to listen to some street music in the Plaka and then wandered over to the Psiri where we picked an outdoor table to sit and take in the scene. It was only appropriate that we order a Mythos, local Greek beer, to get the full experience. Shortly after sitting a small marching band came through the streets with a couple gyrating belly dancers. They added even more energy to the area as everyone watched and clapped with the beat.

Since we hadn’t had dinner yet we went in search of cheap gyros. We quickly had many options to choose from…a lot of the restaurants in the Plaka have a separate outdoor station with the sole purpose of selling gyros. The large gyro man teased us about not having good meat in America and proceeded to make us gigantic gyros…€1.80! They were a greasy delicious mess. By now we were starting to realize the transition back to small Italian portions was going to be rough.

Back at the hostel we said our goodbyes to Jenny since she had to get up at 4:00am to head to the airport. It was sooo much fun having her along!