After dropping Stacey, Bridget and I off at the hotel the boys went to return the rental car. That was 2+ hour adventure with traffic and attempting to find the rental car place. Let’s just say they needed a drink after that! While the boys were doing the hard work, we had a girls happy hour!
A few blocks from the hotel was Eat at Milton with fancy cocktails (read expensive) Stacey splurged on a coffee one, I had a an orange flavored one and Bridget went with an ouzo mojito. Let’s just say that was not good
After wandering around the streets we stumbled upon what would be come" “our local bar”. Brettos. Over 150 years old, the distill their own spirits and have 35 different liquors to try. Our goal was try quite a few:
Masticha
Rose
Melon
Peach
Cinnamon
Watermelon
We wandered to dinner and found Scholarhio Ouzeri Kouklis and had the tasting menu for 4 which included mezedes. After looking for this restaurant (a Rick Steve’s recommendation) we accidently stumbled upon it. It was quite fortuitous. The food was amazing!
Thursday: We caught the hop on hop off sight seeing bus & saw the Acropolis, Parthenon, Ancient Agora, the Acropolis museum, the Agora museum and had lunch in Monastiraki on souvlaki row at Thanasis, kebabs are their speciality. For dinner we headed to Paradisco and we had pork, Greek salad, bean soup, snails, chicken, pork sausages and pork with lemon sauce.
Friday: We slept in a tiny bit (leaving the hotel around 9) and headed went to the national archeological museum, temple of Zeus and walked neighborhoods. We stopped to do our final shopping before heading to dinner at Adrianos and had veal, Greek salad, schnitzel, grape leaves, baked seafood, grilled shrimps, fries. It was a great last dinner, Greek music, plate smashing and lots of saying “Opa!)
With a crazy early flight the next morning, stopped for a few last drinks, said goodbye to Bridget and Ben since they were heading off to Italy and attempted to get a few hours of sleep.
Where we went: Athens
Where we stayed: Hotel Acropolis, the 4th floor breakfast areas had views of the Acropolis. This was a simple, very clean, affordable hotel.
Getting around: Mostly walking! And the Hop on Hop Off bus, this actually saved us money versus taking the metro and taxis.
Restaurants: Eat at Milton, Scholarhio Ouzeri Kouklis, Brettos, Thanasis, Oinoscent for wine, Paradisco (but this is closing), Adrianos
Highlights: People watching, fun nights Brettos and all the sights.
What’s next? Hawaii in the fall of 2014 for our good friends wedding and a few U.S. trips.
