A Few Weeks in 'Grease' - We're Gonna Get Fat

Our adventure in Greece begins with an early morning walk to the Milan train station. 

That horrible chill of panic set in when I realized our train was taking us to the wrong airport terminal - but a shuttle bus was able to get us there without any major disaster - but for a while I had visions of the McCallisters running through the airport in Home Alone. 

In fact, we got there in enough time to allow Shirley to start thinking about Plan B. Really? While I'm holding the camera? Have you no shame? According to my wife, Italy has knocked Sri Lanka off the podium when it comes to handsome men.

Time to board our chariot to Athens. The last time we flew on easyjet was 17 years ago, from London to Barcelona. At the time, it was a nascent player in the airline industry, a discount carrier trying to carve a niche by offering cheap no frills service across Europe. I remember thinking it was a great way to travel short (~2 hour) journeys. The logo and bright orange colour is still the same, and so is the offering (but let's hope it's not the same plane).

And here's the in-flight meal. As I said, no frills.

But who cares? I'm sure we'll eat well later (that's blatant foreshadowing, by the way). As long as this bright orange torpedo in the sky lands us safely at Eleftherios Airport, then we're a happy group.

A quick check in at the Marble House and we're off to get some sightseeing in before the end of the day. Greece is another of those countries I have longed to visit. As a child growing up in Courtenay, I enjoyed the rare treat of eating at the only Greek restaurant in town. As is absolutely necessary in all small town Greek restaurants, the walls and placements were adorned with photos of the Parthenon and scenes from the Greek Islands. Those images (I was 6 or 7 years old at the time) were magical, and I've wanted to come here ever since.

So we began the long but pleasant walk up the Dionisiou Aeropagitou towards the Acropolis. Ooh, there's a glimpse of the Parthenon, up there on the top right. I felt like I was six again.

At last! And we've caught it on a pretty good day. Not too many people and the weather is fantastic. As is often the case in ancient sites across Europe, there is a lot of restoration work underway, resulting in much scaffolding and the odd crane. It certainly detracts from the experience, but it's easy to look past that.

The kids are happy too - unlike me they have not been inspired by kitschy place mats, but rather by the engaging (addictive) Percy Jackson and the Olympians series of books by Rick Riordan. They know all their mythology and have been dying to visit Greece since I explained our itinerary to them.

I never realized how close to the sea Athens is. Normally, and particularly during the peak summer months, there is thick smog blanketing Athens, and the sky is not clear enough to enjoy a view to the shore. 

View from the cheap seats.

A piece of advice - wear good shoes. You quickly notice how slippery the stone (marble?) is up at the top of the Acropolis. I guess it's no surprise, with 7.2 million visitors a year, there have probably been close to a billion feet gradually smoothing this stone over the past 3,000 years.

We took our time and let the sun begin its descent, and watched the colours change from bright white to a lovely golden hue.

But hunger beckoned, so we took leave of this amazing site and went to look for dinner. But not to worry, because the Greek tourism authorities have realized that it simply takes too long to see the sights of the Acropolis in one outing, so the entrance tickets are valid for 4 days. I'll be back.

Our hotel proprietor recommended this joint for great souvlaki and gyros. Sorry, I can't tell you what it is because it has no English name (which I must say is a good sign that the food will be excellent). Sure enough, it was awesome. Huge chunks of pork, dripping in juices (aw hell, I know it's actually fat), wrapped in soft pita that tastes like it's been fried in said juice/fat. Served with fries and a greek salad swimming in olive oil. Grease, baby!

mmmmmm.......to pull out a Tommy Boy line - "I can almost hear you getting fatter" 

But the meal gave us enough fuel to carry on the next day. Yes, I am still wearing the same shirt. Embarassing. But you have to understand the challenges of travel laundry management. My motto: if it don't smell, then no one can tell (unless you admit it on your travel blog).

We spent half the day here at the National Archaeological Museum - one of the best in the world. Kids did amazingly well - for the most part they were interested on their own account, especially when so many of the sculptures were of the Greek gods with which they are very familiar. Annie's favourite is Poseidon.

Owen pointed out that "the chicken dance has sure been around a long time!"

A lot easier to last 4 hours in a museum when they are thoughtful enough to place benches in every exhibit hall.

Is it possible to sculpt just one man with a beer gut? C'mon, you are setting impossibly high standards, especially in a town of souvlaki and grilled pork and lamb chops....

....cue the souvlaki.

C'mon Chris, you know you want it.

I try to make it a point to see any changing of the guard that I can. I have probably seen half a dozen by now, and I have to say (without bias) that nobody does it better than the Taiwanese. If you are ever in Taipei, go see it - it's an incredible display of synchronicity and rifle skills. The Athenian version is okay, but is made particularly memorable by the uniforms (I was tempted to use the word costumes).

It's almost as if they knew it lacked a wow factor, and somebody said "well what if we make them wear dresses, don clown shoes, and force them march around to the Monty Python "Silly Walk?".

Shirley was amazed by their remarkably large and strong thighs. Seriously, I'm beginning to get a complex! Maybe I need to go and work out.

Naaah, I think I'll just go and get some pork chops. My friend Graham has been travelling with this family for over 9 months now, and was here in Athens last August. I am wisely gleaning restaurant recommendations from him, as they seem to have found some real gems during their journey.

His simple instructions for Athens were "Telis on Evripidou Avenue - a must". Okay then, Telis it is. The place would normally be buzzing with locals, but our preferred meal time of 7pm is still way to early for the Greeks. Again, no English written or spoken here. In fact, there is no menu because they decide what gets cooked and served. You can ask for greek salad and drinks, but otherwise 'you get what you get and you don't get upset'.

Sweet Jesus! This is just one serving of meat and fries (with a piece or two already taken off). I kind of suspected this might be how the meal would play out, so we wisely only ordered two servings for the four of us. Even then, we could barely finish the meal. 

Well Shirley, if big thighs are what you want, then perhaps big thighs are what you'll get. I'm not sure we can handle three weeks of this - but I'm up for the challenge!!