Sunrise from ferry to Santorini
So I’m on my way to Santorini right now on a ferry boat from Athens. I got up super early this morning and left Thomi’s house to catch the metro to Pireaus, the port of Athens. When I arrived there, I picked up my ticket and hopped on the ferry. So I just got to watch a beautiful sunset as we sailed out of Athens and we are now heading south towards Santorini. I’ll arrive midafternoon. It may not be as fast as flying, but I’m pretty comfortable here on the deck, the view is great, there’s a nice breeze, and it’s about a third of what a plane usually costs – plus, no baggage fees! Woo-hoo!
Last night, for my final night in Athens, I wanted to cook dinner for Thomi to thank her for letting me stay at her place. Conveniently (as I’d hoped!), Thanasis and Lorena were both free as well, so we invited them to come over too. I went to the fresh grocery store in the afternoon while Thomi was still at work. I’d spent the morning working on packing and organizing/filing some of my papers.
Thanassis and Lorena aprove the dinner
I bought some chicken and eggplant at the store. I cooked the chicken with green and black olives, mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, basil, oregano, garlic and chives. We put that on bowtie pasta with feta. I also cooked some eggplant. After softening it on the stove with olive oil and salt and basil, I put it in the oven with some balsamic vinegar, tomato slices, and fresh basil. Just before removing them from the oven, I added fresh mozzarella. Lorena brought a fresh salad and Thomi had red wine.
Mimosa pudica – a touch plant!
It was a pretty successful meal! We had a good time. Just before the end, Thanasis’ friend Lazarus came by, and then another friend since they were about to watch a football match. They left and the three of us girls hung out talking for a while longer. I went upstairs to the roof apartment one last time where the guys were watching the game. Lazarus had brought me some homegrown seeds from his garden to take with me. He and Thanasis both garden and are interested in diversifying plant-life throughout the world, to prevent homogeneity of plant species. (We had a great discussion about it a week or so ago; hence, the seeds). And did I mention Thanasis has a touch plant? I love those!! I got to say goodbye to ZukZukos (the cat) as well, and see the view of the Acropolis one last time…so beautiful!
This morning, when saying goodbye to Thomi, she gave me the sweetest goodbye gift, writing in a little notebook a goodbye letter, including mementos of our time together, keepsakes, leaves, shells, etc. I really appreciated it. It’s interesting the way some friendships just spring into being, nearly fully formed. I’ve been lucky enough to experience that several times already on this trip. Pallavi, Núria, Anna, Hedda, Sebastian and Jessica, to name only a few. It’s been so great!
Thomai and I on the bus to Trikala
I’ve spent the last couple of nights in Athens at Thomi’s house, since we got back into to town from our little trip up north where we had a great time. The highlight of the trip was definitely Meteora. We arrived there on Friday night and hiked up to the monasteries Saturday. That evening, we went to Trikkala, where Thomi’s uncle and aunt live, along with a couple of her ocusins and their families. We stayed with her aunt and uncle Saturday night. Her aunt cooked us the most delicious homemade pizza that night. Unfortunately, neither of them spoke any English. Since I don’t know any Greek (except I can say Thank You…), we weren’t really able to communicate much, which was a shame, as they were both quite nice and extremely hospitable. I also got to meet Thomi’s cousin Leela and her husband and kids, as well as her other cousin’s husband – they’d just had a new baby, so I didn’t get to meet her. Everyone was so nice, and I felt so welcomed! When we left early the next afternoon by bus, Thomi’s aunt had even packed us food to take home – which was more than enough for multiple meals (and SO delicious)!
Santorini Harbour
I really enjoyed my time in Athens and mainland Greece. I’ve met so many great people and seen incredible things. I’m totally looking forward to my time in Santorini. It should be interesting and I may go on from there to another island or another country…we’ll see!