Costa Navarino~ A Road Trip Out of Greece

We've just returned to Greece. . .or at least it feels that way. 

Pylos town - Greek Peloponnese

You see we took a road trip to a luxury resort not far from our house. A sprawling oasis of pure bling with two five-star hotels, an enormous spa and so many top-notch restaurants that you could lose count of them all. It is the type of place you'd find in Hawaii and Arizona; similar to posh places in France and Italy . . . for that matter, on our glitzy islands, Santorini or Mykonos. But, Messinia?!

Sailboats docked at Pylos harbor - Peloponnese

We'd driven northwest from our home in The Mani, past Kalamata and then across Pylia, the most western Peloponnese 'finger'. Like most road trips in this area we'd slowed for farmers on tractors and had passed a dozen or so mom-and-pop fruit stands that line the narrow two-lane road that serves as a 'highway' here.  Our route took us through villages so small that a mere blink and you'd miss them; each with some distinctly Greek name,like, Neromylos, water mills.

A common sight on the roads of Pylia this time of year

Eventually signs directed us to an even more narrow road that wound through an ancient olive grove, and then another turn and we were on way to the resort's security gate at the end of a landscaped drive. A gate we wouldn't have gotten past without reservations, I might add.

Fruit stands line the highway - it is orange season

Two hours after leaving home, we'd arrived at Costa Navarino, the 321-acre resort featuring side-by-side hotels --The Westin and Romanos Luxury Collection -- two golf courses, an enormous spa, conference facilities to serve 1,700 and so many swimming pools and high end restaurants that we lost count of them all.

From Agios Nikolaos on the right to Romanos on the left

The lobby of the small  Kalamata Airport, some 40 minutes away from the resort, is a showroom for the resort. Enormous photos, maps and information - you can't miss the hype for the ultra luxury experience to be had at this place. Each time we saw the display, we'd say we should check it out. Finally, we did!

The resort opened in May 2010, a few years before we happened upon the Messinian region of the Peloponnese. At the time of its opening, it featured The Dunes 18-hole golf course. A second course, The Bay, opened the following year. (Two more courses are being developed in the area of Navarino Hills.)

A view of The Dunes golf course - Costa Navarino

Since we can't yet travel outside Greece (still waiting for those residence permits), this seemed a perfect destination for last week's road trip. While the valet parked our car, we were greeted by a charming receptionist from Venice and we were settled in our room shortly after 1 p.m.

Center of The Westin Lobby - Costa Navarino

The common area décor was simply understated elegance.  The guest suites posh and amenities luxurious.  We felt as if we'd left the Greek world we know and entered a different one.  There was at ubiquitous resort feel ~ it could have been a resort anywhere in the world.

'Agora's' restaurants and big screen - Costa Navarino

At times when strolling its grounds, with no sign of the Mediterranean Sea, (it is set back from the beach for environmental reasons) we'd comment that it felt like we were in Scottsdale, Arizona. And there's nothing wrong with that!

Our 'family suite' had two full bathrooms and large deck

For those of us who live in Greece and who would like a change of scenery and tastes, it was perfect option. We were upgraded -- thanks to the Marriott/Starwood Bonvoy hotel loyalty program -- to what is called a 'family suite' - a room large enough that we could have lived in the place. It was difficult to pull ourselves away from our room.

One Man's Dream

A bit of Navarino Bay

Captain Vassilis Constantakopulos from Diavolitsi, a small village with 854 residents, about 39 km from Kalamata, had the vision for putting his Messinian homeland on the tourist map. After a few decades at sea, he founded a successful shipping company, expanded into other businesses and by 1980 had conceived the vision of Costa Navarino. While he retired in 2005 and turned the business over to family, he lived to see the resort open. He died in 2011.

He'd likely be quite proud of the award-winning resort these days as  among its accolades are: National Georgraphic Travel Editors named it one of the 20 Best Destinations in the World, it was named the European Golf Resort of the Year in 2017 by the Golf Tourism Association and The Westin has been voted the "Best Family Destination' in The Mediterranean. 

A Sustainable Destination

The resort's web site proudly claims to be 'the prime sustainable destination in the Mediterranean.' After seeing first-hand the environmental and socio-economic efforts going on here, they certainly have a right to such a boast.

Beach café has limited operation in deference to the turtles

Let's start at the beach:  The restaurant, with the most beautiful undulating canvas roof I've ever seen, operates only in the daytime. At sundown the beach belongs to the turtles as explained in the sign in the photo.

A Blue Flag beach - Costa Navarino

The beach is also one of only a few hundred in all of Greece to be awarded the Blue Flag designation. Criteria for the flag recognition include: cleanliness, water quality, organization, swimmer safety, and environmental protection.

How old is this tree?!?!? we exclaimed.

 The development also has the Navarino Pet Community animal adoption center, a place that is open to guests to visit and adopt previously unwanted animals who are cared for by a team of volunteers. Forty animals have found new 'fur-ever' homes thanks to those volunteers.

A decade ago the founders of Costa Navarino formed a partnership with the academic community and created the Navarino Environmental Observatory that operates with a focus on research and educational programs on climate change and the environment.

Keeping locals employed and able to live in Messinia was part of the founder's original vision. Producing Navarino Icons, the private resort label of products including wine, olives and olive oil is one way of doing that. (You can find these at Dean and Deluca and Whole Foods in the US and Marks and Spencer in the UK).

Security guard at work - Costa Navarino

Perhaps the favorite part of our stay was the morning breakfast buffet, which was included in the room rate.  Food displays filled two interior  rooms of a large restaurant and guests sat in an open air covered terrace area.  Aside from the food, what made breakfast a treat was 'the security guard' who roamed (with his handler) through the restaurant.  

Being open air, we learned the sparrows that swoop, dive and entertain throughout the grounds had been little pests: dive-bombing tables and making away with food. With a hawk keeping watch they haven't had that problem. And as the handler said with a smile, "The sparrows don't know he is tethered to me!" They keep their distance now!

On that note it is time to thank you for the time you've spent with us at Costa Navarino and we hope you'll be back next week when we take a look at the realities of road trips and driving in Greece!  Hope to see you again soon! Safe travels to you and yours ~

Linking this week with:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday

Spetses ~ Our Not-So-Secret Island

Psssst. . .we've just visited a secret Greek island and today I am going to tell you where to find it.

A car ferry links mainland Peloponnese with Spetses

Well, . . .it really isn't a secret island as the many who've been there know its popularity, but it feels like it is a secret island and that is the key factor for us when traveling to Greek islands these days.

Santorini and Mykonos are the Greek islands that get the headlines and the tourists. And yes, we've been to both. However, Greece has several thousand islands and a couple hundred of them are inhabited. Many of those inhabited ones are popular tourist destinations -thankfully without the mass tourism plaguing the two islands mentioned above. And those lesser-visited are the ones that we prefer: fewer tourists, better prices and simply enchanting settings!

Peloponnese to the west of the Saronic islands

Some of the most beautiful and alluring Greek islands we've visited - and we've been to quite a few in the last decade of travel here - are those of the Argo Saronic Islands. Spetses, way down at the tip of the map, was our destination.  Our secret island, in a manner of speaking.

So come along and let me show you the island where John Fowles was inspired to write 'The Magus', a book considered to be the cult novel of the 20th Century. (We had one reader guess it - from the hints in our last post.)

Poseidonion Hotel Spetses

This time of year and through early fall, there are many choices of accommodations on the island, ranging from high end hotels to guest houses. The most iconic and picturesque hotel The Poseidonion Grand Hotel, has been welcoming guests since 1914. Its front patio was a perfect spot for people watching while sipping a glass of wine at day's end. Room rates were 200+ euros, so it will be a special occasion getaway on some future trip - we were happy sipping wine for a few hours.

Economou Mansion - Spetses

An even older - built in 1851 -- water-front mansion-turned-tourist-accommodation is where we stayed.  The Economou Mansion has six guest rooms on its main floor and the upstairs is privately owned. Our room was spacious, opened to the sea and cost 125 euros a night, breakfast included.

Our room opened to the sea - breakfast (included) was served poolside

 The Mansion was located in an area called Kounoupitsa, about a 10 minute walk from the ferry dock and the town center. Spetses town is the only one on the island and most of the island's 4,000 residents live in or near it. The combination of local business, tourist shops and tavernas and coffee shops can make it feel a bit congested so it was good to be a bit out of town.

Getting Around Spetses

Taxis, scooters, and public bus are ways to get around the island

Unlike neighbor island, Hydra, where cars are not allowed, Spetses allows residents to own cars - they just can't drive them anywhere but to the ferry dock. Hotels are allowed vans to pick up guests and there are a couple of taxis. There's only one rather narrow road on which you can travel around the island. It's 24 kilometers long.

There are many options, however, for getting around and exploring the many beaches and the still somewhat forested hillsides that make up this charming little drop of land. Water and land taxis, horse drawn carriages, scooters, pedal-powered and electric bikes are among the options during high (tourist) season. 

Who said one needs to act their age?

Our choice of  'wheels' was the 'Quad'; a contraption that seems to be like a riding lawn mower with a spiffy banana seat that made it seem like a motor scooter. Now before I get comments about 'no helmets' let me assure you that at the speed we traveled we didn't even have a hair out of place. Two 30-somethings on pedal bikes passed us twice (circling around and I think they were secretly keeping an eye on us 'old folks'). And with a non-stop trip around the island taking 1.5 hours, I can assure you we clocked in at two hours. We. Were. Safe. 

An action shot: The Scout and The Scribe on the open road

We last had been on Spetses in late October, 10 years ago (when the only Quad shop still open in town had deemed us 'too old' to rent a 'quad', btw) so we'd walked across the island. We recalled the lush forest that covered most the land thanks to the efforts of island resident Sotirios Anargyros, who bought up 45% of the island and between 1913 and 1923 planted the forests. Upon his death he left the land to the people with the stipulation that it never be built upon. The island's original name was Pityousa, which means, 'pine clad'. Sadly, on our island tour we saw acres and acres of charred hillsides - the results of a forest fire two years ago. The cause of which has not been determined.

A wildfire two years ago destroyed a huge area of forest

 But the beautiful cove beaches remain, mansions are tucked away on hillsides and a trip around this island reminds us of just how much there is to see beyond the town's borders. However, there's plenty to see and do in town. There was so much that we didn't get to either of the two museums and there are another - at least - four restaurants on our list to try. We can hardly wait to return. (I've not mentioned the food - which was mouth-wateringly good only because I will be telling you more about it next week!)

Spetses town at night enchants

Spetses is a four-hour drive from our house and a 25 minute ferry ride from a port on the tip of the Peloponnese. From Athens' port of Piraeus, a fast ferry will get you to Spetses in two hours.

Thanks for coming along on this jaunt in what could be our island-hopping summer.  We'll be back next week, with another 'taste' of Greek travel (emphasis on taste!) Hope you'll join us once again and bring some friends with you! In the meantime, safe travels to you and yours ~

Linking this week with:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday

Armchair travels to some Novel Destinations

We remain in 'detention' (as we call it) here - unable to leave Greece while awaiting those credit-card sized permanent residency permits, aka, our tickets to travel outside Greece.

Road trips will be what we do this spring in Greece

The latest update on our renewal status was that the review process has become 'more detailed and complicated after the system update'. . .hmmm. Does that sound ominous to anyone else but me?

Morning on Hydra Island 

We are both feeling the travel bug's itch though and with Greece having an estimated 160 to 227 (depending on the source) inhabited islands, we are going to make the most of as many of them as we can while living here.

This weekend we are returning to one we visited a decade ago; so long ago that most of the details of that trip have faded. I do remember the pounding rainstorm we had there - the one that kept ferries from coming to the island because the sea was so rough.  The Scout, on the other hand, remembers the wonderful walk we took when the rain let up a bit. Funny, how memories differ when looking back on trips.

Ferry arrives at Poros Island

I'll tell you more about this island next week but since the focus of today's post is armchair travel and novel destinations, I'll give you a teaser about the island:  John Fowles conceived the idea of his novel Magus while he lived on this island in the 1950's teaching English.  It took him 12 years to complete the book that has often been called the 'cult novel of the 20th Century."  Any guesses based on that clue as to where we are going?

We have had a few great 'novel' and 'not so novel' getaways in recent months so join us in some armchair travels:

Greece:  

Sailing to a Greek island

Yes, I know we live in Greece, but I love getting insights into this country's history through novels.  Patricia Wilson, a novelist living on Rhodes, took us back in time in her books, Villa of Secrets, set in Rhodes and her Island of Secrets, set in Crete. Both novels are based on actual events that took place during World War II and the tales were so interesting that we read the books back-to-back and had to impatiently wait for the arrival of her most recent book, Secrets of Santorini (which just came out).  You want a great get-away, I guarantee these books will take you there.

India:

The Taj Mahal Hotel - Mumbai, India

Sujata Massey's novel, The Widows of Malabar Hill, is a mystery book set in 1920's India. In it she introduces her character Perveen Mistry, Bombay's only female lawyer and a mystery sleuth as well.  I am delighted to see she is keeping this character around and has just had her next book in this series published. As a former newspaper reporter, I love seeing reporters-turn-writers. Massey was a reporter for the Baltimore Evening Sun before becoming a full-time novelist.

Not so Novel Destinations

Me at the real - not movie version - Bramasole

So many long years ago Frances Mayes with her Under the Tuscan Sun tales got me to thinking that 'one day' we just might have a similar adventure.  The book, now more than 20 years old, is still one of my favorites. I am re-reading it again this summer for a taste of Tuscany. . .and recommend it as a great armchair getaway. For those of you who've seen the movie, do read the book as she has practical things like mouth-watering recipes as well as inspirational tales of taking a leap into the unknown. It is particularly interesting to see where that leap took her: she and Ed sell Bramasole-labeled olive oil and wine, she just wrote another book about Italy, this one a travel guide, Meet Me in the Piazza and was interviewed at Bramasole on U.S. television's, CBS Sunday Morning.

When I finish with Frances I am moving on to Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence as he was another that helped formulate my daydreams. Mr. Mayle died last year and his last book, My 25 Years in Provence, Reflections on Then and Now will soon be on my bedside table.

Karen and Rich McCann at Petro's in Trahilio

And in today's mail I received Karen McCann's Dancing in the Fountain, How to Enjoy Living Abroad. I have a copy back in the State's --  she also provided a nudge back in 2012 when I read of the adventures she and her husband Rich had experienced when moving to Seville, Spain.  If you missed my last post, she and Rich were in The Mani with us for three days - days filled with tale telling and much laughter.  I am certain I will love the book all over again and you would as well.

That's all the armchair travel time I have for today -- time to start packing.  What books are you reading? Any recommendations?

Thanks for the time you've spent with us - hope to see you back next week when I'll be telling tales from 'that' island. . . have you guessed it yet?

Linking this week with:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday

Athens ~ Merchants Markets and Mezes

'The traveler sees what he sees,

the tourist sees what he has come to see.'

             -- G.K. Chesterton

Waiting to cross a street near Syntagma (Constitution) Square in the heart of Athens, a person focused on his mobile phone while balanced on a lime green scooter came whizzing down the sidewalk behind us. A car in front of us speeded up, ran a red light and could have taken out a few pedestrians had we not been slow to react to the 'walk' signal. To our side the 'hop-on, hop-off' buses vied with a parade of taxis for a spot to stop near the famous square.

On this Saturday afternoon the streets were crowded and the sidewalks were crammed with shoppers - we could tell they were shoppers by the name-brand logos printed on the bags they carried. Chatter and laughter wafted from tables at open-air cafes.

Cafe and taverna tables are filled in Athens these days

A decade after the economic crisis sucker punched this country, you can feel the vibe, the life, perhaps even the soul of this popular central area returning.  This part of downtown is night-and-day different from even a few years ago when shops were shuttered, businesses closed and the streets in once-busy commercial areas empty.

Time and time again during a long-weekend here earlier this month, we were touched by this upbeat rhythm in the neighborhoods we explored. We avoided the 'tourist' sites this trip and set out to see the 'every day'. To be sure, there is a lot to Athens and economic recovery isn't going to be achieved uniformly or immediately but we could tell the areas of the city we visited are on a definite upswing.

Syntagma (Constitution) Square - Athens

Staying in a hotel at Syntagma Square we remarked on the quietude of the place that less than a decade ago gained notoriety -- much like Cairo's Tahrir Square during their Arab Spring -- when Athenians protested and rioted here as the economy tanked and European Union economic sanctions kicked into gear.

Friends who witnessed first-hand such riots from the same hotel in which we stayed say they'll never return to Athens. It is a shame, that attitude - because that was so then, this is so now.

Ermou Street - Merchants

We headed west from Syntagma Square on Ermou Street, one of our favorite routes in this sprawling metropolis. The 1.5 kilometer road, named for Hermes, the god of commerce, leads  to  Kerameikos, (ceramicus) the old potters' quarters archeological site.

The street, ranked among the top five most expensive shopping streets in Europe and among the top 10 world-wide, begins as a pedestrian zone at Syntagma Square, a feature that makes for excellent 'window shopping'.

Shop until you drop on Ermou Street in Athens

Stretching for several blocks are stores selling shoes, jewelry, specialty items and brand-name children's, women's and men's clothing. Street vendors set up shop in front of the stores offering everything from eats to books. You really could shop until you drop and never leave this street.

Street Vendors are up and open long before stores on Ermou

We love to walk it before the stores have opened when the sidewalk vendors are just setting up shop and again late in the evening when the buskers set up to entertain late into the night.

Night - bucker's delight on Ermou St. Athens

And then several blocks later there sits in the middle of Ermou Street an ancient church. Once you pass this small square, it isn't long before the pedestrian zone ends and you are back on rather narrow sidewalks. This Byzantine Church of Panaghia Kapnikarea is believed to have been built about 1050 on the site of an ancient temple to Athena or Demeter.

Church of Panghia Kapnikarea - Ermou Street, Athens.

The Markets - Ancient and New

We love markets - those public gathering places where farmers and producers gather to sell what they have grown, raised or created. When it comes to such places, you can't beat Athens for having a selection of both ancient and present-day venues. All are walking distance from Syntagma Square:

Tower of the Wind - Roman Agora - Athens

Ancient Agora - once the hangout for the likes of Plato and Socrates, this historic site is a popular stop for tourists.  So large and encompassing are these old grounds between Monastiraki and the Acropolis, that Lonely Planet guidebook's self-guided tour advises it will take two hours to complete.

Just a short distance away are the ruins of the Roman Agora, a commercial center dating back to the first century BC. Julius Caesar started the project and Caesar Augustus finished it.  Perhaps the most famous of its remaining structures is its Tower of the Winds, a handsome eight-sided marble structure that once served as a water clock, sundial and weathervane.

Strawberries are in season in Athens

Our focus this outing was on modern-day markets so we bypassed the ancient. We began with a stroll through Monastraki Square, named for the 'little monastery' that sits to the side of its square.  While the square still has a fruit vendor or two and boasts a weekend 'antique' market, the rest of its small shops could better be described as a tourist-shop arcade. You want a souvenir? You'll find it on the narrow street flanked by shops offering everything from key chains and post cards to mass produced art work, 'traditional' leather sandals, and women's wear. If you want Army camouflage gear, you'll find it at a shop here.

Antique/flea Market Saturday at Monastiraki Square

You'd need hours to rummage through the display tables that sprout on Saturday mornings  in the plaza. There are bona fide antique stores that front the plaza and operate daily but the weekend brings a hodge-podge of sellers who display piles of old used 'stuff' on folding tables. Somewhere within them, there's likely an antique but we didn't have the desire or patience to try looking.

Meat and fish and veggies at the Dimotiki Market

We left Monastiraki and strolled several blocks on Athinas Street to Athens' enormous Central Municipal Market that also goes by the names of Dimotiki (public market) and Varvakeios (a long ago hero) Market.

Now this was real Athens - not a tourist item in sight and no arts and crafts. It was serious food for serious shoppers.  We did spend a lot of time strolling the aisles - which is best done in closed-toed shoes as they are wet and somewhat slippery on the meat and fish side of the street.

Mezes and other culinary delights

One of three market cafes - Dimotiki Market Athens

We suspected the food was excellent at the three small cafes that operate within the market but we were saving ourselves for dinner with friends, long-time Athenians. And were we ever glad we did as they introduced us to a café tucked up in the Plaka area near the Roman Agora - a café that got its start back in the 1930's and is still incredibly popular today. It served authentic Greek 'village' food -- and Taverna Platanos is one we'd recommend if you find yourself wanting a bit of good 'home-cooked' flavor and presentation.

Good Greek food served at this historic taverna

Now before I sign off, I need to circle back to that mention of the lime green scooter that I told you about in the opening paragraph. Electric Lime Scooters debuted in the city in January.  Using an app uploaded to your phone you can unlock a scooter, use it and leave it on the street at the end of your ride. The cost is 1 euro plus .15 cents  for every minute.  They can travel at a rate of 25 km an hour - yikes!  We still prefer walking but keep it in mind if you find yourself in Athens.

Electric Lim Scooters have come to Athens

There's a lot more to discover about Athens and one day we'll head back for another adventure.  Hope that if your travels take you there you'll allow yourselves a few days to experience as much of the city as you can cram into your schedule. As Matt Barrett, who writes an online travel guide to Greece, has said,

'The true wonders of Athens may not be in the dead past, but in the very alive present.'

Hope to see you back here next week when we'll indulge in a bit of the luxurious side of travel in Greece.  Until then, thanks so much for the time you've spent with us and safe travels to you and yours ~

Linking this week with:
Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday

Athens ~ a bit of grit and a bit of glam

“Travel and change of place impart a new vigor to the mind.”

                                        -- Seneca

The quote above reminds me that it is time to get back to writing about travel, the topic that gave birth to this blog in the first place.

It seems we focused most of the last year – with a few carefree intervals – on downsizing our life and shifting residences from one continent to another. While it’s been an amazing process it has cut into travel. . .the kind that provides new adventures and packing suitcases, not moving boxes.

Acropolis from the Electra Palace Hotel roof bar/restaurant

Now that we are settled on both sides of the Atlantic, it is time to hit the road again on this side ‘of the pond’. Luckily a couple of travel-enthused friends from Canada gave us the nudge we needed to pack the bags and head to Athens for a rendezvous with them last week.

Getting to Athens from our house can be done in a number of ways. In summer season, there are flights between Kalamata and Athens, but this time of year you either drive, take the public bus or hire a shuttle. We set out on the 3.5 hour road trip in our trusty Hi, Ho Silver, our Toyota RAV.

Traffic jams were routine in downtown Athens

Since neither of us like downtown Athens traffic – The Scout is the driver and I am the navigator -- we park at the Airport, (some 33km or 20.5 miles out of town) and take the airport shuttle bus to the heart of the city. We get in a bit of sightseeing while someone else does the driving.  Traffic on the weekday afternoon we arrived was bumper-to-bumper – it took the shuttle bus twice the normal time to get us into the heart of the city.

Athens, capital of Greece, had a population of 4.1 million at last count in 2012.

Since we moved to Greece we have been guilty of treating this town as being one from where we depart its airport and return to pick up our car. As other travel enthusiast friends commented, “Once you’ve seen the sights (Acropolis, for instance) what else is there to do?”

Well, let me tell you with only the three days we had in this city we didn’t have time to do all that we could have, which means we’ll just have to return there again – hopefully soon! And we didn't even get to any of those famous sites!

A Bit of Grit and a Bit of Glam

Big cities and graffiti seem to go hand-in-hand

Like all big cities Athens has a gritty side.  Graffiti and street people. However we saw similar amounts of graffiti in Rome and Lisbon  - if not more - and far more homeless sleeping on sidewalks in Honolulu than we did in Athens.

Street art is taking over graffiti scenes

As for that graffiti. Some wise city folks are working to turn that destructive art into an attraction by encouraging street art. An enterprising street artist named Sophia now leads street art walking tours. But it is really quite easy to find many examples by strolling the streets on your own as we did.

Spotted a couple blocks from Syntagma Square

Athens is the UNESCO World Book Capital 2018 and has put together a year-long program of events celebrating the written word.

High-end shops line the boulevards of Athens

Window shopping kept us entertained as we strolled the areas surrounding Syntagma Square. We are talking high end shops. . .Paris’s Champs Elysees had better take note – this place just might offer a bit more glam these days than do the storefronts along that famous Paris boulevard!

The decade's old  Zonar's Café between Syntagma and Kolonaki district

Much like Paris, there’s no end to sidewalk cafes – perfect spots to spend a couple of hours in contemplation, conversation or people watching.

Athens at more than 4,000 years of age claims it is the birthplace of Democracy, Philosophy, Theatre, Music and Poetry.

It is when the sun goes down that Athens comes to life – restaurants, cafes, coffee shops and bars were filled and the pedestrian streets were crowded with shoppers and those out for their evening stroll.

Spotted on Ermou Street near our hotel

We followed the advice of another traveling friend (and the Michelin 2018 guide) and dined one night at 2 Mazi in the Plaka district, an easy four blocks from Syntagma Square.  The food and wine pairing was perfect, a distinctly modern touch to Greek favorites. We’ll be recommending it to all who visit Athens in the near future.

2 Mazi is worth a visit

Several places where we tried to have a glass of wine, were completely booked and required reservations. I’m no longer worried about Athens being able to recover from the economic collapse a decade ago. She’s back and maybe better than ever.

You'll need a reservation here 

It seemed we barely touched the surface of all that Athens has to offer. We certainly made note of some places that will tempt us on a future trip. Maybe next time we’ll bring some fancy ‘big city’ clothes and dine at the King George Hotel. . .instead of just walking through it as we did this trip.

King George Hotel restaurant

And we’ll make it a point to check out the performing arts. . .especially after having happened upon this performance as we walked past a theatre one afternoon.

Not all dancing is to Zorba's theme song in Greece

We divided our stay between two of the three Electra Hotels that are located within walking distance of Syntagma Square. This Greek hotel chain (with one property in Thessaloniki as well) has developed their properties so each has a rooftop deck with enclosed space and open air seating for drinking and/or dining. . .and breakfast buffets are included in the room price.

Breakfast with a view at the Electra Hotel

After this 'taster trip'  I’d had a plan to come back and see the city decked out at Christmas, but you know The Scout and The Scribe can be unpredictable when it comes to travel. Our plans changed just yesterday.  I’ll tell you more about our upcoming December travel adventure soon -- for now just know it is set in the Middle East!!

Thanks for your time and we look forward to having you back with us again next week when we’ll take you on another Peloponnese road trip to a destination we haven’t yet decided upon yet. But I know we are going somewhere! (Isn’t that a great way to travel? Or do you need to have your travel plans set out in advance? Let us know in the comment section or shoot us an email – as always we love hearing from you!)

Linking up this week with:
Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday – 
Best of Weekend