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Date: May 3, 2004
Cities: Pireaus, Athens
The Triton docked around 5:15 and made lots of engine and anchor
noise, which woke us before the alarm. By the time we got on deck, the
crew were washing the lifeboats, and buffet breakfast was set out by
the pool.
We gathered in the lounge while Eirini gathered our checked luggage
in one spot after it was taken off the ship. This greatly eased our
exit and made for a short, organized treck to the bus.
  The bus to Athens dropped us at the Amalia Hotel around
9:15, and we went to the Plaka to explore together. We were past the
point of wanting to buy anything, so we wandered until we got to the
Roman agora. We paid €2 each and wandered inside the 110m x 90m
area.
There was a workman in the agora using a trimmer to keep the site
visible above the grass. The Turks had the same trouble in Ephesus as
well. Spring in Greece is very green, and everything grows rapidly
before the summer sets in with its blistering heat. After the Roman
agora we circled past Hadrian's Library and through the flea market
district before returning to the hotel.
Allan went back out to find the Quick Pita for
lunch. Even with the street address, it wasn't obvious where to
look. Allan zig-zagged from the corner of Syntagna Square to find
Mitropoleos Street, which is called Othonos instead of Mitropoleos for
it's last two blocks next to the square and at the intersection with
Amalia.
Lunch at Quick Pita was yummy again. There was a TV crew filming
something inside the restaurant, but Allan couldn't tell whether it
was a commerical, a news feature, or something else. Afterwards Allan
sat on the roof with some of the college students and watched the city
go by. We packed our bags and Allan did enough wash to get
home. There was a hair dryer in the bathroom, so drying went
quickly.
 For dinner 14 of us, including Eirini, went to Psaras
tavern near the Tower of the Winds and the Roman agora. The food was
excellent, and we had grilled kalimari (which is even better than
fried), perfect mousaka, lamb, tzatziki, and beer. We followed those
with desserts in the baklava family, but in slightly different
forms.
Afterwards some of us walked back with Eirini and stopped to look
at the Roman agora by night. Back at the hotel Allan helped out by
collecting the tour survey forms from everyone. We had lots of
positive things to say on our forms, and as usual for us, we wrote
novellas on the back.
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