Good morning to our last day in Greece! A part of me can’t wait to be back home in the comforts of my own home and bathroom while the other part of me wish we had a few more days to explore. It’s nice to feel free to wander aimlessly without the stressors of responsibility, work and obligation.
We slept in, which was 745am for us, and then had some hotel breakfast and coffee before starting our day. I didn’t drink too much coffee because we are going to explore a coffee shop and people watch, something we love to do in the mornings. We haven’t done it still due to the convenience of the hotel breakfast and the lack of cute coffee shops in the islands. But now we’re in the city!! 🙂
We visited Coffee Dive Acropolis, which was a 5 min walk from our hotel. The shop was very small yet cute. Service was friendly. Vince got a coffee drip and I got a hazelnut latte. They have a lot of fruity coffee beans and mine tasted more fruity and tangy too. I personally didn’t like it because I’m not a fruity coffee type of person but it is strong! Within a few sips, I felt the coffee rush and awakeness almost instantly.
We did more touristy stuff! Walked to the Roman Agora, Church of Panagia Kapnikarea, Temple of Hephaestus (god of fire, metal working, craftsmanship), and Monastiraki Square; all within 1 mile of each other! Crazy how central we are and how close everything is!
Then I was getting hungry so luckily, by all these places there is a cheap and yummy gyro stop called Gyristroula. It was packed with kids from a school field trip today. There was the option of take out or sit down and we chose sit down so we can relax, use the restroom, and people watch a bit.
2 pork gyro and a beer (9.50 euro). This time Vince decided to copy me cause he learned his lesson. Just a simple pork gyro for 3.50 each. So cheap! Even cheaper in Athens than in Mykonos! Honestly, pork gyro is my most favorite thing to eat in Greece! So easy and fast and simple. Delicious. Not as good as Jimmy’s in Mykonos, but almost just as good and good enough. The pork was very tender and juicy.
We went to the National Archaeological Museum, which was about a 35min and 12 euro each. We spent a good hour there, which is the longest we’ve ever been in a museum. We loved looking at all the art. Well, at least I really enjoyed it. I love seeing all these art I used to study about in the books and now getting to see it in person. It is a surreal and enlightening experience.
Afterwards, we walked around some more. Finished getting some more souvenirs and early birthday gifts.. We went to 3 swatch stores and finally found Uranus back in stock at a swatch store we visited yesterday and the lady told us to come back because they get new inventory everyday!!! Vince finally gets to buy me my birthday watch 🙂
After a lot more walking, we dropped things back into our hotel room and went to eat at a restaurant literally two turns from our hotel and right across from the first hotel we ate at because Vince noticed it looking so cute and wanting to people watch, sit and relax. We love people watching and this would have been the perfect corner to do so. It’s called Kosmikon.
Vince first got a pint of beer to relax on.. then got a bottle of dry red to share. I finished one glass for the first time, bravo to me!!!
We got the Octopus, fava, capers, oregano oil to munch and snack on in the beginning. The octopus was delicious! I love the fava bean purée! It reminds me a lot like potato puree. After about an hour of people watching and relaxing, we were getting hungry for dinner.
Slow braised lamb, Jerusalem artichoke purée, caramelized shallots. The lamb was pretty good. Not as good as the first restaurant but still pretty tender and flavorful. I love the artichoke puree. It was a good combination of meat and “potato.”
Seafood kritharoto, orzo, mussels, shrimp, squid, saffron. This was so good!!! So good that Vince and I decided to order another one of these and stuffed ourselves for our last night! The seafood was perfect. The sauce was delicious. The orzo reminded us of rice but a smooth pasta form; it was so comforting and new. We even asked the waiter how they make it and they told us it was very simple: seafood, orzo, saffron, olive oil, salt, pepper and maybe a little butter.
Note: Kritharoto means a fusion between Italian orzo with seafood.
The service here was very nice. Everyone was oh so friendly. Vince choked and spit out his wine at one point and one of the waiters quickly came with napkins to wipe himself. Everyone was just so kind.
We then strolled some more to find what to buy with my last 3 euro. I ended up using it on pistachio ice cream. It was goooood! It’s just so nutty. It tastes way better than in the US!! And I was so excited I didn’t even catch the name of the place!! Oops!
Today was a good day and a nice way to end the evening early. We headed back to shower and pack because we have a 6am flight tomorrow!!
