Athens Day 4

We woke up really early that morning (remember it's 2 hours ahead at Athens as compared to the UK), caught the metro and set off for Pireus port to catch our cruise.

We arrived there early and went around looking for breakfast.

Pastries, cakes, and more pastries. See the pastry on the middle bottom with white cream and a cherry in the middle? It looked so familiar as I've eaten it in Sandakan when I was younger.

Finally, after taking the free bus service from Port 6 to Port 1, we finally boarded our cruise!

It was quite a big ship with 3 decks. Initially we sat on the top deck but F and I decided to move to the middle deck as it was quite chilly. Don't be fooled by the sun.

What we had for breakfast. I had Spanakopita (top left) which is a traditional spinach pie. It looked like a very healthy option till I saw the oil seeping through the paper bag. M had chocolate cake for breakfast and F had potato pie.

First stop: Aegina island

Groupie

We came across this really cute shop selling chocolate, sweets and gift boxes in the shape of bunnies. So adorable.

There was an abundant of seafood and fruits. I thought the fruit stalls reminded me a bit of Malaysia with the pineapples and watermelons. You could see octopuses hanging on a string outside each restaurant you pass by. We decided that we had to have seafood for morning tea.

From grilled octopus to deep fried calamaris and shrimps. They tasted so sweet and fresh. Best morning tea ever.

There was this bakery next to the restaurant that we were at and the smell was so inviting that we had to go in to have a look.

She was making Tsoureki - Greek Easter bread.

Greek Red Easter Eggs which represents the blood of Christ and rebirth. Somehow it reminded me of the red eggs we have for Chinese weddings.

There is a busy street, one up one down along the coast of Aegina island. There were many shops, fruit stalls, a tiny fish market and boats along the way.

There were carriages pulled by donkeys if anyone is interested as well.

We went back to our ship and set sail for the next island.

2nd stop: Poros island:

We only had 50 minutes to explore this island so we decided to climb to the clock tower. From there, we could see the panoramic view of the whole island. On my way down, I saw an orange tree and a lemon tree which was practically crowded with fruits. So tempted to pick them and M had to refrain me from doing that firstly because I am allergic to citrus fruits and secondly, the trees are within a compound of somebody's house.

View from the top

Finally, it was our turn to have lunch on the ship.

First course was salmon with cabbage salad, followed by main course which can be either pork with chips or Gemista with chips, and finish off with lemon ice-cream cake, where I had to donate the lemon topping to someone.

Finally,
3rd stop: Hydra island

The most beautiful island out of the three. There were no vehicles on this island and the only mode of transport is....

This little donkey

It was a really beautiful place

With small boats along the coast

Restaurants were filled with people by that time as it was lunch time. The water was soooo bluish green and clear.

We spent like 40 minutes just sitting there sunbathing and getting that occasional cold splash of water when the tide is high enough. Disadvantage of having short legs.

I heard from an ex-sailor that the water is darkest at the equator and gets lighter as the latitude increases or decreases. I really love the colour!

Finally, we had to bid farewell to this beautiful island. May I visit you again in the future.

On our way back, there were entertainments on board. I was really sleepy at that time but this Greek dance caught my attention.

Towards the end, he picked a Japanese girl to be a volunteer. Made her balance on that small glass, turned her around, and after doing all that, they were pronounced as husband and wife. Hahahaha.

We got back to Athens around 8pm and by that time, we were starving. Thanks to C, we had the best dinner ever at this small restaurants, so hidden from the main streets but it is highly popular with the locals.

A map of the place if you're interested and able to read Greek.

It is famous for its grilled octopus. Just look at the size of the tentacles.

That is the restaurant name.

Potato salad

The body of the octopus was prepared in a salty base sauce.

Whereas the tentacles were prepared in a spicy sauce with peppers. Seriously this is the best grilled octopus ever.

My favourite dish of the night. Mushrooms fried in olive oil with coriander. I would love to eat this again.

Deep fried cod

The main chef responsible for the delicious grilled octopus. He was so funny. After this photo, his daughter appeared asking her dad what was he doing posing with so many girls. He asked us to send this photo back to him. So, A, make sure you develop and post it to him.

That's all for now. Watch out for the final post in this series: Athens Day 5.