It was time to take a trip to Attica, the peninsula that encompasses the entire metropolitan area. Angeliki and I wanted to meet up before she headed off to Durham to coordinate classes at the pre-sessional courses at the university. That evening we had arranged to meet old friends for dinner, so Angeliki had prepared a ‘snackette’ as Colin would say! We had the most delicious spinach and leek tart along with her famous ‘dolmadakia’ – fresh stuffed vine leaves– can’t refuse any of that!
We eat and chat on her cool balcony, in the shade of her amazing lemon trees –bliss! After a wee siesta we get gussied up for our night out in the centre and take the metro to Monasteraki.
We walk round Plaka - the tourist area with the
Acropolis overseeing all. Around there there are the most beautiful
neo-classical buildings. The pinks and blues below enhance the scene. The
Ancient Greeks possibly painted their buildings in such warm tones – they liked
a splash of colour!
As we walk
along the cobble streets, we hear tongues from around the entire globe as the
visitors explore the area. Being among this international throng gives me a
wonderful sense of being on holiday too!
And so we
make our way to our chosen restaurant; one by one the gals arrive: first
Alison, then Marissa, and Marina arrives just as the audience applauds the two
guitar and bouzouki-playing singers as they finish a set. Dramatic entrance!
The
following evening Mercouris, Angeliki’s husband, has requested we leave free as
he wants to take us out to dinner. The venue is opulently decorated. It’s a
deli-restaurant so, as well as biological foodstuffs on display, there are hand-made
items of clothing and jewellery.
Here are my
delightful hosts, enjoying a fine Hedgehog Rose from the Alpha Estate
in Florina, NW Greece. Its blurb promises floral aromatics and fruity
tones. And so it was. 😊
From the open kitchen these delicacies were
delivered: pasta with salmon in a truffle cream sauce, stuffed beefsteak with
thrice-cooked potatoes and steak with chips. This was accompanied by a
refreshing cucumber and watermelon salad. Not of the faint-hearted, we actually
managed to sample their chocolate pie with caramel ice-cream. Utter decadence!
On my final day, my lady-buds decided we needed
one more meeting before my departure – brunch! The seaside setting of Voula
again put me in full-force holiday mood. Our gourmet brekkers looked like this: French toast with strawberries and
blueberries, egg-white omelettes with mixed green salad. Me? I couldn’t resist the
cheese-filled crispy pastry rounds topped with fig jam …. mmm!
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