Happy Thanksgiving!

In Athens today is just another Thursday but Peter and I want to wish all of you a very happy holiday. We hope you enjoyed time with family and friends.

We’ve gone quiet for the last couple of days because, well, we’ve gone quiet. We haven’t done much since returning from Delphi on Monday. Tuesday, we took a walk in the afternoon to get Peter a couple pair of pants. He’s having difficulty with zippers and buttons, so we found some at H&M that have elastic waist.

On our walk we passed the building that used to be the Parliament building but is now a Historical Museum.

We also passed the new Parliament building that used to be the Royal Palace. We visited Sunday for the special changing of the guard but this time it wasn’t very crowded, so we were able to get up close and personal.

After shopping we stopped for gelato on the way home.

All of these beauties are made from different types of gelatos.

Yesterday (Wednesday) Peter never left the house, but I went out for a short while to pick up chicken for dinner and to buy a headscarf for when we get to Istanbul. We’re doing a day trip on Monday to the Blue Mosque, and I need something to cover my head. Since I wasn’t sure if I’d have time to get something on Sunday, I thought it would be easier to buy it here.

That was our last 2 days. Today we headed to the National Archeological Museum about 30-minute walk from the flat. The plan was to take the bus, but we had too much trouble navigating the sidewalks, so we finally gave up and got into a cab. Anyone need 2 bus/metro tickets for Athens?

National Archeological Museum, Athens

Luckily, there was a wheelchair ramp to the left side of the building leading to a door in the museum. There was no handle on the door, but Peter spotted the doorbell, so we were inside in no time. It was just us and about 1,000 school kids. There had to have been at least 20 different groups of kids of all ages. Every time we rounded a corner, there was at least one group.

In spite of the noise, we enjoyed looking at the items that have been excavated from Greece over the years.

This painted vase, the Dipylon Amphora (760BC), is as tall as it is wide.
Bronze statue of either Zeus or Poseidon (460BC). We literally ran to get this photo as one group of kids had just left, and another was heading straight for it. Ten seconds after this was shot, the big guy was surrounded by 8-year-olds.
This grave relief is made of marble and is from the end of the 5th century BC.
I didn’t get a photo of the explanation card for this one, but she was gorgeous. We could still see some of the color on the stone.
Gold death mask from the 16th century BC. That means this is about 3600 years old.
And from the same period, a gold diadem. This was actually quite large.

One thing we’ve noticed in all the museums is that these folks decorated everything! This next picture is of frying pans.

They don’t look like any frying pans I’ve ever seen.
This is a very intact wall painting, the only one ever found that covered 3 walls of the room.
This is the classic style of vase painting. The vase is actually terra cotta (the orange part), and the black paint is added to make the design.

But my favorite is the white vase from the 5th century BC.

These are just gorgeous. I was hoping to find a small replica in the museum shop, but sadly, no luck.

There was a pretty courtyard on the lower level adjacent to the cafe. But we were headed to lunch, so we didn’t stop for a snack.

Once out of the museum, we walked about 1 mile back to where we had gelato on Tuesday. Our walk followed the main street, so the sidewalk was wide and relatively flat. We had a little trouble at some of the curbs, but it was a much easier walk than the one we had getting to the museum.

When we were out on Tuesday, we noticed that next to the gelato store was one that sold pizza and fresh pasta. The pizza looked delicious, so we went back today for lunch. The place is called Lady n’ Tramp, and yes, the pizza was delicious.

Peter’s half was a Margurita and mine was prosciutto and mushrooms.

Then we had a gelato dessert.

Peter had cheesecake gelato
I had this delicious strawberry cheesecake creation. It had the creamiest cheesecake I’ve ever eaten with a thin layer of strawberry sorbet in the middle. It was incredible.

Before we left, we picked up a carton of fresh rigatoni with Bolognese sauce. We’re too full to have a big dinner tonight so we’ll probably just have sandwiches. But tomorrow, we’ll have pasta as a side with our chicken. Then we’ll finish it for dinner on Saturday.

The pasta looks delicious. We can’t wait to try it tomorrow.

I’m not sure what we’re doing tomorrow. It’s supposed to be another sunny day so we may take sandwiches to the National Garden for lunch. According to GPS, it’s only a 3-minute walk. Even in a city with good sidewalks that would be 5-7 minutes for us. Here, who knows how long it will take.

We miss everyone. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

2 thoughts on “Happy Thanksgiving!”

  1. A Happy Thanksgiving to you too! We had dinner with friends at the Grill. Very delicious and plentiful. I can make a turkey sandwich tomorrow.
    Your pizza looked delicious but those desserts looked awesome!

    1. Oh yes, they were quite delicious. I may have to walk back there to try another one before we leave on Sunday. It’s only about 10 minutes from here so it’s an easy walk.

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