On Friday we woke up surrounded by olive and orange orchards on the outskirts of Nafplion. After getting everyone ready for the day we stopped at the first pharmacy we saw to see if they did rapid antigen tests. We needed to take the rapid tests to return home. Because we weren’t Greek citizens the pharmacy could not help us, but they did find a lab in Nafplion that could do our tests. We drove to the port, parked, and set about finding the lab. I was delighted to discover the signs were not in English so that I had to use Greek to find it. That was really fun for me!
After the very kind lab technician swabbed all of our noses (half of which were forebodingly congested) we took the kids to the park. Ammon, of course, made a pack of Greek friends. Lydia also greeted some children, and Clarissa and Mary mostly played with each other and with Lydia.
Abe looked at this playground piece of equipment and thought about how fun it would be to be 12 and put a bunch of friends on it, spin it, and have everyone fly off. And then he realized it would probably be illegal in the U.S. and took a picture.
After we finished at the playground we strolled down the nearby avenue and found a taverna for lunch. The owners appeared to be a septuagenarian couple who also were the cooks. The food was fine, but what was really nice is that the table was next to the pedestrian avenue so the kids could continue blowing off steam playing “Mother May I” while we waited for food. We have heavily relied on devices to keep Ammon and Clarissa quiet while waiting for food in restaurants, and it was wonderful to have a place for them to play.
After that we bought the kids some ice cream and then headed back to our car so we could drive to Sounion and see Poseidon’s temple. On the way out of town we were driving down another country road in the orange groves and Abe turned a corner and almost ran over a gypsy woman wirecutting her way out of the orchard with a bag of oranges in her hand. She was very short and was tumbling into the road exactly in Abe’s blind spot. I screamed and Abe slammed on the brakes, only after seeing her hurry in front of the car. That was a close call and we were so, so happy something worse did not happen.
Shortly after that we passed a lot of fruit stands selling citrus and we bought a lot of oranges and mandarins. After our experience with the Nafplion oranges at our hotel, we learned our lesson and gobbled them down. Mary, who normally eats very little at all times, has always had one outstanding weakness for mandarin oranges. As a toddler she would go through something like a bag a day.
This day, upon finding herself confronted with an enormous bag of the freshest, most tasty mandarins of her life, Mary turned into Pooh Bear in front of a honey pot. She steadily ate the mandarins long after everyone else couldn’t eat another bite. Occasionally we’d call back to see if she wanted us to take the bag away, and in a soft, contented tone she’d answer, “No, I’m still eating.” It was very cute and endearing.
Poseidon’s Temple at Sounion
Then we drove to Poseidon’s Temple at Sounion. Having finished both Mythos and Troy, we listened to Elvis on the way there. He reminded us of our time in Tennessee earlier in the month.
Our favorite part of the temple was looking out at the sea from the cliffs. We were shocked to see the wind blowing so hard that the waves rolled backwards. We also stared open-mouthed at the ships traversing the area where Poseidon appeared to be blowing back the sea. One bounced so hard its prow appeared to go under the sea several times!
After we had had enough of the wind, we headed back to the car to drive back to Athens, return the car, check into the Sofitel at the airport, and then head back into Athens on the Metro. The youngest two had spent a lot of time sitting in the car at this point and were completely out of control at all of the stops. Lydia took the picture below as she and Abe concocted games to try to keep them quiet while I checked into the hotel.
By the time we got to the restaurant it was 8:30pm. The view from A is for Athens is maybe the best city view I’ve seen in my life. There are three walls of floor to ceiling glass and everywhere you turn your head there are even more lit up ruins of Athens. Above them all stands the Parthenon. When you looked down from the windows you could see all of the people in Monastiraki Square. At one point a group of people had a dance party in the middle of the square! Throughout it all men were tossing lighted blue toys high in the air. The sight of it all of this excitement and beauty especially dazzled Ammon and Clarissa, who spent the first part of our wait just staring out the window with their faces pressed to the glass.
Abe thought Athens was very alive and took multiple videos
They also enjoyed blowing their breath on the glass and tracing patterns, much to my chagrin. Abe countered that they are kids and the temptation was just too much for any kid to resist. So thanks to him they had a great time!
By the end of a truly delicious dinner Mary was face down on her plate and Clarissa was face back on hers.
After dinner we made it back to the hotel around 11:45pm and all of the kids just collapsed in their beds. I loved the hotel bathroom and, knowing the enormous travel day ahead, took a long, long bath while Abe responsibly uploaded all of our Covid testing data to the American Airlines app.
Goodbye, Athens and Greece! We had the best time and can’t wait to come back soon.