Greece--Day 3 part one

So much happened on day three that I decided to split the day into two posts! Bob and Nicole's partner ventured out for the coffee run. They not only returned with coffee but six free small waters as well. 

Room at Museum of Illusions--photo B Knott

On this day, our group went to two locations. . .the majority went to visit the Museum of Illusions. 

How can she be so small--photo N Knott

It was a smaller place; but full of exhibits that tricked your eye into seeing a variety of illusions.

Who's taller now--photo N Knott

The Infinity Room was the group's favorited exhibit. Even Miss Ada thought it was a great room.

Amanda and James at the pie shop

Amanda, James and I went on a food tour. We rode the underground train. James did a great job of navigating the platforms to ensure we were headed in the right direction.

The information about the tour warned us not to eat at least three hours before the tour began. It was my first time to take a food tour; but, it won't be the last. We had one other person with us, Freddie. Freddie was from Cambridge in the UK. He was a journalist who while working for a mercy organization produced a short film about refugees living in asylum on the Greek island, Samos. 

Samos On Fire film

The title of the 29 minute film is Samos--On Fire. I found a review on line. On another site, I was able to listen to one song. 

Our guide ordering our samples

We had savory and sweet pastry at our first stop. I thought that the spinach pie would be my favorite until I tasted the cheese pie. This cheese was so delicious that Amanda decided she would look for it at the market. 

Savory pie samples

We also had a sweet version of the pie. It was good; but, I liked the savory version better. 

Sweet pie

As we left the shop, a man was rolling the dough for more sweet pie! It was interesting to watch him work.

Folding the dough for more pies

We walked through narrow streets as we passed through the meat and the poultry markets on our way to the next stop. 

Narrow streets

Regarding the narrow streets, when motorcyclists pass cars, they often drive on the lane line of the street. It isn't unusual to see them clip the mirrors of other vehicles when they pass!

Rabbits and poultry for sale

At the meat market, each vendor artfully displayed their goods. Rabbits with their furry feet and plucked chickens hung in one stall. 

Head, tongues, livers and lungs

Lungs, livers and hung in another stall. Of course, there were the usual cuts of beef, lamb, pork and chicken on display.

Fish market display 

One vendor at the fish market posed the fish so a number of them appeared as if they were swimming in the ice. We saw a lot of octopus and squid displayed. The area where these vendors was large. With so much variety, I imagined  navigating dinner options every day had I lived there!

Brewing coffee in a table of sand

We left the fish market behind and headed toward our next stop which was to experience a cup of Greek coffee that was made on a sand table. This was my favorite stop of the day.

Coffee ready to be served

Under the metal table are a couple of burners which heat the sand. The coffee which is ground to a dust as fine as flour is placed in a copper pot with a long handle. In the cup is also sugar, if you want it, and water.

Then the barista moves the little pot around in the sand until the coffee comes to a boil. This is the point that the pot comes to your table. You pour the liquid into your cup and wait two minutes for the sediment to settle. We learned this was how the Turks and Greeks in the dessert made their coffee!

Honey and gelatin treats

We also received a honey gelatin treat which was delicious and a Greek delight which reminded me of Aplets and Cotlets but what our tour guide said was heavily influenced by Turkey. The Greek Delight was good. The sweet items were a good accompaniment to the coffee.

Greek Delights

After coffee, we tasted Greek donuts. These are fried in oil and contain three ingredients: flour, yeast and sugar. The name of the shop we went to was Kpivos. Open the link, the video describes what we thought about the donuts.

Donuts with a Greek honey and cinnamon glaze

The business has two locations. You can purchase take away at the kiosk. You can also walk a couple blocks more and eat your donuts at a table. The company has been at this location and been in business for over 100 years. Before serving donuts, the building was a pharmacy. These taste a lot like beignets except they are a little crunchier than the beignets.

Walk up kiosk

As we left the bakery, our guide pointed out graffiti that was painted with a permit. 

Permitted graffiti

We also saw graffiti that wasn't permitted. Greek people have a lot to say, hence all the spray paint!              

Non permitted graffiti

At the next stop, we learned about olives. This small shop contained so many different olives. There were stuffed olives, as well as a variety of marinades as well as a variety of olives! There were olive oils too.

Olive shop

I found that I liked the flavor of the smallest olive best. All the olives were delicious.

Olive assortment

Next door to the olive shop was a deli. We were able to sample a variety of dishes. Our guide selected a variety of options which were placed on plates which we shared. 

Deli options

I enjoyed the orzo salad. It had sun-dried tomatoes and mint in it. 

Clockwise from center, orzo salad, bread, olives and chicken

The fried calamari was a hit as was the eggplant. 

Clockwise from lemon: deep fried calamari; mussels in a mustard sauce; grilled sardines; marinated chickpea salad

I also was pleasantly surprised that the mussels were mild. 

Clockwise starting a spoon: butter beans and yams in a tomato sauce; chicken; 
steamed potatoes and carrots drizzled with olive oil; roasted eggplant salad; cheese spread

The cheese spread was delicious. The butter bean and yam dish was good too. All the items we tasted were good!

Display of herbs available for sale

Next we walked by some herb vendors on our way to taste some vinegars at a hotel. Amanda and I liked the purple version best. It is different to taste vinegars. These vinegars were made to sip which is an unusual concept for me. Although, after tasting each, I could see how one could sip each!

Vinegar tasting

Our last stop of the day was to purchase a gyro sandwich. This establishment deep fried the pita and then stuffed it with meat and a special tomato ace. It was delicious. Unfortunately, I didn't snap a photo of the sandwich.

It was a great tour. I'll post about our evening activity next Wednesday.