Greece- Day 9

Sunrise on our final morning in Naxos

I was enjoying the morning sunrise when I heard the downstairs door open and footsteps coming up the stairs. The woman who cleaned the villa was standing in the entry way. Whew! That uneasy feeling melted from my body!! She thought the house was empty. 

Our problem was she spoke no English and I spoke no Greek! The solution, google translate. We used it to let her know our reservation ended at 11:00a.m. She asked if there were any problems. I reported the issue with the coffee pot. Plugging the pot into the electrical socket caused the breakers in the kitchen to shut off. We had planned one last pool swim. The cleaner, however, had already taken our pool towels so there was no more swimming in that beautiful pool. The silver lining to not swimming was that we didn't have a wet suit to pack!

Waiting in the shade for the Ferry

For breakfast we used up as many of the supplies in the fridge as possible. I made Paninis. Some just had meat, some just cheese, some had both! Miss K and I had the first paninis. Miss J ate two while her dad, James ate none.  He preferred to eat the last of the yogurt. The paninis were the better choice. 

Signage to welcome the public to the restaurant

Everyone finished packing as this was our last day in Naxos. Then James took Bob, the luggage, and I to the port. We left three hours before our ferry was to depart  because it was rush hour on the island. There was so much traffic at one intersection that it took James five minutes to get though it. James dropped us off and we found a bench in the shade. Bob and I played cribbage. I lost. I lose most of the time. This time, however, I wasn't skunked. It was a close game. I was one hole away from winning; but, he managed to come from behind to win. I said good game and the second wake of Amanda, Miss K, Miss J, and more luggage arrived.

Wall art

They went shopping for souvenirs. Miss K bought a  hat Miss K. Miss J purchased a bag and a cat shot glass. They both bought magnets for their friends.Then the last wave of James, Nicole, Miss A, and Nicole's partner arrived. It takes planning to get nine people from place to place! 

Wall decor in the seating area of the restaurant

Next, Nicole's partner purchased drinks for the family. I received a cold coconut milk latte, the girls received their usual--orange Fanta. Nicole, Bob, and Amanda received an iced milk latte. Nicole's partner drank a Red Bull.

Possible quilting motifs on a gate

Then we walked through the shops with Amanda, Nicole, Miss Ada, Miss K, Miss J, James. I too walked around the area a bit and saw some interesting wall art advertising a restaurant. The boy with the cake is life sized. I got a kick out of the yellow bicycle adorning a window box in the outdoor seating area of the restaurant.I also took a few photos that reminded me of quilting. After shopping, we picked out an ice cream. Miss J and Nicole's partner are fruit flavored push pops. James ate an Oreo Pop, Miss K ate a vanilla king cone, and Nicole ate a Magnum almond popsicle. 

Accent on top of a wall. . .another quilting motif

The ferry was about half an hour late. Even so, people getting off at the stop and people getting on at the stop takes about 15 minutes. Staff have the embarkment/disembarkment process well practiced. Finally, we boarded the boat, the crowd was big. The baggage area for Athens was off the racks! We stowed our bags in the Athens area and found our seats. Miss A was not having it to sit. So Nicole, Nicole's partner and I walked Miss A around the ferry. She smiled at lots of people, made a friend with a little girl about her age and kept us all busy on the three hour ride to Athens.

Miss J enjoying the view from the deck of the ferry (Photo J. Callahan)

Disembarking was okay. We were able to wade through the masses to collect our bags and depart the ferry. Our transportation was waiting for us. Transportation was part of the rental where we would stay. Our rental was a penthouse. It was spacious at about 1600 square feet. It had balconies on two sides so you could view the city. 

Stuffed tomato and green pepper

After we had unloaded and changed. We took taxis to dinner. We ate at the Lemon Tree which one of Nicole's friends had made reservations for us. I had anticipated this dinner because V, had been friends with Nicole for about 11 years. They met on a tour the first solo trip Nicole made to Greece. They hit it off so well that they did a number of activities together. They have stayed in touch over the years and say that when they get a chance to be together, it is as if no time has passed between them.

Port braised in lemon sauce

V was born in Boston to two Greek parents. He grew up in South Africa where his dad worked. He says he was always one hundred percent Greek and wanted to return to Greece. He became a lawyer and works in Athens at the Dutch embassy. He could be the persona for tourism in Greece.

Chicken and fries

When we decided Greece was our destination, V sent Nicole all sorts of links to activities, cultural experiences and island information for us to review. He even updated the list several times! Meeting him and sharing dinner with him was a highlight of my time in Greece.

Tile in the bathroom--quilting motif

He helped us order and we were able to try some of the dishes of the day. The specials were handwritten in Greek only. We ate eggplant stuffed with feta, stuffed green pepper and stuffed tomato with a savory risotto, and pork braised in a lemon sauce. For appetizers we ordered a Greek salad, a rusk salad--the rusk was a special dark bread crouton buried in lettuce, tomato and feta covered with a flavorful balsamic vinegar and oil dressing. In addition to the salads, we also ordered a lot of appetizers: zucchini balls, fish cakes and octopus marinated in vinegar with a sea pickle. The sea pickle was salty and reminded me a bit of kelp. The zucchini balls were the best that I had eaten. They were so delicious that we ordered a second! The balls were deep fried; but, light, moist and yet contained a bit of a cucumber like crunch. 

City view from the deck of the penthouse 

Olive oil toasted bread was also brought to our table. After dinner, we were presented with a mosaic cake which was so rich and absolutely delicious. The dessert was a gift for us coming to eat that evening!

It was a great way to end the day.

(Miss K wrote the majority of this post.)