Another Life! --- blog from Jill

  

Back to Paris...another world, another life!!! So glad Jean came back with us and Maggie followed shortly after! It is always fun to share our Paris adventure with family and friends. We had a great time visiting all the usual tourist attractions and even some not so usual...just experiencing Parisienne life! Maggie would clap with delight every time she saw something wonderful and Jean quietly snapped picture after beautiful picture! We truly enjoyed experiencing Paris through their eyes...all eyes are welcome!

I planned on writing about Athens, Greece but I had an interesting experience at Monoprix this morning! Monoprix is a small Walmart so to speak. It has a little bit of everything from clothes to groceries and I went to pick up a couple of small items. The lines were long and there was a woman who wanted to "cut" the line. I don't know why, I couldn't understand her reason, but I could figure out it upset everyone else in line...all these dramatic French women, speaking at the same time with a very hostile attitude and presence!!! What to do...My natural inclination would be to let her go in front of me, but I was afraid everyone would gang up on me! I wouldn't be able to defend myself except with "Je parle anglais"or "Je ne comprend pas," so when the lady stood in front of me, I gently tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to the back of the line. She spoke to me, I said "Je ne comprend pas" and she went further back. I must say I was a little bothered by this whole event, but in the end I felt like I had assimilated a little into the French culture...I fit in:) Even though I would have been more than happy to give her a place in line!

Everyone knows Greece is really struggling economically right now and of course the government and citizens see things very differently! The citizens peacefully protest or strike at whim and we were able to witness both these events! On Thursday of our visit all taxis, metros and buses were on strike and Sunday, the air traffic controllers went on strike. I'm still not sure how we were able to fly home with no one watching the skies, but we arrived in Paris safely with only a couple hours of delay!!!

We did witness a very large public protest at the Parliament building one evening. A large number of people were gathered in the square and were speaking loudly over a public address system. I was nervous because there was a large police presence and I couldn't understand a word they were saying...it was all Greek to me(ha-ha)! Everyone participating or simply observing where calm and well-behaved, so we continued on our journey...

The first night of our stay in Athens was spent with the Alstom team-Mark's peers and boss!  We had a great time visiting the New Acropolis Museum and seeing the Acropolis and Parthenon! Simply amazing...beautiful in daylight and incredible views at night! Built high on a hill, you can view these amazing sites from almost everywhere in the city! After the museum we traveled by bus to a restaurant on the water in Pirreus-one of Europe's largest seaports. It was dark so we weren't able to witness the beauty of the area, but the restaurant on the water had beautiful evening views with the boats and lights. Mother nature also provided us with a spectacular thunderstorm! My first meal in Greece was nothing short of amazing!  We started with calamari, eggplant dip and a boiled salad. Oh and some sort of little fish that were too "fishy" for my taste. All else was very good. Boiled salad is a typical salad or so I assumed because I saw it on several menus...some sort of boiled greens, served cold with crudités and cheese. Dinner was a pasta and lobster plate served with chunks of lobster and a fresh tomato sauce...delicious! Fresh fruit platters were an incredible ending to this delightful meal. 

The second night Mark and I walked around Athens and found our way to Plaka, the ancient city of Athens. It was beautiful with the views of the Acropolis and Parthenon. The sidewalks/roads are made of marble and everything else of stone!!!  On recommendation from one of Mark's co-workers we found a restaurant called Stroffi's and had another great meal! We  had Greek salad, eggplant dip and stuffed grape leaves as starters and had goat and potatoes cooked in parchment paper to share for dinner. The eggplant dip was amazing and the Greek salad was beyond amazing...chunks of

tomato, cucumber, green pepper and sliced red onion, kalamata olives, a thick slice of feta cheese, a sprinkle of dried oregano and drizzle of virgin olive oil all served with delicious bread, not pita-yummo(sorry Kyrstin)! Mark really enjoyed the grape leaves-reminded him of his childhood growing in the Lebanese neighborhood! The goat was good, a little gamey-I guess it was what I expected goat to taste like! After dinner, a spot opened up on the roof and we were able to have expresso under the open sky with views of the Acropolis! How fun...

 

 

The fresh herb basil is everywhere in Athens...in small pots on restaurant tables, in large planters on the street-all different shapes, sizes and types of beautiful, fragrant lovely basil! Mark and I love the smell of basil-it awakens the senses and just makes you feel alive!

The weather was spectacular! It was very warm (85 to 95 degrees), no humidity with a slight breeze off the water!!! Perfect! The architecture was mostly modern in style with only a few old buildings in traditional style left and the "new" art, graffiti was often times unsightly and not artistic at all!  The beauty of the mountains, endless blue skis and incredible blue of the water is what you enjoy and remember about Athens!

My favorite place of all was the Greek Island of Hydra!!! We took a 12 hour boat cruise on Saturday and visited three islands-Hydra, Poros and Aegina! All wonderful islands, but Hydra was our favorite. It was built on the side of a hill right off the beautiful crystal blue waters of the Mediterranean. I can't even explain the gorgeousness of this place! You have to boat to the island and the donkey is the traditional mode of transportation...the roads are not large enough for cars to travel on! It is like walking into the past, one hundred years ago! Spectacular!!! We would love to go back and spend a few days on this island...if unable, it was a joy to experience if only for a couple of hours!  

  

Brussels, Belgium is our next trip. We leave Thursday and are traveling by high speed train! Mark has been there once, but it rained torrentially his entire visit. We are hoping for better weather :) I do have some research to do...all I know about Belgium is that it has very good fruity beers and fantastic chocolate! My favorites...

Yasou or ahdeeoh!!! Goodbye in Greek ;)