mission: greece day 2

day two began with patrick and i hailing a cab to the center of athens. as part of our trafalgar tour package, we stayed at the divani palace acropolis. we checked in around 1 p.m. and then headed out to explore the city. our first stop had to be food since we were getting hungry. patrick wanted to find the ancient agora (agora is the greek word for outside or open space) so we followed the map to that general area and stopped at an outdoor cafe called tepina. we had some traditional greek food including a salad with fresh goat cheese, bread with tomatoes and feta, and kebab that we smothered in tzatziki sauce. we finished our meal with a freddo espresso, which is iced coffee that has a creamy foam floating on its surface.

from there we explored the flea market and the old part of the city called the plaka. you can find all the greek souvenirs your heart could ever desire in this part of town. the buildings in here have a classical feel to them and are much more pleasing to look at than in the more modern places around athens.

after plaka, we hiked up a hill which led us to the acropolis, although we waited till our tour to actually go up to see the parthenon, and we also saw the ancient agora from above and took pictures. we wound our way around the streets until we ended up back at our hotel where we got ready to meet up with maria loi, a greek celebrity chef and personality, at dionysus zonar's acropolis. i think this was my favorite part of the whole trip because we had a great time with maria and the food was phenomenal! this restaurant could rival any upscale place here in nyc and it is a foodie delight. if you travel because you love food, or love food and travel to find it, go here!

we had a several course meal that the chef carefully prepared just for us! we began with salmon sashimi with a thyme sauce. it was fresh and a great way to start off the meal. then we had a traditional fish soup that was creamy, savory, and full of flavor. the next course was by far my favorite, crayfish in a fava bean puree drizzled with olive oil. in between these courses we enjoyed bread and goat cheese and olive oil. our waitress gave us butter at first to accompany the bread, but maria loi sent it back asking for olive oil instead...she said she hates butter. course number four was shrimp in a creamy rice, very similar to risotto. our main entree was a perfectly cooked angus filet in a red wine sauce topped with foi gras. last time i had foi gras i did not like it, but attempting to not be rude i tried it again, and surprisingly enough i enjoyed it. the meal ended with a vanilla custard tart and a delicious vanilla gelato.

throughout the course of the night, patrick and i met the head chef, the head of wait staff, and the owner of the restaurant. we tried to convince everyone that nyc needed!!! a greek restaurant like this one. we sang praises to the owner and chef urging them to come to us (i don't think we got too far with them on that idea. maria will have to work her magic to convince them any further). our meal was also met with a challenge by our waitress. she was telling us how whenever americans come to the restaurant they say how wonderful it is there and describe it as "heaven" or "it's view is like a movie." she then told us how she wanted to start writing all these things down and post them on the internet. so i told her i would come up with the perfect sentence for her. i looked out the window, taking in the breathtaking view of the parthenon lit up in all it's glory. i had also just eaten my steak that was so perfect, and thus i was inspired. my sentence was, "food that will melt in your mouth, and a view that will melt your heart." it took a total of 30 seconds for me to come up with this line, shared it with patrick, and finally with our waitress. well, you would have thought i said the most earth shattering sentence ever created! everyone loved it, and maria loi was deeply affected by what i had said. she told me that i understand the greek way of life, and she began to tear up. everyone wanted me to record my words, and soon the whole restaurant had a copy of my sentence. i didn't know how to react, and so i tried my best to remain humble about what i had said. it was fun, and i am honored to have had the chance to be recognized by maria and the staff for understanding the greek culture. so if you see a cook book with a title similar to this sentence by maria loi, you will know where it all began!

after our dinner was over (three hours later...i love greek time, it is so relaxing. you can stay at your table as long as you want. you will never feel like you are being rushed out of a place) we said our good byes to maria and staff. it was a delightful dinner full of fun and good conversation. thank you to maria and everyone at dionysus, it was the most amazing time we had in greece and we hope to visit your beautiful country again soon!

this is beth signing off.

mission accomplished.

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