Greece – Chania to Athens: Lunch at Tamam and overnight in Athens

On our last morning in Chania we got up early as usual and took a norm al morning stroll around the old town. We kinda knew it was time to leave since we were getting to be perhaps a bit too familiar with our surroundings. Still, we'd really enjoyed our time in Chania, the city really spins its charms on you.

Speaking of charming, when Thomais saw us returning from our walk. She told us to wait for her before going anywhere….a few minutes later, she delivered freshly fried and delicious cheese pies to us!

Thomais told me that there are people who come back every year to Chania and stay at Madonna Studios. Based on our experience I can understand why. If we're ever back in Chania, we'll surely stay here.

While having our cheese pie and sipping some coffee we heard a commotion below……

It was a tour passing through the little cobblestone street in front of us.

The Missus decided to spend the rest of the morning relaxing with a book, while I headed off to the Archaeological Museum which is housed in church built by the Venetian's in the 16th century.

The admission was really inexpensive….2 Euros and it was a nice way to kill an hour.

Funny thing, I picked up some water on the way back to our room and it turned out to be Lyttos water…..it made both the Missus and I chuckle. We both remembered how the smell of manure seemed to permeate the entire town when we drove through.

We decided to get some lunch before our afternoon flight back to Athens…..it was an easy choice. We walked pass the tables of Tamam earlier in the morning, by then, the Missus had already decided to have lunch there. She wanted another crack at that avocado dip.

And yes, the Missus had keep Her "wine streak" alive.

I'd decided on having a nice salad…it seemed like the thing to order on such a bright and sunny day. I wasn't disappointed. They called this the Tamam Salad and it was simply one of the best salads I've had in a good long time. The tomatoes were so wonderfully ripe. There was a sweet-tangy dressing, that seemed a bit like a light honey-mustard. A good variety of cabbages and lettuces gave the salad a nice color and a tad of bitterness.

As you can see, it was topped with that lovely avocado dip and walnuts…….

We had more avocado dip…….

And this time we were smart enough to get some fried potatoes with it. Also, by this time, the Missus was in full swing trying to get that avocado dip recipe, which our server deftly deflected.

Keeping with our veg theme we ended with some very nicely done fava beans in olive oil topped with dill.

We had packed before heading out to lunch so we took one more walk around the waterfront.

 

As we walked back to pick up our bags and grab a taxi to the airport we came across the guy to the right. He worked at one of the waterfront tourist restaurants and would always try to get us into the place. We'd always turn him down with a smile and "oh, no we just ate" or something like that. If it was lunch he'd tell us, "come for dinner then…." In the mornings it would be, "come try us for lunch!" On this day, as he made his attempt to lure us into the restaurant, I told him, "oh, sorry, we are leaving in a few minutes." He broke out into a big smile and told me, "you must at least take a picture with me so you don't forget us!" So I did…….

Not that I was likely to forget about Chania anytime soon.

Returning to Athens was like going to a different planet. Gone was the blue sky, the clean air……it seemed much hotter and crowded as we walked to Hotel Tony from Symtaga Square.

After freshening up, we walked through the Plaka which was just packed to the seams with tourists.

We decided just to stick around the Koukaki neighborhood and have dinner at one of the local tavernas recommended by Tony.

It turned out to be just nourishment…….

The kokoretsi, basically lamb intestines wrapped around offal, then roasted was especially disappointing. The intestines greasy, the offal, dry, and well, awful…..

 As they say….you can't win 'em all. We turned in early….it was another 5am bus from Symtaga Square to the airport in the morning. We were headed back to Antalya…..