The cradle of western civilization
Trip Start
Jan 10, 2008
1
29
38
Trip End
Apr 22, 2008
Athens,
Greece
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
This is my 2nd favorite foreign country & it was good to be back. I have visited here more than once. Athens is a bustling modern capitol & offers so much to see & do. Passengers disembarked to see the Acropolis, the National Museum, temples or to shop at the Plaka. I've seen those historic monuments & am not interested in shopping so I took a taxi to the Royal Yacht Club of Greece, not far from where we docked in Piraeus.
The 2 story club, built in 1933, is situated on top of a hill with an exquisite view of Phaleron Bay, the Saronic Gulf, the islands of Salamis, Aegnia, etc. & the city of Athens. The Director took me for a tour of the club & invited me to stay for lunch.
I had Tzatziki, a Greek salad, prawns in a delicious tomato sauce and of course, Ouzo, a licorice-flavored drink.
I met a Greek man & his 6 yr. old son at the club. He owns a cargo shipping company & it was fun discussing boats, shipping & travel. Greeks can't stand not sharing their food & he had the waiter give me some of his entree, grilled octopus. Delicious.
Adjacent to my table were 8 businessmen-6 Korean, 2 Greek. I couldn't help eavesdropping but the Koreans own a shipbuilding co. It was so interesting hearing them talk about the price of steel & the millions of dollars it costs to build a cargo container ship. My ears perked up when they began talking about how the declining U.S. interest rates affected the Central Bank of Europe & the effect of the U.S. elections on the world economy (I didn't hear their preference for President). We may not realize how much impact America has on the world but it is obviously a big topic of dicussion.
Well, I know I'm back in "Euro land". Ouch. My short taxi rides cost almost $19.00 & my lunch was $40.-plus tip. For one U.S. dollar, we get .64 cents in Euros.
On to Sorrento, Italy. We arrive April 10th.
Linda
