Observe the Sabbath and Keep It Hungry
Trip Start
Sep 07, 2008
1
28
148
Trip End
Dec 09, 2008
Athens,
Greece
Sunday, September 21, 2008
This morning, as the bells of the Greek Orthodox church down the street rang, I walked to the supermarket dragging my rolly luggage to fill with everything on my shopping list. The church bells should have clued me in - no supermarket on Sundays. Strike one. I walked sadly back home and ate some of the fruit I bought the other day at the market. Fruit is great, but there's no protein in it, so my belly was grumbling sooner rather than later.
I decided I would hard boil those hilarious eggs from the market. I got them in the pan and uncovered the stove (if you know me well enough to be reading my travel blog, then you know why I haven't uncovered the stove before now), only to discover I didn't know how to turn on the burners. I fiddled with all the dials, but I never did manage to get any heat. Strike two. Not in the mood for raw eggs, I ate some more fruit. Now I'm out of fruit.
Around 4pm I couldn't stand it any longer. I went down to the gyro shop. Alas, no gyros on Sundays. Strike three.
There was a taverna open nearby
Eggplant Dip "Melitzana Salata"
. I walked in and the man behind the counter started talking to me in what sounds to American ears as a gruff tone. I asked for water, bread, and melitzana salata, an eggplant dip (much yummier than it looks or sounds) I had eaten last week with Sunshine. I didn't get any melitzana salata. Strike FOUR! I got horiatiki salata, literally translated as "village salad" or what we would call Greek salad with olives and a big slab of feta cheese, instead. Maybe I didn't speak clearly enough. Maybe they didn't have any eggplant dip. Or maybe the guy thought I was a stupid American (true enough) and obviously must really be wanting a village salad.I ate the horiatiki salata and the bread. I hope I have time to go to the supermarket tomorrow. And find out how to work the stove. And get adopted by a yiayia who will feed me.
Comments
Poor Alena!
I hope you find some yummy food today and figure out the stove. (Ok, it cracks me up that you've been there so long and don't know how to work your stove, even though I KNOW you don't cook.) Chalk it all up to the adventure of living abroad! (Sarah)
Oh, dear!
Hmmmm, I LOVE feta cheese. So the ending to that story doesn't sound as bad to me as it probably was to you. I'm glad you got something to eat. It would be bad if you fainted from hunger and couldn't show up for class on Monday.
So who are you going to ask for stove-operating instructions?
-Diane
Your Yiayias Are on Their Way
Tiara,
Gramma and I will show you how to work the stove and do some simple Sabbath cooking so you don't starve. Hang in there until we arrive.
Dutch
P.S. All the pictures of Greek food are making my mouth water to be there!