Final Days 12/31/19 Day 7

Final day of the year, final day in Greece.

And everything we did was wrapped around this idea of finality. 

We saved The Acropolis for last, intentionally. We had photographed it and talked about it from afar for so many days. We even drove inland more than 200 miles and kept our eye out for similar ruins and ancient cities and came very close within Meteora, however, nothing compared to the advanced society of The Acropolis. Also, no other places within Greece compared to the ruins of The Acropolis. From within its boundaries we obtained clarity on all that we learned about the peoples of Greece along the way. They are enduring in the face of tremendous adversities. They are the first democracy and their mythologies, lessons, and language are transcendent. 

 
We also finally found a restaurant in Athens serving Gyros. 

We never found other traditional Greek food we have eaten in the states, but this came very close to what we thought we knew about Greece before experiencing Greece first hand. We reflected on the possible reasons for the absence of some foods and the abundance of others. Maybe no saffron rice because saffron is an expensive ingredient that is not generally afforded in these times. Maybe no dolmathakia, grape leaves stuffed with rice and other scrumptious ingredients, due to the season and the grapevines are hibernating for now. Maybe the abundance of canned mixed fruit and canned peaches due to the limited access to fresh fruits this time of year. We forget how fortunate we are in California to have year round access to fresh fruits and vegetables. 

Hot sesame coated peanuts for 2 Euros are scrumptious after a frigid walk through The Acropolis. 

Paprika Pringles are surprisingly excellent. 

Oregano chips are surprisingly good but unexpected when we thought we bought sour cream and onion chips. 

Pure Cola is disappointing when Coca Cola is on the mind. 

  And The Noodle Bar is not Asian food, but suffices in a pinch. 

We also finalized our shopping. 

In some ways the redundancies of souvenir shops was convenient. But getting true Greek (not mass produced) gifts is a challenge comparable to scavenger hunt. We knew what we were looking for from either having it on our list all along, or because we saw it on one of our many walks around the city. The problem was finding some of these things again. So, of course, we spent most of the rest of our final days rewalking the city with our eyes wide open.

Since the night would run long and eventually turn into a new decade, we decided to spend several of the final hours of the year in our hotel room packing since we fly into Italy tomorrow. Lucky for us we were able to get all our first week clothes laundered and returned by 6PM. 

Our final meal in Greece was Mayan food, from Taqueria Maya, which we had eaten before and was convenient since we were not eating until the traditional 10PM Greek dinner hour. The owner informed us we were his last customers of the year, feeding into the pressure of last everything Greek going on in the streets.

After dinner we followed the crowds into the town square by the Parliament building where a festival of lights and live performances would be taking place. 

It was an experience comparable to Dick Clark's/Ryan Seacrest's New Year's Eve celebrations. It was televised for the majority of Greeks who leave this live event mostly to the tourists and immigrants. We stayed in the square with the relatively few Greeks and thousands of people who arrived for the occasion from all over the world until 11:20PM. 

We went to the The Plaka Hotel, which is the sister hotel of The Hermes Hotel where we are staying. Many hotels and restaurants have rooftop seating with a view of the Parthenon on top of The Acropolis. This is also a great vantage point of fireworks all around Athens. I imagine if we were on a distant rooftop, it would appear as if the fireworks were coming over the top or in front of the Parthenon. Instead, we were so close that the ash from the fireworks was falling onto us like rain and we were watching the pyrotechnic on an adjacent rooftop shooting the fireworks off. From that vantage point, it wasn't unlike watching a war zone. Happy New Year!!! It's 2020, 10-hours before California time!!!

After we brought the New Year in, by kissing, hugging, walking down seven flights of stairs, up two blocks of cobblestone streets, and then up six flights of stairs, we finally ate baklava together in our hotel room while prepping to wake at 7am for a 9am driver to take us to the airport. We will be preparing to leave the country when our loved ones back home are ringing in the New Year back in the states. 

Our hope's for Greece at the very beginning of this decade, are for better times ahead. The new Prime Minister had a hopeful message for the people of Greek that allows us to leave this majestic country on a good note. We hope this message inspires the people of Greece, and that the next 10 years are the best 10 years of the Millennium. 

 

Greece can fend off challenges to sovereignty, PM says in New Year’s message | News | ekathimerini.com

http://www.ekathimerini.com/248012/article/ekathimerini/news/greece-can-fend-off-challenges-to-sovereignty-pm-says-in-new-years-message

Efharisto Greece for hosting us!