Shopping Galore

Feel free to vote on the poll I added to the blog! I was curious! Well, Mom and I played it pretty easy today. We took our time getting ready and just made breakfast at the hotel before they closed shop. Our favorite addition to this Greek breakfast was yogurt with fruit and honey! Yum! Soon after breakfast, we walked to the National Gardens and explored for an hour or two. We were able to catch a view of the changing of the guards by the Parliament. They wear funny clothes and move almost robot-like so it was amusing. We snapped some pictures and we even stepped into a forbidden area without knowing it until we were yelled at by an officer. Next, we stumbled upon the original Olympic arena, which of course Mom loved. After snapping even more pictures, we made our way to the Plaka for a leisurely lunch at a cafe that we bumped into many times upon our multiple journeys searching for the frommer's restaurants. This was the first time that we actually enjoyed sitting for a couple of hours over lunch. We felt like we were actually living the Greek way! They had these fabulous dried black olives that are unlike any other olives I've tasted. Following our long lunch, we continued shopping around the Plaka and our favorite street, Adrianou. We have strolled up and down this street at least 10 times in the past 2 days. Mom even knows how to read it in Greek! It is actually lovely because it is pretty much closed to traffic besides the occasional motorcycle or crazy car, and just filled with all kinds of different shops and cafes. The local shop-keepers can speak so many different languages in order to keep up with the frequent tourists and pretty much everyone knows English. It is amazing to think about how many miles each day we have walked. Mom regrets not bringing her pedometer and I think that would have been a great idea. So far today we have made friends with a couple from Finland and we hope to meet more! It is 6:30 now and we will probably be having dinner on the rooftop restaurant of our hotel to catch the nighttime view of Athens. Upon review of our last experience with the crowded metro, unending stairs, and heavy luggage, I made the decision to pay for a cab to the airport. Thank you Paul and Robin. This is definitely a treat for myself! See you soon!