Despite the fact that Saturday was rainy, windy, and cloudy, it was honestly lovely and so relaxing! The morning started with a short trip with my host family’s youngest son to the bakery across the street, where we caught up with his older sister who’d gone over earlier. We picked up fresh ingredients for a home-cooked breakfast as well as χαλβάς (halvas), a traditional Greek sweet made from honey, sesame, and tahini paste that my host family’s father suggested I try (also the only gluten free item in the bakery!). The bakery owner was incredibly sweet and gave me a nice-sized slice of it as a gift when he learned that I was visiting from Philadelphia and who I was staying with! It’s definitely not what we’d consider a treat in the states, and I can’t really think of anything in the states with a similar texture, but the best way to describe it is crumbly and creamy at the same time, and really, really good!
Breakfast back at the apartment was amazing and included brown sugar bacon, potatoes, cheesy scrambled eggs, yogurt with nuts, fresh bread from the bakery, and strawberries and the best pears I’ve ever had from the open market a couple streets over the day before. The majority of the afternoon was spent cozied up with the family by the open fire in the living room. Apparently in Greece, starting a fire in March is a bit unheard of, but it was really the perfect weather, and it kept us warm throughout the day!
After a light lunch, we venutured outdoors again, and my host family’s father treated me and his oldest and youngest (unfortunately, the middle child has been out sick for a couple days) to gelato at Zuccherino downtown. I’m a bit of a sucker for interior design, and this place didn’t let me down! While it reminded me a little of an Americanized French cafe, the blue and white motifs and open eating spaces designed with retractable doors and windows that convert into outdoor seating in the summer gave it a decidedly Greek feel.
The options for Gelato here were fun and endless, but I finally settled on a vanilla-pistachio gelato topped with fig paste, blueberries, pistachios, and “no regerts”! Another fun aspect I learned about dining in Greece is that it’s not at all odd to bring a game or two to a restaurant and just park at a table for an evening. We did just that and stayed for a bit playing Uno while enjoying our gelato. While I started out a little rusty, the kids wasted no time reminding me of the rules, and the fierce competitor in me is proud to say I won the last game we played 😉
The rest of the evening once we got back was spent relaxing and watching Moana over Middle Eastern takeout from Aladdin, a local restaurant down the road!
After the movie, I stayed up with my host parents to chat for a bit and ended up getting introduced to ρακόμελο (rakomelo), a medicinal spirit that the Greeks serve hot and swear by as a home remedy for everything, including protection against germs after long flights. It actually tasted a lot better than it sounded, and I’m still feeling good and healthy, so who knows, it might just work!
Twenty-One Travels 