Greece Trip #38: Final Night in Noisy Athens. Shuttle Shame, Pan Flutist

Once we returned to Athens by ferry from the island of Mykonos, we went back to the hotel where we stayed the first 2 nights. In today's blog, you'll read about a tour group member's embarrassing story on a van, a great restaurant we went back to, a pan flutist, and another noisy night in the city. 

(Photo; Tom and Rob, last evening in Athens, Greece among the shops. Credit; RG)

SHUTTLE SHAME - If you've read the earlier blogs you know that there were a lot of guys in our group of 17 that absolutely did not know how to behave in public. On our 40-minute shuttle van ride from the Ferry port (See yesterday's blog) to the hotel in downtown Athens, we again suffered from embarrassment over the behavior of one of the guys in the group (who was retired, so should have known better). Of course, he sat right behind the driver (who was  Greek, and likely straight). The group guy proceeded to tell a story of how he bought an "anatomically correct" statue on one of his previous trips and he bragged about offering to show the customs officials the naked "and excited" statue. I'm putting this very gently - just imagine it said in a much more crude fashion. Again, no respect for other people at all. 

(Photo: Miguel the funny host of Maiandros Restaurant, Athens, Greece. Cr; RG)

GREAT DINNER - We went back to the Maiandros Restaurant and again saw Miguel, the host. We had a lot of laughs with him as he stood on the sidewalk of this open cafe, and used humor to get people to come into the restaurant. He was so grateful for our return and was amazed we came back- although we promised we would. (We keep our promises). I left him a 5-star review on Trip Advisor and cited on it that "Miguel needs a raise." :) We had a delicious lemon chicken dish - and highly recommend it! 

 

SHOPPING WALK - Since the hotel was on Monastiraki Square in the heart of Athens and the shopping district, we walked around after dinner and shopped a bit. The area was very, very crowded with tourists, even on a Wednesday night. 

(Photo: some desserts we encountered while walking around Athens. Cr: RG) 

THE PAN FLUTIST - Lots of performers set up on the Square in front of our hotel. Last time were drummers and dancers. This time there was a pan flutist (like the Greek Demi-god Pan, who played the flute). I took this short video so you could get a feel for the plaza, the hotel and the musician. 

NOISY NIGHT- Our hotel room this time was on the back of the hotel, so we were not facing the square (like we did last time with the loud drummers who drummed until 2am). We were relieved that we would have quiet. WRONG. The back of the hotel faced a bar that was open until 3am, so loud music blared from it until then, and you could hear the conversations of the late-nighters.

 

NEXT: A Final Sign from Ed's Spirit as we Headed Home