Trip Report-- Cyprus, Rome, and Athens in Feb
Mar 1st, 2013, 04:33 AM
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Trip Report-- Cyprus, Rome, and Athens in Feb
Sorry for the re-post, but first time somehow didn't tag Italy and Cyprus. I'll continue on this thread...
We had a fantastic trip to Cyprus, Rome and Athens, thanks in large part to the wonderful advice I received from Fodorites. I will start by saying that this trip was initiated by my DH's business trip to Cyprus. Roughly, he needed to be in Cyprus on two consecutive weekends, with some free time in between. Perfect opportunity for a trip for me! So I started researching easy flights from Cyprus, and Rome quickly became the obvious choice. Our theme of our trip turned out to be "we wait in no lines," which again was mostly due to the great info I received from this forum.
We flew easily from Newark to London to Larnaca. Not much is written on this board about Cyprus, but we found it to be lovely. Of course, it is primarily a beach destination but we were there in February, so did not get to enjoy the typical tourist areas. We were also staying in Nicosia, which is an inland city, so did not really see the coast. Coming from the US east coast, though, we found the weather (15-20 C every day) to be spectacular. I enjoyed several days strolling around Nicosia while hubby worked. Ledra Street is the main shopping street in the old city and has lots of cafes, shops etc. One of the main social experiences of Cypriots is drinking coffee... it seemed like every other business was a coffee shop. Frappes or espresso freddo (ice coffees) are especially popular, and I must say I quite enjoyed sampling them. I walked all around the old city, including the walls and Famagusta gate, and crossed the green line several times into North Nicosia . Nicosia is a divided city, as the north part of the city (and country) are Turkish-occupied. It was very easy, though to cross between the two sides just by showing your passport. On the Turkish side, we had a delightful lunch in the sun, eating within the walls of the Buyuk Han. I also spent an afternoon at the hammam, experiencing a Turkish bath for the first time in my life. Magnificent!
One day I took the bus from Nicosia to Limassol. It was an easy and pleasant ride, and I got a nice view of the water as we rode along the coast. I wandered around the old port area, and enjoyed the castle/ medieval museum. A very nice day. On another evening, DH's business associates treated us to one of the best meals of my life. We went to a traditional Greek taverna. It was the kind of place we never would have known existed if traveling on our own... we walked through a non-descript, unidentified door into an open courtyard with an outdoor stove, then indoors again to our table. We were a group of 8 (4 couples). After the wine was poured (Cypriot wine is really good!) the food started arriving... and arriving and arriving. First there were several different vegetables, then pita and tahini, then cheese, more vegetables, sausages, and then plates and plates of meat (souvlaki). More wine, more toasts... we felt really welcomed to this small little country and made new friends in our wonderful hosts.
We really enjoyed Nicosia, though after a few days I felt I had really seen and done everything there was there. I'm guessing most visitors to Cyprus would be satisfied with a day trip. I should add that the economic difficulties of the country are apparent in the number of empty storefronts throughout the city. Ledra Syreet and several other areas are bustling, but there are many streets in the old city that are essentially abandoned. I should add, though, that I always felt completely safe everywhere I went, including walking by myself at night.
After a long weekend in Nicosia (Thurs- Mon) we were off to Rome! Just like on our flights over, no lines at the airports, sailed right through. Oh the joys of traveling in February!
PART 2- ROME
One challenge was that we were not exactly sure which day DH would need to return to Cyprus the second weekend (somewhere between Thurs night and Sun morning), so planning had to be a little fluid. I planned enough stuff for us to do in Rome for five days, in case we had the good fortune to stay that long. It turned out we were there for four, so my planned day trip to Orvieto got scratched.
We absolutely loved our hotel choice... the Hotel Campo de Fiori. Outstanding location with a fabulous rooftop deck. I thought it was reasonably priced given the quality and location, but again I think traveling in Feb got me a good deal. We arrived around lunchtime, and were blessed with glorious weather for an outdoor lunch on the Campo. We then walked over to the forum area. First, we hiked to the top of the Vittorio Emmanuele II memorial and took in the views, and the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli. Next we started strolling toward the Colosseum, snapping photos of the forum along the way. Then I noticed the forum ticket booth, and told my DH that this is where all the Fodorites say to buy their Colosseum tickets. No line at all, so we bought our tickets, then had a lovely stroll through the forum on our way to the Colosseum. I was surprised at this time of year to see a such a lengthy line for tickets at the Colosseum (I'm guessing an hour wait), but felt very smug as we walked right past them with our tickets in hand. Once inside, however, it didn't seem overly crowded and we had a delightful time poking all around.
Then for our walk back, we crossed the street to see Trajan's markets up close and then wove our way through the city to see the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and Piazza Navona on our way back to the Campo de Fiori. To be honest, I was surprised that we were able to cover so many great sites in one afternoon, as I have only ever been to Italy before in the summer. I think both the heat and the crowds would have significantly slowed us down during the summer months, but we had a really delightful February afternoon! After a little rest at the hotel, we had a great dinner in Trastavere.
The follwing day we had a lovely breakfast at the hotel, then set off for the Vatican. Depending on what time we got started, I had several ideas in mind for how we might best approach the day. Turns out we got a late start (it is vacation after all!) so we decided to do the Vatican museums first. We probably arrived there around 10:30 or 11, and miracously there was no line! Again, I had been here before in the summer, and the whole experience felt liked a packed, sweaty forced march to the Sistine Chapel. This time, though, we really enjoyed taking in all the museums had to offer. Don't get me wrong, the place wasn't empty... there were plenty of other people around... there was just ample space to really be able to explore and wonder at all of the extraordinary beauty. Of course, there were loads of people in the Sistine Chapel, but it was possible to walk around easily and even sit on a bench and gaze at the ceiling for a while. It was especially interesting knowing that the conclave will be meeting here in just a few weeks to elect a new pope!
Again, thanks to Fodors, I knew to take the "group" door on the right to exit directly to St Peter's. Another line successfully avoided! As it was now around lunch time, the basilica seemed delightfully uncrowded too. Walked right up to the pieta, Bernini altar, and anything else we wanted to see. Also went underground to the crypt area... very cool. We weren't especially keen to climb up to the dome, but when we saw a long line for that we definitely ditched the idea, and repeated our mantra, "We wait in no lines!" For lunch, we sought out a place in Vatican City reccomended by our Fodors guidebook, but sadly it wasn't open. So we went to the place next door and had a really delightful meal (fettucine with artichokes, with pear and riccotta cheesecake for dessert!. Walked by Castel St Angelo and over the bridge of angels to return to our hotel for sunset on the rooftop deck! Later we strolled back down to the Colosseum and Forum to see them lit up at night... beautiful! After such a big lunch, we had a lighter dinner of pizza and wine.
We had a fantastic trip to Cyprus, Rome and Athens, thanks in large part to the wonderful advice I received from Fodorites. I will start by saying that this trip was initiated by my DH's business trip to Cyprus. Roughly, he needed to be in Cyprus on two consecutive weekends, with some free time in between. Perfect opportunity for a trip for me! So I started researching easy flights from Cyprus, and Rome quickly became the obvious choice. Our theme of our trip turned out to be "we wait in no lines," which again was mostly due to the great info I received from this forum.
We flew easily from Newark to London to Larnaca. Not much is written on this board about Cyprus, but we found it to be lovely. Of course, it is primarily a beach destination but we were there in February, so did not get to enjoy the typical tourist areas. We were also staying in Nicosia, which is an inland city, so did not really see the coast. Coming from the US east coast, though, we found the weather (15-20 C every day) to be spectacular. I enjoyed several days strolling around Nicosia while hubby worked. Ledra Street is the main shopping street in the old city and has lots of cafes, shops etc. One of the main social experiences of Cypriots is drinking coffee... it seemed like every other business was a coffee shop. Frappes or espresso freddo (ice coffees) are especially popular, and I must say I quite enjoyed sampling them. I walked all around the old city, including the walls and Famagusta gate, and crossed the green line several times into North Nicosia . Nicosia is a divided city, as the north part of the city (and country) are Turkish-occupied. It was very easy, though to cross between the two sides just by showing your passport. On the Turkish side, we had a delightful lunch in the sun, eating within the walls of the Buyuk Han. I also spent an afternoon at the hammam, experiencing a Turkish bath for the first time in my life. Magnificent!
One day I took the bus from Nicosia to Limassol. It was an easy and pleasant ride, and I got a nice view of the water as we rode along the coast. I wandered around the old port area, and enjoyed the castle/ medieval museum. A very nice day. On another evening, DH's business associates treated us to one of the best meals of my life. We went to a traditional Greek taverna. It was the kind of place we never would have known existed if traveling on our own... we walked through a non-descript, unidentified door into an open courtyard with an outdoor stove, then indoors again to our table. We were a group of 8 (4 couples). After the wine was poured (Cypriot wine is really good!) the food started arriving... and arriving and arriving. First there were several different vegetables, then pita and tahini, then cheese, more vegetables, sausages, and then plates and plates of meat (souvlaki). More wine, more toasts... we felt really welcomed to this small little country and made new friends in our wonderful hosts.
We really enjoyed Nicosia, though after a few days I felt I had really seen and done everything there was there. I'm guessing most visitors to Cyprus would be satisfied with a day trip. I should add that the economic difficulties of the country are apparent in the number of empty storefronts throughout the city. Ledra Syreet and several other areas are bustling, but there are many streets in the old city that are essentially abandoned. I should add, though, that I always felt completely safe everywhere I went, including walking by myself at night.
After a long weekend in Nicosia (Thurs- Mon) we were off to Rome! Just like on our flights over, no lines at the airports, sailed right through. Oh the joys of traveling in February!
PART 2- ROME
One challenge was that we were not exactly sure which day DH would need to return to Cyprus the second weekend (somewhere between Thurs night and Sun morning), so planning had to be a little fluid. I planned enough stuff for us to do in Rome for five days, in case we had the good fortune to stay that long. It turned out we were there for four, so my planned day trip to Orvieto got scratched.
We absolutely loved our hotel choice... the Hotel Campo de Fiori. Outstanding location with a fabulous rooftop deck. I thought it was reasonably priced given the quality and location, but again I think traveling in Feb got me a good deal. We arrived around lunchtime, and were blessed with glorious weather for an outdoor lunch on the Campo. We then walked over to the forum area. First, we hiked to the top of the Vittorio Emmanuele II memorial and took in the views, and the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli. Next we started strolling toward the Colosseum, snapping photos of the forum along the way. Then I noticed the forum ticket booth, and told my DH that this is where all the Fodorites say to buy their Colosseum tickets. No line at all, so we bought our tickets, then had a lovely stroll through the forum on our way to the Colosseum. I was surprised at this time of year to see a such a lengthy line for tickets at the Colosseum (I'm guessing an hour wait), but felt very smug as we walked right past them with our tickets in hand. Once inside, however, it didn't seem overly crowded and we had a delightful time poking all around.
Then for our walk back, we crossed the street to see Trajan's markets up close and then wove our way through the city to see the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and Piazza Navona on our way back to the Campo de Fiori. To be honest, I was surprised that we were able to cover so many great sites in one afternoon, as I have only ever been to Italy before in the summer. I think both the heat and the crowds would have significantly slowed us down during the summer months, but we had a really delightful February afternoon! After a little rest at the hotel, we had a great dinner in Trastavere.
The follwing day we had a lovely breakfast at the hotel, then set off for the Vatican. Depending on what time we got started, I had several ideas in mind for how we might best approach the day. Turns out we got a late start (it is vacation after all!) so we decided to do the Vatican museums first. We probably arrived there around 10:30 or 11, and miracously there was no line! Again, I had been here before in the summer, and the whole experience felt liked a packed, sweaty forced march to the Sistine Chapel. This time, though, we really enjoyed taking in all the museums had to offer. Don't get me wrong, the place wasn't empty... there were plenty of other people around... there was just ample space to really be able to explore and wonder at all of the extraordinary beauty. Of course, there were loads of people in the Sistine Chapel, but it was possible to walk around easily and even sit on a bench and gaze at the ceiling for a while. It was especially interesting knowing that the conclave will be meeting here in just a few weeks to elect a new pope!
Again, thanks to Fodors, I knew to take the "group" door on the right to exit directly to St Peter's. Another line successfully avoided! As it was now around lunch time, the basilica seemed delightfully uncrowded too. Walked right up to the pieta, Bernini altar, and anything else we wanted to see. Also went underground to the crypt area... very cool. We weren't especially keen to climb up to the dome, but when we saw a long line for that we definitely ditched the idea, and repeated our mantra, "We wait in no lines!" For lunch, we sought out a place in Vatican City reccomended by our Fodors guidebook, but sadly it wasn't open. So we went to the place next door and had a really delightful meal (fettucine with artichokes, with pear and riccotta cheesecake for dessert!. Walked by Castel St Angelo and over the bridge of angels to return to our hotel for sunset on the rooftop deck! Later we strolled back down to the Colosseum and Forum to see them lit up at night... beautiful! After such a big lunch, we had a lighter dinner of pizza and wine.
Mar 1st, 2013, 02:19 PM
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What a great report!We are going the first of June and will just have to deal with more crowds, but I am really enjoying your report! We have a long break between our Scavi tour and the Walks of Italy tour of the Vatican museum - do you remember the name of the place you ate lunch or the place that was recommended to you?
Mar 1st, 2013, 02:54 PM
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Thanks! The name of the place we were originally looking for was Il Mozzicone on Borgo Pio, but we ended up eating one or two doors down (away from St Peters) though I don't remember the name of the place. Very good food. Next installment coming after I cook dinner!
Mar 2nd, 2013, 05:09 AM
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PART 3-- Rome and on to Athens
Our next day in Rome brought our best weather day yet. Warm and sunny, it was the perfect day for walking! So we strolled through the Ghetto, over to Tiber Island down to the Circus Maximus (Bocca della Verita had a long line of tour groups, so we passed right by--- at this point we were total line snobs). Over to Trastevere for a delightfully long lunch in the sun. Later in the day we walked over to the Spanish steps, which much to our surprise was quite crowded and absolutely covered in trash and beer bottles. I'm talking thousands of beer bottles. Apparently, we had arrived just after a large group of German football fans had descended upon the steps as sort of a pep rally before their big match against the Roman team. There were still some pockets of well-liquored fans strolling about singing boisterously in support of their team, but the party had pretty much broken up just before we arrived. Then the police swept in and politely asked everyone to clear the steps as clean-up crews started their work. We went back to the steps the following day and they were spotless. After all our ambling,(stopping for the occasional gelato along the way), we ended up at the Campidoglio and enjoyed taking pictures there (did not go in the museums, though). Capped off the day with a great dinner on the Campo.
Rain was predicted for the following day. Knowing this, earlier in the week I had asked our hotel to make a reservation for us for the Borghese Gallery. This turned out to be the perfect choice for the not-so-perfect weather. We thoroughly enjoyed this museum. The building itself is as interesting as the magnificent art inside. The word that kept coming to mind when looking at our surroundings was "sumptuous." I was very glad that we followed the advice of other Fodorites and used the audio guide here. It really added to our understanding and appreciation of the collection. When we emerged from the museum, the sun was peeking out, so we had a chance to walk a bit around the gardens and surrounding area. In the evening, we walked back over to Vatican City to see St Peter's at night. Beautiful and peaceful. Castel Sant Angelo was also gorgeous. Then back to the Campo for our final dinner in Rome. We absolutely loved our time in this beautiful city. We had wine with every meal (well, except breakfast because that was cappuccino time), ate most meals outdoors, and walked practically the entire city. We were blessed with excellent weather for Feb ( it absolutely poured rain the following day, while we were at the airport); most days I just needed a light jacket, although night time required a coat. As someone who had only been to Italy before in the summer, I really appreciated the lack of crowds and lack of heat.
The next day was a travel day back to Cyprus, then another day of work for DH, while I strolled the streets of Nicosia, and had a chance to get caught up on emails. In researching our flights home from Cyprus, I realized we would end up needing to stay overnight someplace, as all flights are routed through another city with an overnight. Our choices were London or Athens. Not a difficult decision for one night in Feb... we chose Athens.
I knew we would only have a half day in Athens, so my only goal was to see the acropolis. Our morning flight from Cyprus was easy (we were pretty familiar with the Larnaca airport at this point), and we got off the plane in Athens ready to hit the city. As we walked into the customs area, horror of horrors, a really long line! I'm talking really long, and really not moving. Of course, there was no line at all for EU passport holders, but apparently a couple of flights from Africa had just landed so the non-EU line was ridiculous. At this point it was around noon, and i knew the acropolis closed at three. We had not waited in a line this entire trip, and now when our time was really limited, a line at customs was going to keep me from the acropolis. We had been on line for about five minutes, and I was just beginning to accept the fact that I would not get to see the acropolis, when a very nice customs agent walked up to us and pointed us over to the EU passport agent, who had nobody in front of him. Hallelujah! I don't know how we got so lucky, but somehow the no-line karma we had been carrying with us the entire trip came through again. Thank you, nice customs agent. I am forever grateful to you!
So we easily got a taxi right to our hotel, which I had intentionally booked for its good location, the Hotel Plaka. After dumping our bags in our room, a quick dash up to the rooftop deck to check out the view. Magnificent! There was the acropolis sitting right before our eyes. Then we grabbed a map and headed off. Obviously, the walk to the top of the acropolis involves a significant uphill climb. We were fine with this, but again, as i broke a sweat walking in Feb,I couldn't help imagine how brutal this walk would be in the summer. Of course, no line for us at the ticket booth, and we walked right in. At this point it was a few minutes past two,and the place closed at three, but this was plenty of time for us to walk all around, snap lots of photos, and see everything there. Delightfully uncrowded and perfect weather again... bright sunshine, with a strong breeze on the hilltop to cool us off after the long walk. Of course, I would have been happy to stay up there all day, but was content with the hour that we had. We then went over to Mars hill and enjoyed the view relaxing on the rocks. On our walk down, we got to see much of the agora (though couldn't actually walk through) and stopped in a cafe for a drink in the Plaka. This part of town had a really fun and bustling vibe. Lots of cafes, restaurants, and shops. Lots of people out enjoying the day.
Just word about our hotel, the Hotel Plaka. We absolutely loved it. Great location, right in a great part of town. The best part, though, is there enormous rooftop deck. Really lovely, especially at night when the acropolis is lit up in all its glory. Also has a very nice breakfast room, and coffee is available all day. I think I love it even more because it was such a great price. We paid 75E for the night, though I'm sure prices may be higher at other times of the year.
After our day of exploring, we were pleasantly surprised to find a small bottle of wine in our room, compliments of the hotel. Up to the rooftop for a sunset drink! (Yes, rooftop decks were another theme of our trip). Hard to put into words how lovely it was to watch the sun setting over Athens, while gazing at the acropolis, sipping wine with the one I love. Then, it was off to dinner in the Plaka, and we found a great place with a view of the acropolis, called Diodos Agoras. We picked it mostly for the view, so didn't really have high expectations for the food, but it was fantastic! We started with grilled eggplant with feta that was really light and fresh. Then I had the most delicious moussaka of my life (so creamy!), followed by the most delicious baklava of my life (so light, and not overly sweet). We had already killed a bottle of wine, and were enjoying our dessert when the waiter brought us a small carafe and two shot glasses, compliments of the house. Well, when in Greece! When I asked what it was, we learned it was Rakomelo, a liquor flavored with honey and spices and served warm ( like sake). Fantastic. This was the perfect meal to end a wonderful trip.
Our next day in Rome brought our best weather day yet. Warm and sunny, it was the perfect day for walking! So we strolled through the Ghetto, over to Tiber Island down to the Circus Maximus (Bocca della Verita had a long line of tour groups, so we passed right by--- at this point we were total line snobs). Over to Trastevere for a delightfully long lunch in the sun. Later in the day we walked over to the Spanish steps, which much to our surprise was quite crowded and absolutely covered in trash and beer bottles. I'm talking thousands of beer bottles. Apparently, we had arrived just after a large group of German football fans had descended upon the steps as sort of a pep rally before their big match against the Roman team. There were still some pockets of well-liquored fans strolling about singing boisterously in support of their team, but the party had pretty much broken up just before we arrived. Then the police swept in and politely asked everyone to clear the steps as clean-up crews started their work. We went back to the steps the following day and they were spotless. After all our ambling,(stopping for the occasional gelato along the way), we ended up at the Campidoglio and enjoyed taking pictures there (did not go in the museums, though). Capped off the day with a great dinner on the Campo.
Rain was predicted for the following day. Knowing this, earlier in the week I had asked our hotel to make a reservation for us for the Borghese Gallery. This turned out to be the perfect choice for the not-so-perfect weather. We thoroughly enjoyed this museum. The building itself is as interesting as the magnificent art inside. The word that kept coming to mind when looking at our surroundings was "sumptuous." I was very glad that we followed the advice of other Fodorites and used the audio guide here. It really added to our understanding and appreciation of the collection. When we emerged from the museum, the sun was peeking out, so we had a chance to walk a bit around the gardens and surrounding area. In the evening, we walked back over to Vatican City to see St Peter's at night. Beautiful and peaceful. Castel Sant Angelo was also gorgeous. Then back to the Campo for our final dinner in Rome. We absolutely loved our time in this beautiful city. We had wine with every meal (well, except breakfast because that was cappuccino time), ate most meals outdoors, and walked practically the entire city. We were blessed with excellent weather for Feb ( it absolutely poured rain the following day, while we were at the airport); most days I just needed a light jacket, although night time required a coat. As someone who had only been to Italy before in the summer, I really appreciated the lack of crowds and lack of heat.
The next day was a travel day back to Cyprus, then another day of work for DH, while I strolled the streets of Nicosia, and had a chance to get caught up on emails. In researching our flights home from Cyprus, I realized we would end up needing to stay overnight someplace, as all flights are routed through another city with an overnight. Our choices were London or Athens. Not a difficult decision for one night in Feb... we chose Athens.
I knew we would only have a half day in Athens, so my only goal was to see the acropolis. Our morning flight from Cyprus was easy (we were pretty familiar with the Larnaca airport at this point), and we got off the plane in Athens ready to hit the city. As we walked into the customs area, horror of horrors, a really long line! I'm talking really long, and really not moving. Of course, there was no line at all for EU passport holders, but apparently a couple of flights from Africa had just landed so the non-EU line was ridiculous. At this point it was around noon, and i knew the acropolis closed at three. We had not waited in a line this entire trip, and now when our time was really limited, a line at customs was going to keep me from the acropolis. We had been on line for about five minutes, and I was just beginning to accept the fact that I would not get to see the acropolis, when a very nice customs agent walked up to us and pointed us over to the EU passport agent, who had nobody in front of him. Hallelujah! I don't know how we got so lucky, but somehow the no-line karma we had been carrying with us the entire trip came through again. Thank you, nice customs agent. I am forever grateful to you!
So we easily got a taxi right to our hotel, which I had intentionally booked for its good location, the Hotel Plaka. After dumping our bags in our room, a quick dash up to the rooftop deck to check out the view. Magnificent! There was the acropolis sitting right before our eyes. Then we grabbed a map and headed off. Obviously, the walk to the top of the acropolis involves a significant uphill climb. We were fine with this, but again, as i broke a sweat walking in Feb,I couldn't help imagine how brutal this walk would be in the summer. Of course, no line for us at the ticket booth, and we walked right in. At this point it was a few minutes past two,and the place closed at three, but this was plenty of time for us to walk all around, snap lots of photos, and see everything there. Delightfully uncrowded and perfect weather again... bright sunshine, with a strong breeze on the hilltop to cool us off after the long walk. Of course, I would have been happy to stay up there all day, but was content with the hour that we had. We then went over to Mars hill and enjoyed the view relaxing on the rocks. On our walk down, we got to see much of the agora (though couldn't actually walk through) and stopped in a cafe for a drink in the Plaka. This part of town had a really fun and bustling vibe. Lots of cafes, restaurants, and shops. Lots of people out enjoying the day.
Just word about our hotel, the Hotel Plaka. We absolutely loved it. Great location, right in a great part of town. The best part, though, is there enormous rooftop deck. Really lovely, especially at night when the acropolis is lit up in all its glory. Also has a very nice breakfast room, and coffee is available all day. I think I love it even more because it was such a great price. We paid 75E for the night, though I'm sure prices may be higher at other times of the year.
After our day of exploring, we were pleasantly surprised to find a small bottle of wine in our room, compliments of the hotel. Up to the rooftop for a sunset drink! (Yes, rooftop decks were another theme of our trip). Hard to put into words how lovely it was to watch the sun setting over Athens, while gazing at the acropolis, sipping wine with the one I love. Then, it was off to dinner in the Plaka, and we found a great place with a view of the acropolis, called Diodos Agoras. We picked it mostly for the view, so didn't really have high expectations for the food, but it was fantastic! We started with grilled eggplant with feta that was really light and fresh. Then I had the most delicious moussaka of my life (so creamy!), followed by the most delicious baklava of my life (so light, and not overly sweet). We had already killed a bottle of wine, and were enjoying our dessert when the waiter brought us a small carafe and two shot glasses, compliments of the house. Well, when in Greece! When I asked what it was, we learned it was Rakomelo, a liquor flavored with honey and spices and served warm ( like sake). Fantastic. This was the perfect meal to end a wonderful trip.
Mar 3rd, 2013, 05:50 AM
#10
lol, ms - were you following me or was I following you? I'm sure that our paths must have crossed - I even think that we were at the airport on the way out of Rome at the same time [saturday?]
I too felt very grateful that we hit such a lovely week with blue skies and warm [for February] weather, and as you can tell from my TR, we walked our socks off too, though I did get to grip with the buses for the first time, which is a help. [they sell a map showing all the routes for €3 in all the book shops and tabacs where you can buy tickets].
any plans to go back?
I too felt very grateful that we hit such a lovely week with blue skies and warm [for February] weather, and as you can tell from my TR, we walked our socks off too, though I did get to grip with the buses for the first time, which is a help. [they sell a map showing all the routes for €3 in all the book shops and tabacs where you can buy tickets].
any plans to go back?
