Action-Man, 23 June, on a ferry in Greek water
Two days ago, we entered Athens on a train from Corinth. An Albanian man in the next seat said that Athens is a concrete jungle, and it is. He also strongly urged us to eat a Greek food, called suvlaki. So after we settled in Hotel Neos Olympos, we set out. Everywhere we asked, friendly Athenians (in general, Greeks speak better English than Italians) pointed us towards suvlaki. We searched Syntagma square and walked to Monastiraki, which is below the Acropolis. It was like pursuing the white stag of Narnia. Finally, at Thanassis grill, we found it. Suvlaki is sausage kebab, and is served with tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers with sprinkled red pepper in a grilled pita. For maximum taste, we dipped our three wraps into a zazigy, which is cool yogurt with onions and cucumber.
Tonight was our last meal in Europe. At a seaside tavern, on the island of Egina, Drew ate sea bass and tuna salad. I ate spaghetti and octopus. We smeared our bread in oil and vinegar and washed it down with wine. We will have an ice-cream cone at the soft-serve place when we get back. We have had days of fasting and hunger and lack. Today was a day of plenty. It is feast or famine on this trip.
Our ferry back to Pireaus is cool inside. The lounge has light green carpet and green and yellow sofas. A soccer match plays on the TVs. The guys next to us talk loudly in Greek and are eating a bowl of pistachio nuts. A bar is in the middle, and the whole ferry is nicer than any other ferry so far. Just now I felt dizzy, so I went on deck for a breath of fresh air. The bosun in the bridge said that we were going 16 kilometers per hour. On starboard side a flock of seagulls flew with the ferry. I saw dozens of them--their orange feet tucked closely to their soft, white bellies, their beaks twitching, bodies floating, upheld by healthy, outstretched wings.
"Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a virgin" (Proverbs 30: 18, 19).
Sam
Tonight was our last meal in Europe. At a seaside tavern, on the island of Egina, Drew ate sea bass and tuna salad. I ate spaghetti and octopus. We smeared our bread in oil and vinegar and washed it down with wine. We will have an ice-cream cone at the soft-serve place when we get back. We have had days of fasting and hunger and lack. Today was a day of plenty. It is feast or famine on this trip.
Our ferry back to Pireaus is cool inside. The lounge has light green carpet and green and yellow sofas. A soccer match plays on the TVs. The guys next to us talk loudly in Greek and are eating a bowl of pistachio nuts. A bar is in the middle, and the whole ferry is nicer than any other ferry so far. Just now I felt dizzy, so I went on deck for a breath of fresh air. The bosun in the bridge said that we were going 16 kilometers per hour. On starboard side a flock of seagulls flew with the ferry. I saw dozens of them--their orange feet tucked closely to their soft, white bellies, their beaks twitching, bodies floating, upheld by healthy, outstretched wings.
"Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a virgin" (Proverbs 30: 18, 19).
Sam
posted by Unknown at 11:07 AM
1 Comments:
i love that last verse. it was on the front of our cabin door on the ship... you remember? :)
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