Restaurants, tavernas and cafes

This year there are many more options for eating in Chora but most of them will close at the end of September and remain closed until next Easter.

I have two favourites…Parvas and Fotodotis. The food is always traditional, nothing fancy and it is grown, cooked and served by the families. The 

portions are too large for a single diner so I have leftovers from the last two nights in my fridge…just right for lunches. Every morning I walk up the pathway to Jazzmin, the Cafe/Bar owned by my friends, for a daily coffee. The seating is shared with the Cafe cats, food is prepared in the underground kitchen and coffees are prepared by Theo.

Yesterday I drove to Vroutsi, a small village in the south of the island to visit with my friend Kalliroi. She lives in a lovely home at the far edge of the village with her cat. After a short visit we drove to a small private beach for a lovely nude swim…not another soul in sight! In the sandy portion of the beach we discovered a treasure trove of sea glass to bring back for my sister. Afterward, in the public beach area, we sat in the shade with homemade cheese pies and enjoyed the breeze. It is very hot these days with a constant wind from the south that helps to cool.

Chora

Chora is comprised of many narrow passageways and stone paths.

There are always surprises around the corner.

Somehow the cats of Chora always know the fastest route to food!

Chora on Amorgos

It has been a very emotional reunion so far on the island…many hugs and tears. I was up at sunrise thanks to jetlag and decided to walk down to see the sunrise. A serenade of doves and roosters accompanied me…not another soul in sight.

This is a carless village and during my four year absence they created a small parking lot. Fortunately my friend Theo was happy to carry/drag my suitcase from the car, through the gravel parking lot, up many stone steps to my apartment.

Up at sunrise on Amorgos

Ruins

I discovered this excavation while wandering in an area where there were no crowds of tourists!

Finding quiet places

Serendipity played a role yesterday when I wandered into a small taverna on a side street and met someone I had not seen for 18 years! She owned a small hotel on Rhodes where John and I stayed many times. We shared hugs and promised to have dinner together when I return in October.

Athens is overrun with tourists. The streets , cafes and restaurants are crowded. Every table has hand sanitizer and masks are requested indoors. Fortunately most of life takes place outside. The early part of my day involved finding quiet, shaded places for breakfast, lunch and drawing. I was pleased to learn that access is free to the Archeological Museum cafe and a bottle of water is only 50 cents. Outdoor seating is lovely. So far I have managed to find small places away from the crowds.

Friends have invited me to join them for dinner after their shop closes at 9:00pm but I am not sure that my internal clock and jetlag will cooperate. That is a decision for later. Now it is nap time.

First night

View of the Acropolis from my hotel rooftop..No zoom!