Sunday, June 24, 2007

A Day at the Beach


Forgive me any typos, it is so difficult to see the computer screen through the sweat pouring off my brow. . . And the fact it requires me to leave the bedroom, the only AIR CONDITIONED room in the house, to do so. . .

In response to the unbearable heatness of being, we decided to escape to the coast for the weekend. I thought it would be wise to leave Friday night, but Fantastic Man cabashed that and we left on Saturday morning. Our destination? The Eden Beach Resort on Sounion Road on the way to the Temple of Poseidon (those who were here and made the trip, it's on that road).

Snagged the LAST TWO seats on the bus at 9:40 Saturday morning and had a nice AIR CONDITIONED ride to the hotel. Arrived at 11, checked in, cranked the AIR CONDITIONING in our room, put on our suits and hit the pool.

Oh wait. Not true. First we had to plunk down 38 Euro (yes, that is almost $50US) for two beach towels, because apparently in Greece a Beach Resort does not provide you with towels by the pool, but they do provide you with a boutique where said objects can be purchased for outrageous amounts of money.

But, in a fashion totally unlike me, I willingly payed and hardly bitched at all. Nor did I even worry/care/obsess (hardly at all!) about putting on my bathing suit for the first time in over a year, at my most fattest in over a year. . . I just rolled with it, kinda like a roly-poly! No pictures, though. Hardly took any pictures at all.

Got spots in the shade. Swam in the water (which was a salt water pool, how odd). Heaven.

At 2 PM we moved to the beach, had lunch at the cafe there, watched the people, realized you probably had to arrive around 6:30 AM to get a chair with an umbrella, and went back to the poolside.

Swam. Slept. Burned.

Cleaned up for dinner (included in our room rate! Nice surprise), but first decided to go and watch the sunset at the beach bar. Had a couple frosty beers, watched the sun disappear into the haze, enjoyed a nice breeze off the sea. Watched the Greeks continue hanging in their chairs under the umbrellas til well past 8 PM. Realized we were not fully accustomed to "beach lifestyle".

Went to dinner at about 9:15 and seriously ate the worst meal ever in Greece. Dog food buffet. But, we were a little buzzed up and it filled the pit. No nightlife to speak of, went back to the AIR CONDITIONED room. Slept for TWELVE HOURS! Missed breakfast.

Did manage to find some coffee, get acclimated to being vertical, check out by noon. Spent the afternoon enjoying the pool, some Stella Artois', a nice Ceasar Salad, and the shade. Jumped the 4 PM bus back to Athens, back in the hot 'hood around 6. Stopped and had a couple beers on the way home.

Sign said it was 42' C (107' F) at 7 PM. Egads.

Unpacked, took cold showers and went to Pizza Hut and sat in the AIR CONDITIONING until 10 PM.

Confessions of a tired traveler. . . Last week we actually ate at TGI Friday's one night for dinner. Not that we were to lazy to walk further (which we were, and the Friday's is right on our corner), but we thought that possibly being an American chain restaurant, it might be MORE AIR CONDITIONED than a "Greek" restaurant. It wasn't, but it was more overpriced than a "Greek" restaurant. So, chalk up one TGI Friday's visit and one Pizza Hut visit and one Hard Rock Cafe Happy Hour for our 4 months in Athens. Not bad.

It is SOOOOO hot. But, it does look like it will cool down this week, only be in the 90's, and they are calling for 68 in the evening on Monday, July 2. PLEASE LET THAT BE TRUE!

Anyway, you know what we will be doing every weekend starting at 7 PM on Friday until the time we leave here. Us and the entire population of Athens will be beach bound. And next Tuesday night, too.

2 comments:

CaliforniaKat said...

1. Everything is overpriced in Greece.

2. Beaches were privatized so anyone owning it can charge whatever they want.

There's a USA vs. Athens comparison on my site should you want to see a wide range of things.

Unknown said...

That is one thing I've been shocked about, how do people survive here? Everything from ferry tickets to lipstick is overpriced!