Day 3 - Love, Memories and Opa!!

Breakfast came way too soon this morning after all the kiddos were worn out from our travels here.   After breakfast we took a walk to catch the Tram (which is much like DART/light rail).  You would have been proud of your children as they always offered their seat on their elders without us asking.  All of us leaders felt very proud of our amazing students.  

Our first activity which was a cooking class at Tabepna Kahmatapia which the matriarch of this family owned tavern/café/restaurant along with her daughter and son-in-law taught us how to make Dolmas, Tzatziki, Summer salad (Greek salad) beef bifteki with lemon-mustard potatoes.  We learned that the most important ingredients for Greek cooking or cooking in general are LOVE and MEMORIES.  Be sure to ask your kiddos about these two fine ingredients!  We also learned that greek cooking is simple recipes featuring local seasonal ingredients and they use more herbs and less spices, particularly dill, mint, and parsley.  After the students learned how make these dishes, they also were able to eat it and it was wonderful.  I think you will need to have the kids make these for you on their return. 

After our cooking class, we made our way to Town Hall.  Our host for our visit, Demetrius, explained a little about local Athens government, as well as some Greek political history and some mythology.  The students came up with some great questions and had some good conversation. 

From Town Hall we took Happy Train tour around Athens pointing our local landmarks, including the Parliament with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Gateway to Athens, Marathon stadium (the site of the first modern Olympics, completely made of marble and over 2000 years old) and the US Embassy.  and then up to the Acropolis.  We hiked around the area for a while and got the full effect of the Athens heat and the kids were excited to refresh themselves with frozen lemonades and the like. 

After a quick trip through the nearby souvenirs shops in old Athens we made to our final activity day – Cretan Dance Class!!  Our wonderful hosts taught us 4 traditional dances of Crete representing the 4 regions of the island.  Despite their valiant effort of many, we managed not to lose any…to join the local Crete dance group! 

The day was packed and long…they all tucked in bed for a day our day at the beach tomorrow. 

Steps taken – 8774.