We are finally here and thankfully each day has progressively gotten better and better. Day 1-our trip here- was exhausting. We left the house in Athens at 8 am and arrived here at our home at 10 pm greek time-- much longer than originally planned (we missed our train in Paris and had to wait 2 1/2 hours for the next one!) Advice #1: Never take 3 large (heavy) suitcases with you onto a TGV train unless you have the manpower to get them onto the train! Those were the most stressful five minutes of the whole trip. We arrived exhausted and hungry, in the dark, with no idea where to go for a bite to eat and not a stitch of food in the fridge. And to make matters worse, I couldn't figure out how to lock the front door so we sat at our window like Tiny Tim looking in on a Christmas feast, and watched the people in the hotel restaurant across the street enjoy their french cuisine in the warm glow of candlelight. Tomee had a meltdown, Yanni fell asleep on the chair and I stood there thinking, "what have I done!" I barricaded the door with a few kitchen chairs and we went up to bed (all 3 of us in my bed) to wait for Christina the landlady to return our call. The call finally came around midnight...door problem was solved. Advice #2: French door handles need to be turned up in order to release the locking mechanism before turning the key to lock. Thankfully things looked much brighter the next morning and have continued to look better since. Today (Day 4) was market day (every Saturday and Wednesday) and it was an assault on the senses...herbs, olives, fish, roast chickens, giant pans of paella, sausages, cheeses, freshly ground coffee, fabrics, clothing, soaps, jewelry, ceramics...the sights, smells, and sounds were overwhelming. There were stalls set up right from the top of our street (first picture), right into the middle of town (Place aux Herbes) throughout all of the nooks and crannies on the surrounding streets. We finished off the afternoon with crepes and cafe au lait.
We are finally here and thankfully each day has progressively gotten better and better. Day 1-our trip here- was exhausting. We left the house in Athens at 8 am and arrived here at our home at 10 pm greek time-- much longer than originally planned (we missed our train in Paris and had to wait 2 1/2 hours for the next one!) Advice #1: Never take 3 large (heavy) suitcases with you onto a TGV train unless you have the manpower to get them onto the train! Those were the most stressful five minutes of the whole trip. We arrived exhausted and hungry, in the dark, with no idea where to go for a bite to eat and not a stitch of food in the fridge. And to make matters worse, I couldn't figure out how to lock the front door so we sat at our window like Tiny Tim looking in on a Christmas feast, and watched the people in the hotel restaurant across the street enjoy their french cuisine in the warm glow of candlelight. Tomee had a meltdown, Yanni fell asleep on the chair and I stood there thinking, "what have I done!" I barricaded the door with a few kitchen chairs and we went up to bed (all 3 of us in my bed) to wait for Christina the landlady to return our call. The call finally came around midnight...door problem was solved. Advice #2: French door handles need to be turned up in order to release the locking mechanism before turning the key to lock. Thankfully things looked much brighter the next morning and have continued to look better since. Today (Day 4) was market day (every Saturday and Wednesday) and it was an assault on the senses...herbs, olives, fish, roast chickens, giant pans of paella, sausages, cheeses, freshly ground coffee, fabrics, clothing, soaps, jewelry, ceramics...the sights, smells, and sounds were overwhelming. There were stalls set up right from the top of our street (first picture), right into the middle of town (Place aux Herbes) throughout all of the nooks and crannies on the surrounding streets. We finished off the afternoon with crepes and cafe au lait.
Enjoyed reading your blog, Tina. A bit scary at first but Day 4 sounds amazing! What a great experience for all of you!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy!