Athens and Santorini
cucumbers, red onion and kala- mata olives, lightly dressed with some olive oil, vinegar and orega- no. Tey added homemade crou- tons to their version. It was fresh, delicious and filling. I knew I could easily eat it the entire trip, and I did! It was on every menu in every restaurant. Other restau- rants added large caper berries and green peppers. Some replaced the feta with halloumi, a semi- hard cheese made from a mixture of goat and sheep’s milk.
GYROS, SOUVLAKI, TZATZIKI During our first full day in Ath-
ens, we stopped in a little restau- rant for lunch. It was down what’s known as “Souvlaki Row,” located near the Monastiraki Flea Market. Tere are dozens of stalls, selling ev- erything from fresh fruit to leather goods. Small gyro shops sell enor- mous, hand-held gyros for around 3 euros (around $3.33). It almost doesn’t matter where you eat in Ath- ens. Most restaurants have outdoor seating, delicious food and plenty of drinks. We stopped at a sit-down restaurant where we could enjoy the beautiful weather from underneath large tents and people watch. Ped- dlers walk up to your table wherever you are, trying to sell you every- thing from roses to dental floss. We ordered large plates of pork
gyros and chicken souvlaki. Te gyro meat (typically lamb, pork or chicken, cooked slowly on a vertical rotisserie) was served on pita bread with slices of tomato and onions. Te souvlaki (usually pork, chicken or lamb, grilled on a skewer) was served similarly to the gyro, with pita bread and vegetables. Each plate was served with deep bowls of tzatziki. For those of you unfamil- iar with tzatziki, it’s a yogurt-based sauce, with cucumber, lemon, gar- lic, and either dill, parsley or mint. I’ve had a gyro before. But I could
never get past the texture of that sauce. Being in Greece, I knew I’d have to try it at some point. Well, thank goodness I did! It just tastes different in Greece. It’s fresher,
Gyros with tzatziki sauce | © bhofack22/Bigstock
thicker, tangier… and so delicious. I ended up eating a lot of gyros and souvlaki over the next few days, just to get my hands on that sauce. You might be thinking, why not try something else? If you haven’t had a gyro in Greece, then I just can’t explain it to you. When we landed in Santorini
for the wedding festivities, I was happy to see that we’d get to enjoy more gyros! One of the events in- cluded a sunset cruise around the islands. We drove to the old port of Fira, where we boarded Tal- assa a 90-foot sailing vessel oper- ated by Santorini Sailing Cruises (
www.santorini-cruises.com). We sailed around the island and an- chored near Tirassia, the second
www.perillotraveler.com | Fall 2015 | | 29
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36