I have to say, our honeymoon was my fourth time to Europe and Greece was the seventh European country that I've visited, and I have never tasted such amazing food before. When my MOH and I visited France several summers back, we lost over five pounds each at the end of three weeks, despite my love of baguettes and chocolate. When I went to Scotland two years ago, I was seriously desperate for some American food after ten days.
So while I was hopeful, I wasn't exactly expecting to be wow-ed by the food in Greece. Boy, was I ever wrong! You know the "freshman 15"? Well, I gained the Honeymoon 6. Six pounds is a lot of eating in two weeks!
There is some truly wonderful food to be had in Greece, even on a budget. We mostly stuck to having pastries or a light breakfast late in the morning, and dinner at a restaurant that our Frommer's Guide to Greece recommended.
This is part of what we ate the first night we were in Athens. We ate at a little taverna in the Plaka District where the waiters brought around a tray of 20 mezedes (or appetizer-sized portions) and you picked five of them to eat between the two of you. These are three of our dishes: some roasted pork, Greek yoghurt, and sausages that Mr. Star is still talking about. Yum!
This is a restaurant we ate at on our second night in Athens. Don't you just love the open-air seating and the dreamy blue chairs? There was even a view of the Acropolis. We just sat and enjoyed our dinner slowly and wrote all of our postcards while enjoying the gorgeous weather and atmosphere! The Greeks do not believe in rushing meals, and we were all for taking our time on our honeymoon! You know what they say, "When in Athens..."
This is a shot of our first run-in with Saganaki, or Greek fried cheese. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it is, doused with lemon and eaten on toasted pita bread slices...
Mr. Star ate his whole portion with his eyes closed. THAT's how much he loved it.
This coffee chain became my saving grace while we were in the Athens area. They served expresso frozitos, which were like Starbucks' frappuccinos. I had a lot of those puppies while I was trying to experiment with which Greek coffee would feed my caffeine addiction the best. Hmm, maybe I know where those 6 pounds came from after all...
I spent a lot of time planning our itineraries with my Frommer's Guide...and writing in our travel journal...and, umm, eating chocolate. Yeah, the Greeks make excellent desserts!
This only LOOKS like dessert. Actually, this was what I was served for breakfast! A waffle is in there somewhere, buried under melted chocolate, whipped cream, and chopped walnuts, with a ducky animal cracker for good show. I couldn't even finish it, although I did give it the old college try.
About five days in, I discovered the Nescafe frappe, which is about the closest thing I could find to American iced coffee. When they ask you if you want them to make it with milk and sugar, always say yes. Trust me.
We were very amused to discover that even the Greeks love pigs in a blanket. Not only do they love pigs in a blanket, they make them in EPIC proportions! I mean, look at that thing!
Mr. Star discovered cheese pies on Santorini, and I'm pretty sure he ate one for breakfast every day after that. Yes, he really really likes cheese. I have to admit, they were pretty yummy. They taste kinda like big, flaky croissants with melted cheese inside!
A couple of nights, we just got souvlaki pitas to-go and sat out on the benches in Fira on Santorini to watch the sunsets. When you see my sunset pictures in a later post, you'll understand why!
Of course, we had to try the Greek national dessert -- baklava! I loved the nuts and Mr. Star loved the sweet, syrupy drizzled sauce. I swear, we usually eat really healthy at home (salads! fruit! brown rice!).
We ordered saganaki whenever we could. It really was that good. I looked it up (my go-to favorite is The Food Network), and apparently it's made from kasseri cheese, which I was able to find at a local cheese shop. It seems pretty easy to make, so I know what I'm making for Mr. Star's birthday ;)
If you're wiping the drool off your keyboard, I don't blame you. It really was as good as it looks (and I have the tight jeans to prove it!). I wish I had taken more pictures of some of our delicious entrees, like the moussaka we had or the pork gyros or even all the french fries we ate (did you know the Greeks make excellent french fries? I didn't either), but it was usually so yummy looking that we dug right in.
At any rate, if you are going to Greece or thinking of going to Greece, don't worry, you won't starve! Just writing all this reminds me that it's gym time! Stand by for more Greek goodness!
If you're following along, the Star honeymoon recaps are:
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