Day 5: Lunch and a Return to Athens

Before leaving Kalambaka for the long trip back to Athens, we had lunch at this charming restaurant. Upon entering, you’re led into the open kitchen, where “grandma” would show you what the family had prepared that day: pots and pans of homestyle Greek family dishes. You’d hand them a plate and they’d load it up with whatever you pointed at. Not only was the food delicious, but affordable as well (I remember my vegetarian plate being 7 Euro and my rest of my family’s plates being 9 Euro each).

Restaurant Meteora (a.k.a. Gertsou Family Restaurant?)
Town hall square, Kalambaka, Greece
24320-22316

We couldn’t resist going into the cake shop next door to pick up some desserts. Roxakia and Kadaifi, two syrupy nut-filled confections.

Kivelia Cake Shop
Town Hall Square, Kalambaka, Greece
24320-22316

After a long trip back to Athens, we were too tired to go out to find dinner, so we opted to eat dinner on the rooftop lounge of our Hotel. The setting was beautiful, as we were surrounded by a garden and were treated to a nighttime view of the Acropolis. However, this was the only highlight of the meal . . .

Tzatziki, trio of tapenades and fresh bread. This was fine, but you can’t really mess these things up too much.

My sister’s Shrimp Saganaki, which was full of sand! It wasn’t even edible . . . we asked the waiter about it and he said that this was normal, which I think was ludicrous. My sister was too hungry to wait for a replacement, so we ended up sharing our plates with her.

My dolmades (stuffed grape leaves with avgolemono sauce). The stuffed grape� leaves and the filling were fine, but the egg and lemon sauce was gummy, cold and lumpy. Sigh . . .

Saganaki still untouched. I think the blueness of the photos expresses the sadness that was our food.

What happens when you are still hungry after an expensive and unsatisfying meal? You hole up in the hotel room with a bag of chips, candy and fruit.