{"id":436,"date":"2018-05-16T14:31:42","date_gmt":"2018-05-16T18:31:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/expandinghorizons\/?p=436"},"modified":"2021-04-27T10:17:46","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T14:17:46","slug":"refreshing-visit-god-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/expandinghorizons\/refreshing-visit-god-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"A Refreshing Visit With The God of the Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I recently had the good fortune to travel to Greece for a long-overdue vacation with my husband. After a long flight, we didn\u2019t want to drive too far, so we decided to start our trip to Greece at Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon. After a too-long detour on the highway (and paying more in tolls that we should have) we arrived at the Aegean Beach Hotel. The room was small by American standards (but typical for a European hotel) and simply furnished. The bathroom was modern and the terrific water pressure on the rainfall showerhead was a welcome surprise.<\/p>\n

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The Aegean Beach Hotel from the Temple of Poseidon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All rooms at the Aegean have a sea view and the balcony was a terrific place to view the sunset. As we were arriving, a couple kayakers were pulling in their boats, making me wish we had more time to stay.<\/p>\n

After settling in, we went in search of dinner. Though the hotel has a restaurant, we had plans to \"\"eat breakfast there the next day and decided instead to try the restaurant on the road in, a fish tavern. Though it was a bit chilly, we opted to eat outdoors (when would we have another chance to eat seated next to the Aegean Sea?). With our limited knowledge of the Greek language (read almost none), we decided to count on the recommendation of our waiter and were not disappointed. Our introduction to Greek cuisine and portions left us full and happy. We started with a Greek salad, followed by possibly the most delicious mussels I have ever tasted (we couldn\u2019t determine whether it was because they were\u00a0\"afresh or if there was a secret ingredient in the sauce our waiter neglected to mention \u2013 I asked what was in it). After asking our preferences, our waiter recommended a grilled fish (which we were relieved to learn was priced by weight, not portion) which he brought to us whole, then removed (almost all of) the bones so we wouldn\u2019t have to.\u00a0 We joked about the cats lurking about, hoping for us to drop a piece of fish. (Our waiter told us they get the bones, later.) Over his protests that it might be too much food, we decided to add calamari. When we had (mostly) finished our meal, baklava appeared for dessert, \u201con the house,\u201d which is a pleasant surprise in much of Greece. Of course we found room, it would have been rude not to.<\/p>\n

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Poseidon is lit up at night<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We walked back to the hotel, admiring the view of the temple lit up at night. The bed was comfortable and the sound of water lapping the beach from the open door was soothing, making sleep come easily. The morning greeted us with gulls calling and dogs barking in the distance. Breakfast was an extensive buffet, including hot choices as well as yogurt and spoon sweets, breads and cakes, meats and cheeses. A Nescafe machine produced coffee that was surprisingly good (unlike experiences with Nescafe here).<\/p>\n

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A nice view to wake up to<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"\"We set off to visit Poseidon, via a trail from the hotel parking lot (which allowed us to leave our car there, rather than struggling to find a spot around the buses). The walk was an interesting one – the terrain changed from grass to rocks to lava rock and we encountered a bit of looped barbed wire adjacent to the Temple property along the fork of the trail we chose to take.<\/p>\n