Yesterday was a blogging holiday. We didn’t budge off the ship in Athens. It was HOT, like 110 degrees hot, so we vegged. It was nice, but not too much to say about it.

Today it was just as hot but we were in Nafplio and I wanted to see it. It’s a port town that was the capital of Greece (1829-1833) before Athens was the capital of Greece, it’s been conquered by everyone under the sun so there is lots of interesting architecture, and it’s a lovely place to visit. 

Nafplion is one of the most gorgeous towns I have seen. The bougainville are in bloom all over and the buildings are lovely, there are castles up in the hills, and the water around it is blue, blue, blue. 

But, it was 110 degrees so we weren’t about to climb 80 steps to any castle, no matter how picturesque. The plan was to go in, eat lunch, and get out. Trouble is, we reckoned without the town’s charm. 

The first snag to a hit and run plan was the boutiques. There are lots and they carry Greek-made clothes that are just the type I like to wear. I confined myself to one dress, but it was hard. Still chastened by my exorbitant glass purchase in Murano though. 

The second was that we found a fabulous pastry shop (air conditioned!!) where they were making home made baklava and other good things. Decided to go back after lunch and get a selection. 

And then there was lunch. We decided to try To Omorfo Tavernaki, down a side street off the main boulevard. They had three fans pointed at us as we sat outside but it was still HOT. Blowing hot air around does not necessarily cool things down. 

But the food was fantastic. Huge rolls, almost brioche-like with their eggy sweetness, split and drizzled with herby olive oil. A trio of spreads — tzatziki, eggplant, and spicy cheese. Fabulous saganaki. A giant cheese pie made with homemade filo, feta and myzithra cheese. Meatballs for Jerry. And zucchini fritters with mint.  

It was so, so good. We ate a fraction of it because the heat was unbearable and my stomach was too full of iced water to allow much room for food. But good lord it was delicious. And when we asked for the check it came out with a plate of the best fruit I’ve ever eaten — perfectly ripe watermelon and honey dew, and fat sweet cherries. 

We left and strolled down a street to the pastry shop only to realize I’d left the bag with my dress sitting by my chair. I ran back to get it and then ran back to Jerry and it occurred to me as I almost stroked out that running on a full stomach in the heat was probably dumb. But I saved my dress. 

The bakery shop was delightful and not just because it was air conditioned. They had all kinds of sweet and wonderful things including pastries, cookies, breads baked right there. Also Greek olives and tapenade and other treats. We forced ourselves out the door and toted our heavy purchases back to the ship’s tender. 
We didn’t have to wait for it, but even with windows open it was too damn hot. I was seeing spots and seriously about to faint before I got myself back to the ship. We stumbled down the hall, fell on the bed and looked up the symptoms of heat stroke. Fortunately we didn’t have them. By the time we cooled down we’d fallen asleep. For two hours. Woke up freezing in the air conditioning. 

That kind of day. 

Tonight was formal night on the ship — the last of the cruise. I had a new dress that I’d had made in Bloomington from silk I bought in India, but honestly, we were still too full to eat down in the restaurant and it still felt too hot to get dressed up. 

So we skipped it. Put on light and breezy casual clothes and headed to our favorite table on the Patio, out of the sun and full on in the breeze. It was perfect. 

I had my lime mint drink and Jerry had a vodka martini with caviar. Happy boy. My starter was linguini with rock shrimp which is spicy and excellent, although I am pretty sure they are just regular shrimp. 

The night’s theme on the Patio was Surf and Turf — a big filet mignon and a colossal Nigerian shrimp. Jerry had that; I had the surf and surf. The giant crustaceans were amazingly good — sweet and meaty. You had to wrestle them out of the shell. More lobster-like than shrimp-like but wonderful. 

The air outside was too beautiful to leave. We ate some dessert — a lovely thing that tasted like panna cotta would taste if it were made with triple cream, served with orange confit. I popped a couple of additional pig pills and ate half. When I went up to look at the desserts I had a Marilyn Monroe moment with my dress and the wind. Pretty embarrassing but at least I was wearing underwear. 😜

Jer had a cappuccino just to stretch the evening out. Then we wandered back here and are ready to sack out. I am typing this on my phone in a tub full of bubbles. What more could a girl ask?