In the morning, Kate
took Flora out to a variety of pet shops to stock up on cat food and
kitty litter. Then, after lunch, we put our new-found local knowledge
to good use with an excursion into Ermoupolis – parking the car at
the Carrefour and catching the free bus into town. As is so often the
case when you're catching public transport into a new city, we kept
fretting about when to get off, but as is also so often the case, it
was blatantly obvious – the bus eventually arriving in the city's
main square.
Ermoupolis itself
was lovely – narrow, shady pedestrianised lanes with sweet cafes
and restaurants and some of the most impressive old bougainvilleas I've ever seen, and quiet streets lined with some surprisingly
up-market shops. We wandered around for a while, taking in the
sights, which included a nice wine shop. I got to chatting with the
owner and asked him to recommend a couple of Greek wines – one
white and one red. The white, from Santorini, was nice enough, but
unremarkable. The red, from Nemea, was much more interesting and I've
since discovered a very drinkable and reasonably priced supermarket
red from the same region that has become our house wine.
After while, we
stopped for a coffee on the waterfront. Ermoupolis is where the port
is situated, along with the shipyards that were the island's making
and, for a long time, its lifeblood. Both are placed right in the
heart of the city, which gives the waterfront a slightly industrial
feel – although not unpleasantly so.
No comments:
Post a Comment