Today was a real tourism day.

Last night Mark and Martha called to say that today's weather ought to be nice, and we ought to take advantage of it to go on a little excursion. They picked us up around 10 this morning and we drove out of Athens. If you take a look at this map (click on it to enlarge) you can see our path. We drove northwest from Athens on to the Peleponnese Peninsula, then south along the coast. You'll see "Epidavros" twice. The one further north is Nea (New) Epidavros. We went to the village south of that, Archaia (Ancient) Epidavros.

The first hour was motorway - fast and broad.

The last hour was winding two-lane through the rough landscape - still fast to my way of thinking. Before driving down to the coast we stopped for coffee at a very scenic cafe in the hills above the town. This is a drive Mark and Martha make regularly and they almost always stop at this place. It was definitely spectacular to sit out on the back terrace and look out while having espresso.

After our little break we drove down to the waterline. We stopped at a hotel (closed until Easter) to walk along the shore. Kim picked up some rocks (there's no way our luggage will make the weight limit going home). We drove some more around the little village. The streets were so narrow that if we encountered anyone coming the other way, one of us would have to back up to an intersection or driveway so there was enough room to pass.

We went down one very narrow street to reach a secluded vacation house of Melina Mercouri,

the famous Greek actress who died in 1994. It was a modernistic home in the 1950s.

We had "lunch" in the village. Once again, understand that lunch was after 2 p.m. Mark and Martha worried that the place they wanted to eat might not be open (too early) but fortunately it was. They had menus, but rather than give them to us, they took us behind the counter to show us what was prepared. I was quite happy to let Mark choose a selection of appetizers including cheese pie, eggplant with feta, pickled red pepper, dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) and black-eyed peas with onions. For main course, Kim and I both had octopus in a tomato and olive oil sauce.

The restaurant's website, complete with menu, is here. They also have a slide show of the town in summer.

We walked a little after lunch to get some air before the drive back. Along the shore you could see hundreds of sea urchins just under the water. Anthony Bourdain would have a feast!

Then it was time to head back to Athens. We made it back shortly before 6 p.m. Got to enjoy good food, good company and some spectacular views.