Valentine's Day began with me getting a Valentine e-mail from my wife. She normally stays up later than me, so last night after I went to bed she sent me an e-card. I usually get up first and check my e-mail (how sad is that?). Kim had also bought a mold so she could make heart-shaped omeletes for breakfast.

After eating and cleaning up, we got some grocery shopping done (stores are closed on Sunday - needed to stock up) then jumped on the tram to head downtown. A note about the tram: it's incredibly convenient, but not terribly fast. Our trip downtown - about 6 km, takes 35-40 minutes.

The plan was to do more walking around, with a goal of eating after 2 p.m. when a particular eatery in Plaka opened. We started out by stopping off at the Tourist Information office. In Europe they're clearly identified and usually conveniently located. It was unusual that we were in country this long and still hadn't visited it. I attribute it to the fact that we had both Matta and Martha providing us with tourism information, not to mention the maps and information Fulbright provided. When we entered the info office, I immediately remembered the office in Macerata. I was always surprised that the people who worked there never seemed very happy. The two people behind the desk were not really interested in talking. We just picked up a couple of brochures and headed out.

This time it seems we entered the Plaka from the more "normal" entry point. Not only did it look more picturesque (by that I mean "suited to tourism") but we also had to run the gamut among all the restaurateurs trying to talk you into stopping into their establishment. Many of the places looked very tempting, and I'm sure we'll go back to one or two in the future, but today I had a mission. I had read about Damigos, a traditional eatery (dating to the 1860s) known for its fried cod. The restaurant was actually below street level (some might say "basement," but there were stairs down from the street). Unlike the other restaurants, this place had no one standing outside with a menu trying to coerce customers. Although the staff spoke English, we were the only English-speaking patrons. I was going for authentic, and I really believe I got it.

This was our Valentine's dinner out, so we splurged. Got a salad (no lettuce - just tomatoes, onions, olives, feta and cucumbers), fried cheese, falafel and the house wine. We split main courses of the fried cod and grilled swordfish. The waiter kindly tried to teach us the Greek words each time he brought out a course.

After lunch (hard to call it "lunch" when you finish eating after 3 p.m.) we continued our walk, just looking at things and stopping occasionally. We still have a lot of time here, so neither of us has been anxious to start buying souvenirs. I can tell you there were plenty available. But, when I do buy, I'm going to buy from places where the prices are marked. I know you can dicker but I prefer not to. As much as I like to talk about getting into the local culture, there are some things I'm just not equipped to do.

Plaka is just down from the Acropolis and from time to time you can catch a glipse of it. We know the spot on the tram ride into downtown when it becomes visible, and there's even a spot or two in our neighborhood where you can see it.



Don't just look at the top of the hill, but look at how they've pruned the trees in the foreground.

Here's Kim's artistic picture. The reflection of the Acropolis is in the glass wall of the museum below. It came out pretty cool.

Our poor landlords aren't going to make a nickel on us while we're here. When we got back from downtown, Kim switched on a burner for tea and it tripped the main circuit breaker. Turned it back on, same thing happened. It doesn't happen with the other burners. Kim called Martha and told her, and Martha will get an electrician to check it out.

Today's Greek news update: There is a heated discussion about the prospect of an early election. The two major parties, Pasok and New Democracy, are at odds over whether to change the system of allocating seats for members of parliament. Current rules divide 260 of the 300 seats proportionately based on votes. The remaining 40 seats are a "bonus" to the party with the most votes. The proposal is to increase that to 50 bonus seats, and 250 divided.