(Spata, Attica, Greece)

March 14 was our last full day in Greece. As our flight from Heraklion to Athens didn’t leave until late afternoon, we had one final opportunity to experience the Cretan city that had been home for 8 days. We covered a lot of terrain, and worked up quite an appetite. We chose to go for lunch at a restaurant that had a menu similar to Xalali. Or so we thought…

So, it turned out that there were actually two restaurants right beside each other. Once we were seated at “The Fifty” (see photo at the very top of this post), it occurred to us that we were in a trendier restaurant than anticipated. The menu seemed a little less “local” than I had hoped. But they offered moussaka as an appetizer, and we had not yet had any moussaka in Greece.

It may have been an “appetizer“, but we each struggled to finish it. Whether or not it was authentic, we both enjoyed it. As we only had appetizers and some bottled water, we weren’t expecting to get the usual free dessert and raki. But this is Crete, so we received a frankly spectacular free dessert, as you can see from the photo. And raki, of course.

The flight back to Athens was barely half an hour. As we had a flight in the morning, we stayed in the somewhat anonymous town of Spata (not Sparta) near the airport. Dinner options were few, so we ended up at a local pizzeria. But even here, we saw a stunning church…a final surprise from a country that we hadn’t really planned to visit.

And for an airport hotel, the Stone Palace Hotel certainly tried to create a classy facade (see photo below). We enjoyed the complimentary airport shuttle, and an above-average breakfast at the airport. Our direct flight to Montreal was uneventful, and we transferred smoothly to the train back to Kingston.

This is the last “on the road” post about Greece. But I have some bonus photos from our visit to the Acropolis, as well as some thoughts on the trip as a whole. Watch this space!