March 8th, 2026

We had no plans for today except to get to the area by the acropolis and eat lunch in town. Viking had a shuttle into town that started at 8am and the last shuttle back to the boat was 4pm. Since it was Sunday we knew it would be a later visit to town since most things don’t open until 10. We got the 9am shuttle but there was a little confusion since they were doing a 1/2 marathon in Athens this am and a lot of the streets were closed.

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There were over 30,000 runners including those doing the half marathon, 5k and family run. Lots of people cheering and bands playing. It was a big event. Sine the race was happening the bus could not drop us off in our usual spot so we were a little unsure where we were in relation to where we like to go. We figured the best way to get our bearings was to head up towards the acropolis.

We did not go al l the way up since we have been here more than once but aways nice to see the Parthenon atop the acropolis. Once we got up there we started back down and found the area we were looking for.

More ruins in the center of the city.

We had lunch in a little place we have eaten at before and we sat on the rooftop which had a nice view. The weather has been cool but in the bright sunshine it got hot quick.

All the colorful eateries and outside dining.

We spent a little time walking the streets and I managed to find a cool pair of shoes that I don’t need but bought anyway. We also made it back to our favorite jewelry store where we always manage to find something and we both got an enamel ring.

We made it back for the 2pm shuttle which gave us a little time to rest and then get ready for cocktails in the owner’ suite, hosted by the Huffs 🙂

We ate in the Chef’s Table where they have a fixed menu and wine pairing for every course. Usually we don’t eat at the Chef’s Table much because they have very few vegetarian options and a lot of the time the food is too fancy for my taste.. The good news is that they have now started to add some vegetarian options and they have only amended this menu but this one had great choices for everyone.

The dish on the left is a beet stuffed with spices and impossible meat. The dish on the right is a vert nicely seasoned cauliflower steak with a flavored foam. The cauliflower steak was great and I told Kathy if we can get the recipe I would be happy to have this at home.

After dinner we ran up to do 2 loads of laundry while everyone was at the show. When we were done with laundry we went down to the nightclub, Torshaven, and caught up with Aaron who showed us pictures of his 2 kids and caught us up on how he was doing.

Kathy had to get Aaron’s “Kathy Special” which is a double Aperol Spritz and I got Khalua and cream. We took a selfie with Aaron.

We are sailing to Santorini and the good news is we will be the only ship in port. We have been in Santorini when there have been 6 ships in port and it is just too crowded. Luckily the season has not really started yet so we should get lucky.