In the morning, we boarded a hydrofoil that took us to Piraeus, a suburb of Athens. We were very pleased that the two hour boat  ride was so smooth. From Piraeus, a bus took us to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, the home of of many art treasures made of marble, bronze, and gold, that were truly amazing. Once again, our guide was Mama Faye, whose knowledge of every artifact in the museum was astounding.Some of the museum’s highlights were: the original apocryphal Mask of Agamemnon (ca 1,550 BC), an ancient safety pin (year unknown), statue of either Zeus or Poseidon (ca 460 BC), the Artemision Jockey (ca 140 BC), statue of a woman from the classical period of sculpture (ca 400 BC), the Antikythera Mechanism—the most complex instrument built in ancient times (ca 150–100 BC), the gold Vapheio Cup—showing a charging bull (ca 1,500 BC), the Athena Varvakeion— a replica of a statue that once stood in the Parthenon (ca 250 AD), the Kourous from Sounion—an idealized young man (600 BC), and the Dipylon Vase—painted with a funeral scene (ca 750 BC).

After the tour, we got together for a group photo before heading back to our original hotel for our last night in Athens. We were free for the afternoon, but there would be a final dinner together. Angelos knew the owner of the restaurant, but because he has a business that provides walking tours throughout Athens, he knew many of the locals.  The dinner: wine, bread with butter or olive oil, and then  a few appetizers (shrimp, a spinach dish that was sort of a decomposed spanakopita, and a croquette). The main course was a choice of chicken, fish, or osso bucco. Nick’s fish was light and delicate, and my rich osso bucco melted in my mouth.  Each main course came with a sauce and a vegetable. Mine had slices of potato atop the marrow bone. Dessert was yogurt topped with caramel. All of that was more food than I could finish.

We walked back to our hotel, saying goodnight to each other, and to Angelos. We would say good-bye the next morning.

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