Bytes to Digest

Today’s post includes some of my favorite Acropolis photos and a link to Sue’s wonderful low sodium Greek Potato Salad.

We recently toured with some folks who mentioned that they let their stomachs choose their travel destinations.  If this is the case, Greece is surely on the top of our list!  We highly recommend making Sue’s Delicious Greek Potato Salad Recipe – or continue to scroll down and feed your wanderlust with our Acropolis photos.  We hit a rare day, with not many tourists around!

(P.S. my on-the-road, on-the-fly cropping job does not do Sue’s delicious salad justice!)

Next stop on our Greek festival is the Acropolis (Athens, Greece).

If you hit it early in the morning (or travel during low season as we often do), you might luck out and have an opportunity to wander around the Acropolis virtually tourist free.  It’s quite an experience to have [almost] the entire place to yourself, actually.

Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Athens, Greece

Sometimes referred to as “the “Herodeon”, its’ still very much a working structure. You can buy tickets to shows via Greek Festival* [but guaranteed, the joint won't be empty, as pictured above].

Parthenon - backside view (Acropolis without other tourists, can you imagine? It was simply sublime)

Old Temple of Athena / Erechtheion (Acropolis) Athens, Greece

*we have no affiliation with this site

Temple of Poseidon at Soúnio, Greece

First Stop, the Temple of Poseidon at Soúnio [also spelled Sounion].

Soúnio is a quick day trip from central Athens.  The scenery is just simply gorgeous, and extends the whole way down the coast.  The highway route has decent signage coming out of Athens, though if you’re not watching carefully towards the entrance to the Temple of Poseidon, the turnoff to the actual temple site can be easily missed.

On the way to Soúnio, Greece

Plaki Recipe – Sue Tweeton (Please Don’t Pass the Salt)

Greek island food – who needs to say anything more.  Here’s a link to Sue’s delicious low sodium  Plaki (Greek Baked Fish) Recipe

 Athens Area Accommodation Suggestion

While in Athens, we stayed in Vouliagmeni (about 20 minutes outside central Athens) at the Westin Astir Palace.  (And, no this is not an advertising plug – I’ve “earned” Starwood Lifetime Gold status [read: via my non blogging day job].  We tend to stay at Starwood properties when we’re on vacation because we can use our frequent guest points).

The Westin is close by to the suburb of Glyfada (read: good shopping and restaurants) and has a Nobu restaurant onsite (not low sodium, don’t worry, we didn’t eat there because we wanted to eat authentic Greek food).  Coincidentally, they have a great little shuttle bus so you’re not forced to drive into downtown Athens.

We often travel in the off season — so for us, Vouliagmeni provided us with the island feel without having to deal with the added plane segments (you can see the water view and the “island” feel in the background out our hotel window.  Another added bonus about staying in Vouliagmeni  – if you are at all concerned about potential disruption from the demonstrations or uprisings, you’d never guess that any civil unrest was going on all the way out there….) We highly recommend the Westin Astir Palace.

About Vouliagmeni / Renting Cars

Vouliagmeni is an exceptional “launching point”: it’s easily accessible from the airport and is just outside the city limits — far enough away from the daily “mosh” to allow you to feel like you’re on a Greek Island (and it’s mostly out of harms reach.)  The added bonus: you can squeeze in a little more practice time driving the rental car before you have to head into town and get completely crushed. (Just kidding.  Actually, driving around in Greece* wasn’t that bad...

…but having said this, Greece it is a country where I get the full insurance on the car (i.e., we make sure we have full comprehensive converge which includes personal liability insurance, because quite often the credit cards only cover the car and our US based car insurance package doesn’t extend personal liability benefits overseas.  This is a small but important gap that can be easily missed in the rush to get out of the car rental terminal).

“Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns
driven time and again off course, once he had plundered
the hallowed heights of Troy…” – The Odyssey

We’ve got some fun news!  Over the coming month, we’ll be collaborating with some of our low sodium friends to celebrate a month-long Greek festival – delicious summertime recipes, travel stories, photos, and a really yummy Greek themed giveaway!

Just in case you want to jump start our Greek culinary adventure, consider picking up some fresh figs at your local farmer’s market.  Last summer, we created a quick-reference fig variety guide  Which Varieties? Fig-ure it out!

We also put together a really simple and elegant Fresh Figs, Mascarpone Cheese, Honey & Walnuts Recipe.

Keep posted, our next low sodium travel and food adventure is just around the corner…

On a peaceful Sunday morning, we found ourselves pulling up to the curb in a still-sleeping Noe Valley neighborhood.  Shopkeepers were just starting to open their doors to let the San Francisco sunlight stream in.  A mist of water freshened up the neighborhood, tiny sparkles of light shimmered against the flowers, plants and sidewalks creating mesmerizing fractal patterns.  During normal service hours, the Spanish and Catalan restaurant, Contigo, bursts with flavor and activity…but in the early hours of the morning, all was quiet on the western front. A stirring from the dark confines of the back room exposed some life – there he stood, our Rembrandt of food photography, Andrew Scrivani.  Andrew is widely known for shooting, styling, and writing about food at the New York Times.  Last weekend, the stars aligned and I booked myself into one his wayfaring workshops.

One by one, our small class of eight slowly straggled in; several professional food writers, the rest (of us) were enthusiastic food bloggers juggling day jobs (including one very stealthy, incognito food blogger who remains nameless on the web).  Collectively, we were united by a love for food.  For hours, Andrew imparted his wisdom – what elements make up a good food photo, equipment he uses, light angles create interesting compositions; throughout the morning he shared his knowledge, his incredible insight, and his life’s lessons learned.  Captivated, we soaked up every word.  Our questions kept him on his toes.  Next, we were set loose on the restaurant and the fun continued with a little one-on-one mentorship.  Together, Andrew and Contigo had set the stage; our inspiration shaped our composition and mood.

Like a shotgun that signals the start of a race, lunch was served and shutters began to fly. I navigate the jungle on a daily basis, so rather than heading directly into the race pack, I stood back, asked questions, and practiced.  As I focused my efforts on the “step-child” food subject  (a gooey, quite delicious, and somewhat awkward to shoot vegetarian curry-type of dish), I was reminded of a particularly applicable life’s lesson: the process of failure eventually leads to success.

Overall, my photography subjects and (as you can see my) outtakes were somewhat random, but the learning opportunity was immense.  To me, photography lessons provide a rare opportunity to peer into someone’s soul, to ask questions, and for a brief moment, share the consciousness of a true master artisan. No two people will ever see the world from the same vantage point – so to feel and experience life and art how a Rembrandt does…well, that enlightenment is priceless.   Most certainly for days and rare opportunities like these, it is all about the journey and not about the destination.

Inspired? You can follow Andrew’s personal blog, making SundaySauce, or (I highly recommend) catch up with him in person. He’ll be leading a half-day photography workshop at Foodista’s International Food Blogger’s Conference this August (24-26th) in Portland, Oregon.