In the Plaka

Almost as soon as we entered the Plaka Tyler and I spied "Quick Pita". It looked a little like a Starbucks with a huge counter across one whole side of the store. Behind that was a gigantic menu with all kinds of selections. There were only a couple stools and high tables inside. It looked like it was primarily a take-out joint. We turned to leave then a guy asked us if we wanted to sit down. He directed us across the street to a nice outdoor patio area. Everyone ordered drinks but only Tyler and I ordered Gyros. They were huge, delicious and even better than our place back by the hotel. As we finished off our beers a little kid started playing his little harmonica by our table. When that didn't succeed in getting us to pass him a few bucks he tried to sell us the harmonica. Then he started begging us outright for money. It got kind of uncomfortable because our waiter didn't make any real effort in chasing the kid away. He just smiled at him and said a few words which the kid apparently ignored then he went back to annoying us. This was one of those times where I wished I had a photographer's or journalist's mind so I would have thought to take a photo of this obnoxious kid. Like most places in Europe this restaurant was in no hurry to bring us our bill. It might have been a nice relaxing time if this stupid kid wasn't bugging us. Finally we got our waiter's attention and the bill. Imagine our surprise when we found that our Gyros cost us almost $20 each! They were very good, but they weren't that good. After paying off the National debt of Greece, I mean the bill, we spent the next couple hours wandering in and out of the tiny shops in the Plaka. Again I wish I had taken some photos but at the time I didn't really feel a need to photograph a bunch of stores. Gail spent her shopping time looking for shoes and jewelry while the only item I was even considering buying and adding to my fully stuffed suitcase was one of those Pythagorean Cups that I didn't get the day before. We searched all day but I never found one. We saw quite a few intersting items including a lot of REAL antiques but nothing that knocked our socks off or brought our wallets out.