Searching For Elusive Bakery Amid Winding Streets of Athens
Day 105, 2025 Grand World Voyage
Saturday, April 19, 2025; Piraeus/Athens, Greece.
I had one goal today in Athens – to discover the small bakery I visited with my friend Deb last fall on a walking food tour. It was our first stop, and we sampled the most delicious ring-shaped bread generously encrusted with sesame seeds. Deb was flying into Athens today to rejoin the ship, and I was prepared with a Ziplok bag to take samples back to greet her.
We were warned that taxis might be hard to come by on this day before Easter (and the Greek Orthodox Easter), so I booked a $60 ship transfer to central Athens from the cruise pier in the harbor city of Piraeus. It would give me three hours on my own.
Through the miracle of modern smartphones, the photo I took of the bakery treat last November identified the spot.
So armed with the photo and my phone map app I set off for the mile walk.
But when I arrived, I only saw mostly shuttered storefronts and no bakery. I walked the block, and found a small passageway whose tile floor and granite walls seemed to match those in my photo. Nothing was open, or even seemingly still in business.
Disappointed, I headed back down the street, figuring surely there were other bakeries selling the same bread ring. (I later learned they are everywhere, even a few blocks from the ship’s pier.)
And suddenly I saw three young women walking ahead holding paper bags with the same logo as mine in the photo. I stopped them, and after ascertaining that they spoke English, asked where they purchased their bread. They looked rather surprised, and pointed, saying, “right there, on the corner.”
And there, facing a side street, was the bakery – same name, same bread products, but not the same storefront, window display or tiled sidewalk.
When the sales clerk offered to help me, I asked her if they had moved, or had another nearby location. She looked confused and said no. So, I may never solve the mystery of the changes since the five-month-old photo.
Still perplexed, I made my purchases, texted Deb that I had scored the treats and set off to further explore the Plaka and Monastiraki Square areas of Athens.
It’s quite the tourist area, with ample shops and cafes sitting under the shadow of the Acropolis, with its Parthenon, Old Temple of Athena and Temple of Athena Nike, among other archaeological remains.
Not surprisingly, I guess, I ran into friends from the ship, and found a café where I enjoyed a cup of Greek coffee and my koulouri, as I later learned the bread roll with sesame seeds is called.
Back on the ship, I spent the afternoon catching up with friends who joined the cruise for this final 20-day segment. In addition to Deb and her sister, fellow blogger Pete (www.theinsidecabin.com) and his wife Judy are here for our upcoming stop in Barcelona, where the Volendam will join us for an overnight visit. My sisters are among many friends on the Volendam for its Grand Pole-to-Pole cruise, and I’m looking forward to seeing them.
With about 300 passengers joining us today, Capt. Frank welcoming everyone from the World Stage tonight and introduced many of the senior staff.
