First Night in Greece, Piraeus Theoxenia Hotel

Piraeus Theoxenia Hotel

Our first night in Greece could have ended in disaster as it definitely started as nothing but a nightmare. We arrived, and took the hour long bus ride from the airport (which is in the middle of nowhere,) and get dropped off at the wrong stop. We arrive at our hotel after a questionable taxi ride, and instantly get sent to their "other building" to pay. In short they had overbooked, and did not tell us. The other building was a "sister hotel equal in quality," where we were now supposed to stay. They had us walking through the back streets in a not so good part of town as it was getting dark. It was sweltering out, and we were tired. The other hotel was horrible, and after a long argument with both hotels we ended up at the hotel above. This was our saving grace, they were nice, clean, and problem free.

After getting settled and figuring out how to get to our ferry then next morning (for which they made us sandwiches) we decided that it was time to eat. It was late and we were wiped out/still kinda rattled about earlier that night, so we headed downstairs to the hotel restaurant, Incognito Restaurant. When we arrived we were the only people there. We opened the menu and wondered if we were going to get food that had been sitting in the kitchen for a while since they were about to close, and didn't seem to have many customers that night. We ordered wine to start, which came generously poured, and continued to look over the menu.

We settled on two dishes. The first was prosciutto with Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, and fresh olive oil mixed with a vinegar.

The prosciutto was very fresh and light. There was no hint of the gamy tinge that you get with some prosciutto here. The olive oil and vinegar combination that they drizzled over the top of the dish was amazing. Greece is known for having good olive oil, and this was a testament to that. It was light and clean and complimented the other flavors in the dish very well. The Parmesan cheese was tasty too. It had the bold nutty and savory flavor that you want from Parmesan cheese, along with the crumbly and firm texture. The tomatoes were ripe and juicy almost mild compared to many others, and when put together in a bite with the cheese, prosciutto, and olive oil mix, you are introduced to so many complimentary flavors and textures that it delightful bite after bite.

It was after a couple of bites of that dish along with a couple sips of wine that the night seemed to calm down. The frustration from earlier, and the weariness from travel started to melt into the background as the meal and our new surrounding took a precedence.

I apologize for not having a picture of the main meal, but I had not gotten used to the idea of having a blog at that point, so I must admit there are some gaps in the photo coverage through some of Europe. We decided on a pasta, the type is escaping me at the moment, but it had a mushroom cream sauce and chicken. When it came out our worries of stale food were squashed. The pasta was cooked perfectly, the cream sauce was flavorful while not too heavy, and the chicken was seasoned and moist. The portion was huge, and the eating was good.

A good night by the time we made it to bed. A horrible start with a comforting ending. The stress of the day was eventually washed away by a kind staff, good food, and a couple glasses of wine.