Elle Takes Europe 2026 - Day 14: Greek Friends
We’ve been focused on making sure, as we get closer to the end of the trip, that we allow Elle more time to explore and let off some energy. We let Elle sleep in as late as possible and made our way down to breakfast. None of us really felt like a big breakfast, so we got a light breakfast and then headed out. We are all burned out on hotel breakfasts. Our first stop was Starbucks. Jenn wanted to get her Athens mug, and while we were there, she grabbed some pancakes for Elle and a hot chocolate for her. She also scored a few other Starbucks mugs we were missing from places we’ve been, like Mykonos, Crete, and Rhodes.
With the four new coffee mugs in hand, we made our way towards the National Garden. Jenn did some research last night and read that it was the perfect place to take a 2-year-old on a hot day. It was great advice, and it was only a few-minute walk from Starbucks. For the first twenty to thirty minutes, we let Elle lead the way and slowly made our way through. Eventually, she got tired, and we put her back in the stroller and headed to the playground. We got lost a few times but eventually made it. The playground was massive, with a lot of school-age kids (like summer camp) swarming the area. We initially took Elle to the toddler section and took turns taking her around the park. Eventually, I pushed her on the swings and then let her ride the wooden horse. She was having a blast when a little girl (likely 5 or 6) got on the horse next to her. Elle said “hi”, the little girl said “hi”, and she ran off to a nearby wooden house. Elle asked to go to the house, and for the next 30 minutes, Elle played with her and a bunch of other kids while Jenn and I nervously watched on. All the kids were fascinated by her, even though Elle likely only mentioned her age and full name a few times. She also gave a lot of them hugs. During the whole time, we were absolutely helicopter parents. We’d do quick walk-bys, and Jenn eventually went over there and had full-blown conversations with the kids, who all wanted to practice their English. We left at noon, grabbed Elle a quick cheeseburger at McDonald's, and grabbed a taxi back to our hotel.
Today was all about giving Elle time to rest, and she got a great nap in. After her nap, we played around in the hotel room, started to do some light packing, and then walked to our final destination in Athens, Fine Mess. This will be our first and only Michelin Guide and tasting menu of the trip. It's an American-style BBQ restaurant with a very limited à la carte and tasting menu, and it was only a few-minute walk (straight up hill) from our hotel. When we arrived, and for 99% of our visit, we were the only ones there. Jenn got a glass of sparkling rosé, and I had an old-fashioned. We started with their smoked-tuna beignet, then had turkey pastrami, stracciatella, and Texas toast. We gave Elle tastes of everything, but outside of the buttered pasta we got her (which she mostly played with), she didn’t eat much. We then moved on to the seafood portion of the dinner with mussels and crab, and finished up with three meat courses: pork cheeks, short rib, and rabbit. For dessert, we had a phenomenal pavlova. Elle did great for most of the dinner, and the staff interacted with her throughout.
After dinner, we walked back to our hotel, packed up our bags, and got ready for yet another early morning Airport transfer. It was nice having such a light day, and I hope that sets us up well as we get ready for our final stop tomorrow, Crete.
