Katakolon  (Olympia)

Moussaka!!!
Grilled octopus !!!!!
Saganaki !!!
Fried eggplant - all washed down with Alpha beer - yummo.

We chose not to join the throngs visiting the site of the Olympic torch lighting and instead strolled through the small township lining the port.  Locals touting their souvenirs, jewelry and of course the restaurants lining the waterfront gave us just sufficient enticement to stay in town.








The Africans carrying cases of cheap watches reminded me of New York and the guys wearing overcoats lined with jewelry and watches, gold one side, silver the other.  These guys didn't wear over coast of course, and the watches were less expensive in appearance.  It was amusing to see one tourist make a selection but as he was putting it on, the band snapped.  They all stood around trying to fix it !

The highlight of this day was the Chefs Dinner in the evening.  We'd elected to join just 20 people in the demonstration lounge for a six course meal with accompanying wines, hosted by chef Marc-Andre and the wine master, Frank Menzel. We met a fascinating couple from Norway - actually the wife is Polish, and they were both fluent in English.  Dinner started with Prosecco at 5:30pm, we sat down to our first course around 6 and we were still grazing at 10!

The chef is a young Canadian whose CV ranged from working in hotels, intimate restaurants and even a couple of years in Australia - Charlottes Pass and the Gold Coast.  His passion for experimenting with food and its presentation meant we had the absolute best night's dining on board.
Frank, the German wine master, matched some sensational wines with each course, so needless to say we had a brilliant night.  Good food, interesting conversation and great wines.


Some of what we tasted: caviar (actually I think it was just black roe similar to what we get in Aus.  Seared tuna, foie gras, veal tenderloin and tiramisu.  Wines were Italian Prosecco, NZ sav blanc, chardonnay from chile, riesling from Washington,  pommard from France.  Mmmmmmm