Greek IKEA hotdogs

It was decided earlier in the week that Gareth and Abigail would come over for tea on saturday (last night) and then we would all go out drinking. Kyle said he would make a shepards pie and cauliflower cheese. Only problem was we had no knives, nothing to cook a shepards pie in and no gravy. We decided to head down to IKEA next to the airport because we knew we could get the utensils from there if nothing else. One very long metro ride later and we're at the airport, all we had to do now was figure out how to get across the very busy motorway to actually get in to IKEA. It turned out that a bus from the airport stops at IKEA.

We made it! It's just like the one at Gateshead, I walked in and said "it smells like home!", Kyle agreed with this statement, if I ever get homesick I will just come here for the day. The layout is a little different, but not a lot, at one point we thought that we should be in the North-East of England, but then spotted posters with Greek on them and got brought back to Athens. It was a fun trip out and they even did the hotdogs at the end, following age-old traditions in my family I was obliged to get one and also to see if they tasted the same. They were just as tasty, then I spotted the tins of ginger biscuits and had to buy a tin. Feels more like home now. Its amazing what a tin of IKEA biscuits can do. With our new purchases for the flat we headed for the bus stop. Got on the long bus didnt we. Didn't see anywhere to get off and jump on a metro along the way. We ended up on the other end of the metro line, how we got there without stopping at Syntagma I will never know.

The Airport is where IKEA is, where we were, and if you look at the red metro line at "Agios Dimitrios" thats were we ended up. By this point we were running very late to meet up with Abigail and Gareth and still did not have any gravy. But in the end we got back to Syntagma, and met up with them to take them to our flat. whilst waiting at the crossing we were all talking and this lady turns around to us and says "are you from England" Kyle said "yeah Newcastle" she replies with "oh excellent I'm from Sunderland" to which I shout up very excitedly "so am I, we're practically family!" laughing she asks me from what part, obviously pennywell, she lives in grindon. I was all very excited about this, and we start chatting to her, because shes the most sensible person we have had to talk to for a week, and we can understand her. She tells us that her daughter had done the Nursing Erasmus in Greek some years ago and loved it. we continued to chat until she was at her bus stop, we began to walk away when Kyle remembers something he wanted to ask her, as he runs back towards her I shout "ask about gravy!"

We still didn't find any gravy, so we improvised with stock cubes, the juices drained from, frying the mince and roasting the carrots. Kyle shouted at anyone who entered the kitchen without permission, I was allowed in to chop the onions, grate the cheese and help Abigail mash the potatoes. Abigail was allowed in to peel the potatoes. This was all done while Kyle was out of the kitchen and having cigarette on the balcony. The shepards pie and cauliflower cheese were to die for! it was so tasty.

After tea we all got ready to go out, putting make up on or changing clothes, etc. The first little bar we went to was really nice, Abigail and I had Cosmopolitans, the lads had beers. We had a second round in there, but we all had beers. After this we hopped in a taxi and went to a bar that the bartender who served us had recommended. It was all the way over at Lycavittos Hill. We tried to get into a few bars here but were told that you needed reservations, finally we found one that let in the likes of us. It was far too crowded, we left shortly after going in. Second bar we went into was alright, we sat outside for a while and then went inside and had some more beers.

We left at around half two in the morning and went back to our flat. Kyle and Gareth had one room, Kyles sofa is also a bed so Gareth slept there. My sofa on the other hand is not also a bed, so Abigail shared my bed because my sofa is way too small for someone to sleep on.

Overall a very good night and lots of fun.

Goodnight x