july / 2019

kai: in greece, jumping off boats, feeding stray cats, learning to water-ski, eating copious amounts of slouvaki and greek salad, swimming in the bluest waters.

travelogue: athens, greece

my lovely and generous greek friend despina not only lent us her apartment in gylfada, an athens suburb near the airport, but upon our arrival she cooked us a delicious greek meal. the lamb, which i always avoided eating, was so delicious, i couldn't eat enough. and, the dakosalata was eye rolling good too. we used her apartment on our arrival and departure days. in between, we stayed at her friend's airbnb closer to the city. they were blissful days.

we didn't have any agenda, other than to see the acropolis, so we winged it each morning and made a rough plan based on where stefan wanted to have his coffee and we worked our way around that.

athens was a surprise. aside from its cultural sites, there are great restaurants and cafes, shopping streets and neighbourhoods to explore. most importantly, the people are incredibly friendly, open, kind, and approachable. 

and then there was the heat! high 30s for the entire time we were in athens, crazy hot.

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first up, anafiotika, located just below the acropolis, has a greek island vibe to it with its whitewashed houses, minuscule lanes, courtyards and balconies blooming with jasmine and roses. plaka, anafiotika's neighbour is a hilly and cute but touristy neighbourhood. we visited peek a bloom for coffee/tea. 

we walked to syntagma square to gawk at the guards - elite military guards wearing the skirt-like foustanella and pompom shoes- at the hellenic parliament.

just a few minutes walk from the square, you'll find cherchez la femme where we ate really good greek food, no exaggeration. and the space was really pretty too. in the same area, on a different day, we lunched at ergon house, a food market, restaurant and hotel in a bright open space.

shops of note include paraphernalia, a plant and homeware boutique. i still think about the cat vase i didn't buy. i had my eye out for a necklace and while i saw some lovely ones, they weren't quite right until i walked into marco bicego. he created exactly what i had been looking for - thank you stefan :) 

in the monastiraki area, we passed by the stoa of attalos and visited the temple of olympian of zeus which is located right in the middle of centre, you can't miss it. only 15 columns remain and what magnificent columns they are - 17 metres high and 1.7 metres in diameter.

however, my favourite cultural site was the agora of athens... the heart of ancient athen's civic life and birthplace of democracy. the expansive space includes sculptures, lots of greenery, and the temple of hephaestus which is the best preserved historical site in all of athens. and you'll find cats roaming around or lounging in the sun.

visible from almost anywhere in the city, we were happy to finally visit the acropolis up close, wowing us with its architecture and history. 

an ancient city that spared no expense using the best materials, sculptors and artists was reduced to ashes then transformed to a city of temples. it was also occupied by foreigners who pilfered and attacked. the worst was in 1687, when the venetians attacked the turks, opening fire on the acropolis causing an explosion in the parthenon where the turks had stored gunpowder and damaged all the buildings. quite the remarkable story!

despite our very early arrival, first thing in the morning, the crowds persisted but we managed to enjoy our time there. glorious temples with so much history!

to get some reprieve from the crazy heat, we ducked into the national historical museum. it was a surprise to see, right in front of us, the original constitution of greece. and, touching to see the personal belongings of important greek heroes. after much thought and fun, we decided a glass case representing stefan would include his computer, coffee equipment, collection of watches, lobellos, and a picture of loki :)

nearby, we visited yet another cafe on stefan's list, two sips and two bites cafe. the staff is incredibly friendly, happy to chat. we received a shot of ouzo and some snacks for the table free of charge. the greek yogurt, tahini, and berry cup was literally the best yogurt i have ever had. i always thought i was someone who didn't like tahini but am a huge fan now.

two of our dinners were enjoyed in our airbnb neighbourhood, kipseli, just north of the downtown core. kipseli was once the place to be back in the day but not so much nowadays. it's a bit rundown, very dense and busy yet the areas recommended to us for dinner were genuinely beautiful communities. i love the athenians sense of community and taking the time for one another in the evening. it was heart-warming. 

negri fokionos square is just so lovely. families and their dogs come out for their passagiata. lots and lots of dogs happily off leash in the dog park and the big dog statue taking center stage tells us that the kypselians love their dogs. the park is surrounded by cafes and restaurants with tables and chairs spilling outdoors. we had a simple and satisfying greek salad and souvlaki dinner.

platia agiou georgiou is dominated by a great big church with kids sitting on its step eating gelato, families and friends sitting on benches or taking a stroll. my seafood pasta dish recommended by the waiter at kybélē was perfect. it was here that the waiter put down not two but three shots of tsipouro much to our surprise and especially kai who looks at me and then before i can say anything, downs his shot... we couldn't help but laugh out loud ;)

each night, we ended up at max perry for ice cream bars - thank you despina for introducing them to us!

in the thiseio neighbourhood, we started at the underdog cafe for breakfast. it's a spacious spot and according to my boys they serve really good coffee. speaking of my boys, they didn't get very far afterwords. it was just so hot, they spent their time in the museum herakleidon, dedicated to the technology and engineering feats of the ancient greek civilization. they highly recommend a visit!

i, on the other hand, strolled the streets, hiking a hill for a final view of the acropolis and city, taking photos along the way.

once reunited, we ate at the souvlaki bar, with the friendliest owner and once again, really good souvlaki. 

back in gylfada, with despina and her daughter, we made like the athenians and went to the coast. instead of the beach, we headed to vouliagmenti lake for a swim. the thermal waters are swimmable year round, plus there are sunbeds and garra rufa fish to nibble on your toes.

for dinner the go to area is konstantinoupoleos street by the harbour, a row of restaurants and bars line the street making for a lively atmosphere. despina ordered a table full of food which we happily devoured while chatting and laughing. thank you my friend.

so happy to have finally visited athens, spending time with despina and knowing we'll definitely be back (everyone tells us we have to visit the acropolis museum).  

next up on the blog, lemnos island for more greek adventures.