ATHENS

Hannah McDonald
Jul 3, 2023
10 min read

Morning in Athens

Given the very late night last night (remember Joelle and I’s flight saga…technical delays, no busses, no luggage…and Mom and Dad’s 33 hour travel day), we went to bed at 4:00am and some of us sleep until 11:00am while others sleep until 1:00pm (Dad). So, technically, our first morning in Athens is enjoyed from our cozy beds.

It is time to rally! We get ourselves ready (sunscreen and water are necessities…the UV index is 11… I thought the scale was out of 10) and make it out the door to the front step of our Airbnb. Holy smokes it is HOT. On the front step, everyone stands there, looking around—and keeps standing there and keeps looking around. No one moves. Well, we got out the door, but there is no plan. Last night, our cab driver said a pedestrian street was just up the road, so we decide to head in that direction, not sure what we will find.

Gelato

The pedestrian street is hopping, full of people, street vendors, and restaurants (offering fans outside and air conditioning inside, enticing a rest from the brutal sun). We wander a bit, trying to find our bearings, and when we look up, there it is: The Acropolis towering over the city on the mountain above. Joelle has put our Airbnb in an optimal location, once again. Some quick pictures are (of course) snapped, and then we continue wandering, wondering what else we will find.

There is no deficit of gelato around, and the intense heat makes the gelato highly appealing. Passing yet another stand, this one pulls us in for some mint lime and raspberry sorbet. It is delicious, with the best being a mint lime and raspberry combo (I steal a little off everyone’s scoops, and this is definitely not our last stop here).

The Roman Agora

It seems you are bound to stumble upon ruins as you walk through the city (or perhaps it is Joelle’s superb Airbnb placement). The first we find is The Roman Agora, where we buy tickets for many sites in the city including the Acropolis (apparently you do not want to buy your tickets at the Acropolis unless you enjoy waiting in long and hot lines).

Tall columns extend up, showing where The Roman Agora once stood, and a building holds up very well behind, with impressive figures detailed near the top (I am not sure what the building was). Next to it, bricks fill one of two archways, presumably to support it. The Roman Agora is where the commercial activities of Ancient Athens took place, when the ancient Agora’s central area was taken over by large buildings and there was not enough space for commerce.

Veganaki

Wandering back through the streets, we stumble upon a cute cafe in a courtyard serving drinks. We contemplate it, especially given the shade and fans, but it is a bit busy. So, Joelle pulls up the restaurants she found from a vegan food tour. She picks the one with the yummiest-looking menu, and we walk that direction.

Veganaki is on a busy street corner, but some trees and umbrellas make for a nice little patio. And, the entire menu is vegan and gluten-free! So many options—we are not used to picking. Fortunately, the appetizer platter allows us to be indecisive, including almost all the available appetizers. When it arrives, we realize it could be a meal on its own, full of many yummy dips, potatoes, and pita (the best gluten free pita I have ever had). Fairly full from the appetizers, we split two main courses: Pesto pizza on a sweet potato crust and Moussaka (a vegan and gluten free version of the traditional Greek dish). All delicious. Sadly, we are too stuffed for desserts (even though they are Hannah-friendly).

Acropolis

The plan for today is no plan. We are close enough to the Acropolis though, and it is past the heat of the day (although still quite hot). We decide to give the Acropolis a try, taking the pressure off tomorrow—in other words, another no plan needed day.

The Acropolis is on top of a mountain overlooking Athens, so we start climbing up until we find the ticket scanner. Many other sweaty tourists are also on their way into the Acropolis. We are no longer in Bulgaria where pictures without people are easy, rather than impossible (and highly lucky if captured). We even overhear a loud, disgruntled tourist having a “moment” yelling at the ticket-scanning employees (maybe it can be blamed on the heat?).

Moving up the trail behind the sea of tourists, The Theater of Dionysus comes into view. There appears to be sound check of sorts happening; the theater must be used still. It is much more impressive than the theater in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and has a beautiful view of the city behind it.

Continuing up the trail, we follow the line of tourists up to and through tall columns that seem to serve as an entrance. Once we pass, the Parthenon is front and center. It is being restored and has been for some time. The explosion caused by the bombardment during the 1687 siege crumpled the Parthenon. It was restored between 1900 and 1930, but the materials used caused serious damage to the ancient marble, resulting in structural problems. In 1983, restoration inventions began again, seeking to restore sections of the Parthenon to how they originally stood.

Next to the Acropolis is another building. I am not sure what this one is called, but it has more columns characteristic of the times. The roof of one section is held up by statues depicting six women, again with impressive detailing carved into it.

The view of Athens from above is quite amazing, and we take a break in the shade of the columns before exploring the slopes of the Acropolis (somewhat lost), ultimately descending back into the city. Pretty amazing sites to see.

Little Kook Dessert House

Following Joelle through the winding streets as she navigates us to a small grocery store, we stumble upon a street front decked out in decorations. They pop off the building and spill into the street, even extending to the other side of the street and an alley across the way. Then, we see people dressed in full costume. Everything is Alice in Wonderland themed. We have found the Little Kook Dessert House, a random storefront in the middle of Athens bustling with excited young kids and employees in full costume (they must be so HOT, even though the evenings once the sun goes behind the buildings are actually quite pleasant). I decide the name is fitting; this feels near “going full Kook” (any Outer Banks fans will get that one).

Mom decides we have to eat here, so we grab some items from a tiny local grocery store and make our way back to the Little Kook Dessert House. As we are getting a table, we see commotion down the street. There is a woman yelling and numerous restaurant characters, all jumping on the situation to deal with it. The waitress helping us quickly explains to us, “You do not understand because it is all in Greek but…” and continues to fill us in on all the drama. Apparently, the woman was begging for food from the restaurant patrons, and when the staff (Alice in Wonderland characters) asked her to leave, she started shouting and calling them liars. It is quite a sight to see the Mad Hatter and a man in a red heart suit “taking care of business.” We keep our eye on the happenings (even convincing dad to try to nonchalantly snap a photo for you all), and the entertainment reached its peak when two police officers arrived on motorcycles, and the man in the red heart suite explained the situation (see picture). You may think it would be hard to take the Mad Hatter and a man in a red heart suite seriously, but they get the job done. The only remnants of what happened where a pile of the woman’s stuff left on the street.

Little Kook Dessert House verdict: Dessert and service below average (they may have been a little pre-occupied); entertainment value high. Apparently, the owner picks a different theme each year; last year was Peter Pan.

The walk back to the Airbnb is lovely—such a nice temperature. This is the time of day to be out!

Happy Blender

Joelle and Dad are up and at it early this morning to get their run in before the heat sets in. They run the city streets, the city garden, and to the Olympic stadium (though they didn't run on the track because it requires a ticket). By the time they finish their run, the heat is setting in (8:00am), and just after, the tourist rush begins. They report back that the line to the Acropolis is massive this morning, stretching down the hill and through the street. That is a bummer for them—waking up early to miss the heat and the people and getting stuck in both. We are glad we went last night!

I wake up to exciting news: Mom found a vegan restaurant for breakfast! We get ready for the day (no plan again) and start walking over to the restaurant (it is HOT). The route is similar to the one we took back from the dessert house last night. We order some quinoa protein bowls and some “eggs”—vegan, of course (apparently it is a secret recipe and one of the ingredients is chickpeas). For a little treat, Mom goes to order some açaí bowls, and somehow, it turns into a whole thing. Since I cannot stand banana, she asks for the bowl to be made without banana (which I do all the time, and I eat a lot of açaí bowls). The woman is adamant that this cannot be done, not because the base is pre-made but because it might change the taste and result in customers not liking it. Mom suggests she substitute it for avocado to help maintain consistency, but she remains consistent in the fact that it cannot be done. Mom then decides not to get any bowls, and the woman quickly remarks, “they are our bestseller!” “Not if you don’t like banana…” Mom responds. That was a funny interaction to watch. Perhaps better than açaí bowls, Joelle and I split a chocolate almond butter bar, all natural. It is yummy (and melts quickly in Joelle’s hand as the intense sun beats down on us).

The Agora

We passed the Agora several times already, and this time, we decide to go in to see it up close. Our tickets are scanned, and we make our way up the path. Tall columns, seemingly built like legos, hold up all edges of the building, and there is actually a roof on this one (I do not think we have seen this yet). This is essentially where everything happened, from social gatherings to political gatherings to much more. The detailing in the decorative stone carving is impressive. We overhear part of a tour, and the guide mentions something about a fire burning the building in what was one of the first acts of terrorism. On the way out, we see the most adorable little kitty (there are lots of cats roaming the city).

Metro Dry Run

Wanting to ensure the ferry journey to Santorini tomorrow morning goes smoothly (it will be an early morning), we test out the metro with a trip to the port. The train is very empty on the way there, with lots of seating available. The four of us sit in a pod of four seats and two young men sit across from us in the other pod of four seats. Above us, a very out-of-it and drugged-up man hangs over the handrail above my seat, just over my shoulder. I cannot really tell what is going on, other than I would be nervous if it were not for the keen attention everyone around me was clearly paying to the man, including the two men in the seat across the aisle. Dad was ready to jump into action, and one of the other men actually stood up at one point to put himself between me and the drugged-up man. Apparently, that is about when the man took scissors out of his bag to cut open his drugs. Other than that, it was a smooth (and fortunately uneventful) dry run, although very very hot. Wilting in the sun, we decide to wait out the rest of the hottest part of the day in our air conditioned apartment while watching Momma Mia. We thought it would be a fitting choice.

Athens Walking Tour turned Athens Shopping

Knowing that the best way to quickly learn about a city is a walking tour, we look for an Athens Walking Tour. Sure enough, there is one in an hour and a half. Hopefully, by 6:00pm, we will be reaching the more bearable part of the day in terms of heat.

Joelle navigates us through the winding streets and tourists, and by the time we reach the meeting point, we are all dripping in sweat, trying to cool off with Mom’s hand fan (it is HOT). Here are a few things from the tour:

Pl. Manou Rallous: This is Athen’s Russian Church. It fell during an earthquake and was rebuilt as it originally stood, as mandated by the Greek government.
Night Life: Night life in Greece starts at midnight, so if you go any earlier, you will be partying alone.
Common Greek names: The most common female Greek name is Helen (after Helen of Troy), and the most common male Greek name is George (no reason in particular. Our guide says if you call for George in a bar you wil make four new friends).
Olympics: The Olympics started in Greece and were only for the wealthy Greek men. They ended when Christianity came to Greece, and the Olympics were declared a paeanistic ritual. Then, two cousins from Bulgaria came to Greece to start them up again.
Athens View: The best view of Athens is from the top of Lycabettus Hill (I think that is what it was). There are three ways to get there–walking (too hot), taking an elevator from the base of the mountain (too hot and too expensive), or from Greek Parliament (I cannot remember what you actually do from here to get to the mountain, but it is 5 euros and the way to go).
National Gardens: This used to be a zoo, and you can still find some animals roaming around. This is the place to be in the heat if you cannot make it to the water because it is about 5ºC cooler.
Turtle Pond: Greeks like to have Turtles as pets, but they get too big. When that happens, the turtles are set loose in this pond (or in the National Gardens).

At this point, we leave the tour because we have already done a lot of walking today, and we passed some cute looking shops on the walk other. Thus, Athens Walking Tour turns Athens Shopping.

Veganaki (part 2)

Lunch/dinner last night was so good that we had to come back to try more. We are not used to so many options—perks of an all vegan and gluten free, yummy menu. Tonight, we try pesto pasta, Greek pizza, falafel, and Souvlaki. Joelle’s order was a surprise; she appreciates not having to worry about getting the wrong thing because she can eat anything on the menu. We did not order appetizers tonight, so there is room for dessert (yay!). There are lots of no added sugar ones, so I give the praline a try, which turns out to be more of a pudding.

That is a wrap on a couple successful days in Athens, and now we are off to the Greek Islands.

ATHENS

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