ATHENS: Friday/Saturday 9th and 10th September 2022

DAY 1: Friday 9th

Disembarking the ship in Lavrio early on Friday morning was super easy, and we picked up our suitcases at the portside terminal and then easily negotiated a taxi to take us the one-hour drive into Athens. Often negotiating taxi fares or routes is problematic when travelling, but this time it was simple. The the taxi driver immediately understood our hotel destination and switched on the meter, telling us the trip would cost somewhere between 67 and 72 euros, “depending on traffic”. He had obviously completed this trip a number of times and the meter clicked over to 70 euros as we pulled up at the Stanley Hotel, which was quite close to central Athens and directly alongside Metaxourgeio Metro Station.

As it was only 9.30am, it was too early to check-in, so we left our bags in the hotel storage, logged onto the free and fast wifi and sat in the foyer with Shaun and Steph who had arrived a short while earlier. The hotel has a lovely roof-top area where Donna and Russell headed, but the four of us decided a short explore of the surrounding areas was a good idea before the day got too hot. S&S dropped their washing into a nearby laundromat. The sign on the front of the small shop in a nearby, slightly dingy alleyway, read “One person only. Masks and gloves must be worn”. Each community on each stop of our holiday has had a differing approach to COVID-19 protocols. It seems like Athens is a little stricter than other cities, with a greater than usual amount of mask-wearing observed. The woman in the laundry insisted only one mask-clad person enter her little shop, although was perplexed when that person was Shaun rather the Steph! Gender stereotypes are alive and well here it seems!

With a promise of a four-hour wash, dry and press turnaround (20 euros), we headed towards Omonoia Square, that Google maps told us was around a kilometre away. Since we were last in Athens in 2014 it feels like the place has deteriorated somewhat, at least in the area where we are staying. Many walls are graffitied, there is rubbish on the streets, the foot paths are run down and dusty and the faint odour of urine permeates the warm air. Media and online research will quickly confirm that the economic situation in Greece is pretty dire. We saw many beggars, people sleeping on the streets, regular police patrols and an overall perception of poverty through people’s clothes and demeanour.

We were on the lookout for a coffee stop and as we arrived near Omonoia Square we spotted Cafe Veneti, a bakery/cafe/restaurant with many tables under cover outside overlooking the square and an impressive well-presented selection of pastries, cakes and other goodies inside.

Of course we over-ordered, wanting to try as much of the selection as we could possibly fit in. The sweet Bougasta was every bit as good as the version we tasted in Crete; the sausage rolls were more saveloy than sausage, but still good; the chicken pie tasty and creamy; and Dave reported the vanilla and chocolate muffin better than most. Cappuccino Freddos for Steph, Shaun and I, a freshly squeezed OJ for Dave and then the piece-de-resistance arrived – warm freshly made Loukoumades. These famous Greek doughnuts lived up to their reputation. Sweet, crispy, fatty and soaked in syrup… what was there not to like. Dave always says that fat and sugar are the two essential food groups 😉

As the ‘walk lots, eat lots’ mantra rang in my ears, we set off for more exploring, wandering through the streets of Athens without watching the map, but instead watching the people and places. The main reason I didn’t watch the map too much is because I didn’t want to be holding my phone, for fear it would get snatched from my hand. Amazingly, at one point we looked up and noticed that our hotel was directly in front of us, so we headed there to check in, have a swim or rest and for me to write yesterday’s post.

I have been wanting to eat a Gyros since we arrived in Greece, and for some reason haven’t had the opportunity. Gyros is Greece’s signature dish, with the simple, fairly nutritious and tasty pita wrapped dish available on pretty much every street. Steph and I set out on foot together to find one, not wanting to miss out on the opportunity before I leave on Sunday. We didn’t follow directions, a map, or even a foodie blog recommendation (although I read dozens of them), we just meandered aimlessly, eyes peeled and smelling out what we were looking for. When we spotted a small queue outside a tiny shop back near Omonia Square we looked at each other knowingly, this was hopefully the spot!

Our random walk found just the right place for our Gyros experience. We ordered one pork and one chicken, and they arrived about five minutes later. Most people were eating them takeaway, but we chose a small table with plastic stools out the front to enjoy ours. And enjoy them we did! I think it’s all about the simplicity here, meat spit roasted then shaved and placed onto the warm pita bread, along with sliced tomato, onion, hot chips, thick tzatziki and a sprinkle of secret spices (I think salt and ground dried oregano) all wrapped tightly in a cone shape for easy eating. At €2.40 (A$3.50) each, super tasty AND super cheap! You can understand why most Athenians eat these every day for lunch!

We decided to eat dinner at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant after perusing the menu and seeing the restaurant’s magnificent view. I made a booking for eight people and the four Perrys, ourselves, plus two others from their tour met upstairs not long before sunset. We had a great table which overlooked an amazing panorama of Athens, including directly across to the Acropolis and the Parthenon. Again, the situation felt surreal. Here we were, sipping cocktails and sharing stories and laughs with good friends in Athens with views over one of the world’s most architectural and historically significant landmarks!

The food was remarkably good. We started by sharing a basket of assorted bread, olives and olive oil and then I thoroughly enjoyed my seabass carpaccio which was floating in a fabulous zingy cold citrus & herb broth (€11). I’m actually much more of a fan of raw fish than cooked fish and this was a particularly good version. My main course arrived about two minutes after my entree, but I have since learned that in Greece all the food arrives together and is usually shared, so in hindsight that makes sense! Both Marita and I had ordered the squid ink orzo, which you may know is tiny rice shaped pasta (€17). It was absolutely delicious, rich but not too rich, with tender chunks of squid throughout it and interestingly topped with sauteed broccoli! Dave enjoyed his grilled chicken breast mostly because it was served with green beans. We haven’t eaten a lot of green vegetables while on holidays and were both pretty happy to eat some in this meal. Other food also looked great, particularly Steph’s generous serve of prawn linguini and the taste I had of Shaun’s sous-vide lamb was yummo! Of course, a couple of cocktails were necessary… I have no recollection of what mine was called but it did include Gin, cucumber and lemon 🙂

DAY 2: Saturday 11th

It’s always good to leave something fabulous for the last day of a holiday, so that the dread of going back to reality doesn’t become unbearable!

I have been on three Culinary Backstreets food walking tours previously and they were each fantastic, so when I discovered the company had an Athens option, it was a no-brainer. We had booked a private tour for six, for the four Perrys and two Morleys some months ago, and chose the Exarchia: Taste of Utopia tour, more because it was available on a Saturday afternoon, which fitted in with our schedule, rather than because it promised “a glimpse of political activism”. We did like the sound of a “6-hour tour, including more than a dozen essential bites, sips and stops that illustrate the history and culture of this iconic and complex district.” Surely this tour was based on the concept of “eat lots, walk lots”.

We met Kiki, our guide for the afternoon, at 1pm in front of Panepistimio (University) Metro station, about a 20-minute walk from our hotel. I soon regretted having eaten anything at breakfast, let alone the large-ish assortment of things I ate from the buffet. After a short history lesson about the area of Exarchia, we walked to our first stop – a small bakery selling both sweet and savoury Bougasta. We are becoming Bougasta experts having now tried it three times, but this was by far my best-loved version, which is not surprising considering the same family has been making and selling it from this small shop for over 50 years! It was lovely to meet the owner and his son, and they gave us five types to taste, my favourite being the spinach. I think the others enjoyed the meat version the most, given we ended up ordering another portion of it!

We possibly peaked too early, devouring all the Bougasta that had been offered to us, so when we stopped at an Athens style bistro for a glass of Tsipouro and an assortment of Greek Mezze, I was already feeling full! The drink was served with a large assortment of typical Greek snack-type food, which filled the entire table! I’m struggling to remember what each of them was, but they included deep-fried anchovies, fava bean puree, braised chickpeas, sardines, crisp calamari served with a garlic and potato dip, sauteed greens, zucchini fritters, marinated feta and possibly the best version of a Greek salad I have had. We did our very best to eat it all but fell well short – the table was heaving with food!

Following savoury must come sweet, so our next stop was a bakery, located close by. The 10-minute walk was not enough to build up an appetite, but we struggled on, regardless! Five of us ordered Cappuccino Freddos (I promise my last one!) since it was 34c and we were seeking something cold. Along with the coffees came an assortment of sweet dishes for us to taste and share. A semolina custard-style layered pastry; a gel made from grapes; a thick creme made from the cream on top of fresh milk (that’s got to be healthy, right 😉 ) and the most popular among us, a thick sharp yoghurt, topped with honey and walnuts.

We were literally groaning as we left and couldn’t quite believe it when Kiki paused just around the corner to announce our next stop, her recommended choice for the best Souvlaki in Athens! She bought us one each and although I couldn’t eat more than a mouthful it was interesting to taste this version of Yiros. This time the warm grilled pita bread was filled with a minced beef sausage-shaped log, tomato, onion and a sprinkle of a spicy seasoning. Quite different from the Gyros Steph and I ate yesterday, but fabulous nonetheless!

Kiki, sensing our nearness to explosion, held off on taking us directly to our next stop, and instead showed us some of the areas interesting sites, explaining a little of the history and politics of this particular part of the city. The graffiti was much more attractive here and impressive murals painted by local student artists covered many of the walls, rather than the ‘tagging’ style graffiti we had seen in our walks yesterday.

Our final stop was to a small bar, not far from our original meeting point. We were definitely ready for a cool drink and my Gin and Tonic really hit the spot. Steph did the right thing and tried a local beer and Dave was again happy with his freshly squeezed juice, which seems to be readily available, popular and cheap right across Greece.

As is typical, our drinks were served with complimentary small snacks. I gave the chips and nuts a miss but did taste a very unusual stringy smoked cheese, that apparently comes from the Ukraine. Even Kiki had not tasted it before.

Once I had worked out which way was up on my phone’s map, we said a fond farewell to Kiki and headed back to the hotel. Even after only five or so hours, it felt like Kiki had become our friend. It’s interesting how common loves, in this case of food, writing and travel made us feel immediately compatible, even though our lives are so vastly different.

As we arrived back at the hotel my watch signalled clicking over 10,000 steps for the day. Not a bad effort considering we didn’t leave the hotel till 12.30pm!

As I sit in the hotel room typing this post, I am feeling quite overwhelmed. Not just because of the enormous amount of food I have eaten today (!!), but because as I think back over the last four weeks, I simply cannot believe what an amazing holiday we have had. It seems perfectly apt, that a food tour wraps things up. An afternoon of exploring, eating, meeting new friends and sharing with old ones and especially learning about another culture has been nothing less that idyllic and I will treasure this afternoon and all the memories we have made, as I travel back home over the next two days.

I cannot wait to see Darryl (our much-adored dog), Victoria, Will, Emma, the cat and of course my pillow.

Signing off for now. Antio (goodbye in Greek) and thanks so much for reading. I’ll be back with another blog addition on our next holiday…. it’s time to get planning!

P.S. Big call out to Amy for coming along on every part of this holiday blog and commenting on each and every post. It is very appreciated, I loved knowing people were actually reading it!