Hello, Athens!

First we need to say sorry. We have not given you all an update in a long time and unfortunately October was a long and busy month. There were no breaks other than the weekend and that meant that there was a lot of school work to do and plan as well as a little time to explore! However, last weekend we did have a break and we took advantage to travel to the wonderful city of Athens, Greece. We saw lots of old and new things, rubbed elbows with tourists from all over the world and ate plenty of delicious food. We apologize in advance because this post will be a little longer than previous ones. However, we hope to give you a little insight into our experience in Athens!

We arrived in the city on Thursday morning November 2nd and after checking into our AirBnB and getting plenty of tips from our host about exploring the city, we set off with three of our Canadian friends. That first day we spent exploring the best routes to see everything. On Friday we went to the Acropolis and explored the temples there. After that we went on to the Panathenaic Stadium. In our post lunch stupor we headed out to the Acropolis museum. Saturday morning was not as nice, weather wise, but we explored the hill next to the Acropolis and the tomb there. After we dodged raindrops and checked out the ruins of the Ancient Agora. Next to the Agora we stopped for lunch. In the warm sunshine of the Saturday afternoon we went to the National Archaeological Museum. On Sunday we had all morning before our flight left which gave us time to explore the neighborhood of Plaka and do a little souvenir shopping.

After our trip we thought of some questions we had before leaving and other reflections. We wanted to give you some insight into our trip.

1) What monuments, museums or buildings stood out to you? What was your favorite thing you did?

Sam: All the monuments in Greece stood out to me. There was so much to see, not just in terms of the major monuments that you pay to see but also the statues in the parks and just other markers and neighborhoods around the city. My favorite place we went to was the Panathenaic Stadium. It was a giant marble stadium but it was made interesting with an audio tour guide included. It pointed out the architecture features of the place. It was also cool to see the views of the Acropolis from the top rows.

Chris: Honestly, I have to concur with everything Sam said about the best places to visit. The Panathenaic Stadium was one of the most impressive places that I have visited. I think what made it so impressive is the audio tour that was included because it provided so much information. It was also amazing to see some of the Olympic Torches and Artwork for every Summer Olympics since the first modern incarnation in 1896. And it only cost 10 Euro combined! This place needs to be on everyone’s list when visiting Athens. Are there other places you would like to discuss?

Sam: I mean obviously the Acropolis was amazing. You can literally see the entire city from the top. I also think it is interesting how they are rebuilding the ruins but only to the point to make sure they can survive a few more centuries of weathering and earthquakes, not completely restoring the temples to their original pristine conditions. It almost feels like they want to honor the ancient civilization but remind people that it is indeed in the past.

Chris: Certainly! To address one of aspect you haven’t covered yet (and the one I’m stunned you haven’t) is the Acropolis Museum. This museum is not yet 10 years old and is phenomenal! They have taken many items excavated from the Acropolis and immediate surrounding area and put them on display. There is so much to see and so much information. To make it even better the top floor of the museum has a spectacular view of the Acropolis and is even designed to mimic the Parthenon on top. Great set-up!

Sam: Not to mention it also showcases the ancient city it is built on!

2) What kind of food did you eat while there? Is there anything that you absolutely loved/did not like?

Sam: The best food was the Gyros. I think I had like three of them over the course of four days. The best came from this little hole-in-the-wall stand right outside of the Acropolis museum. The meat was super flavorful and the pita bread was fantastic.

Chris: You really had three Gyros?...I don’t remember this. (I swear we were on the same trip)

Sam: Yes I did! Two from this place I mentioned and one at a sit down restaurant. Oh, I am also in love with tzatziki sauce… sorry dear.

Chris: Oh yes I remember now! Just remember that you married me....not the sauce ok? Personally, my favorite food would also have to be the Gyros...however, the breakfast we had on Saturday morning was delicious. I had Greek yogurt with honey and loukoumades which is basically a warmed up, sugar-coated circle of deliciousness. AKA a doughnut.

Sam: Yes that was amazing, and messy. I feel like anything we had for breakfast was amazing. Those bakeries did not disappoint! The crepes we had on Friday morning were pretty great too. The only thing that I did not care for would have to be the Ouzo (a type of Greek spirit) we had on Thursday night. It tasted like pickles.

Chris: I didn’t think it was all that bad, even if it was a bit “dilly.”

Sam: Well I also didn’t care for the olives for a similar reason.

Chris: Now that I will agree with, olives are still not my thing.

Sam: But at least we gave them a shot! If you didn’t try the olives did you even go to Greece?

Chris: ….I guess I didn’t go to Greece. Sorry to disappoint.

Sam: I will make you eat one of those pickled monstrosities next time I guess…

3) What was your impression of the tourist areas? Were they just a part of the experience or was it a little out of hand at times, in terms of crowd size and/or what shops were there?

Chris: Tourists in Athens are like puppies when the food first gets set down. They come out of nowhere and all of a sudden a once relatively open place is now extremely crowded.

Sam: Agreed. I feel like we got off pretty easy being out of the high tourist season but don’t get me wrong, there were still plenty of people everywhere.

Chris: And you know, we aren’t necessarily saying that having so many tourists is a terrible thing it is just the nature of Athens because it is such a historic place.

Sam: Definitely! I think the only time I was really annoyed at the crowd size was at the top of the Acropolis. It was an amazing thing to see these preserved ruins but it got annoying to have people stop in front of me or stand in my path or to get glares from people for ruining their selfies.

Chris: And to think this wasn’t even when it is most touristy! But to be completely honest though it still wasn’t that bad (at least in my opinion.)

Sam: No it wasn’t. I think it was a part of the experience and made me appreciate the moments when there weren’t as many tourists around, giving me time to appreciate the history of the city and the significance of the things that I was seeing.

Chris: Agreed. With that being said, though the number of tourists in Plaka, one of the historical districts of Athens with hundreds of small tourist shops, had seemingly way too many people.

Sam: I think that's because there was so much crammed into those little streets. Between the outdoor seating for the many restaurants, to the many shops displaying their wares to the people trying not to get pulled in by the owners of these places, it can make for an interesting go through those streets.

Chris: True. It was still more crowded than what I prefer though.

4)Was there a language problem? Was it hard to read the signs?

Chris: I would say for the most part there wasn’t too much of a language problem, many Athenians speak English because of the amount of tourists they see on a daily basis.

Sam: If anything it was confusing to read the Greek because it was so similar to the Cyrillic alphabet that we see all over Sofia.

Chris: Yes, this is true haha...but at the same time it did make understanding at least some of the signs a little easier because some of the symbols are used in the Cyrillic Alphabet...but yes overall sign reading=very difficult.

Sam: Well good thing there was plenty of English signs because as they say… “It’s all Greek to me.”

5) What was your overall impression of the trip? Would you recommended visiting Athens?

Chris: Overall, Athens is everything I remember, everything I expected and more. Yes, there are less touristy cities in Greece where you can see amazing and ancient sites. However, the sheer amount of history and sites to see here in such a condensed area make everything worthwhile. We could turn every corner and see something different every time. Combine this with the beautiful (and warm) climate and wonderful people and Athens is certainly among the top places that I have visited. Definitely recommended!

Sam: I completely agree with Chris. Although I have never been to this city before, there is definitely something to be said about going to a place that you read about in history books. It is cool to see ruins and artifacts from a civilization that in truth was the beginning of western civilization as we know it. The city definitely had a lot to offer and I know we did not see nearly half of it. I would highly recommend going for a visit but also highly recommend going in the off season.