Postcards from Greece – Athens

On our way from the airport to Epidavros Hotel, located 12/14 mins away from Acropolis and other sites, I noticed we were located in a shady area (lol). Throughout our stay there, every single uber & cab driver told us to be careful (which wasn’t helping cuz it got me so paranoid ). Anyways the hotel was decent for the amount we paid (this kind of sounds like a review, oh well) but the reception guy was damn rude.

By the time we got our rooms and settled in, we were famished and when in Greece you eat Gyros.

Day 1 was all about walking around and getting familiar with all the spots near our hotel. We found this place called “Six D.o.g.s” and the vibe there is awesome! You could just sit there for hours (which we did! ).Then we went back to our hotel to catch up on some much deserved sleep.

Later at night, we went to Gazi Square searching for a good place to have dinner. And we picked ‘Gazi College’, is it just me or do all restaurants look this beautiful inside? The food was so good and in big portions!

Honestly speaking, Athens did look a bit intimidating because of the graffiti everywhere. I guess the city looks different now because of the economic & social crisis over the years. Anyways, I tried not to let that bring my excitement down because I was in a different country! It would take about 1-2 days to hit all the spots here. And we opted to take “City Sightseeing Bus Tour” just for a day.

On Day 2, we caught the bus from Omonoia square which was walking distance from our hotel. It’s always a good idea to go in a tour bus because they stop at every spot and you get a good view from the top deck! So our first stop was ACROPOLIS!

ACROPOLIS

Heres a little history lesson about Athens, the city was named after its protector Athena and the first settlement of the city took place in 3000 BC on the rock of Acropolis. On this rock, as a dedication to their Goddess Athena, the beautiful temple PARTHENON was built (432 BC). It is considered as a symbol of Ancient Greece and one of the greatest structures in the world.

It was quiet a hike to the temple and there were many other sites on the way up.

Theatre of Dionysus is a major theatre at the foot of acropolis before the climb to Parthenon.

This was at the northwest slope of Acropolis.

This is a stone theatre located southwest of acropolis and its called Odeon of Herodes Atticus.

 

I can’t stress on how beautiful these sites are in person. And to be standing in one of the worlds most oldest cities felt exhilarating!

We were exhausted from the hike up acropolis and we got back on the City Sightseeing bus. This way we got to see all of the important buildings on our way back to Omonoia square.

This is the Hellenic Parliament in Syntagma Square and here you can see people waiting for the ceremonial changing of guards.

The graffiti in front of Academy Of Athens caught my eye, it reads “FOREVER A LOAN” referring to the greek debt.

NATIONAL ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM.

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF ATHENS.

PLAKA

We spent our last day here from morning till sunset! This is the city’s historic and most picturesque neighbourhood. Every corner we turned to was beautiful!

So from there we reached Metropolis square, where we saw this magnificent church.

Metropolis Cathedral of Athens.

From there we just kept walking and getting immersed in the sites.

MONASTIRAKI

This place is bustling with people in the flea market and there are small taverns which provide local snacks. You can see a lot of tourists scouring the souvenirs.

Moving on, Athens is all about its street life. At night this city comes alive and you can feel the energy brimming. The whole city transforms and it is so fascinating. A lot of youngsters hangout in Monastiraki Square.We kept going back to Six dogs and just hung out there.

The restaurants here have such great vibes, and its even better when good food is shared with good friends (as corny as that sounds), we all know its true. I love small restaurants where people are sitting out, enjoying the music, eating delicious food and just having a good time.

 

The next day we left this beautiful place at dawn in a ferry from Piraeus Port to Santorini.

I can’t wait to come back here!

xx,

~San.

All posts are written honestly by the author. Photography subjected to copyright.