Athens I

After 10 days in Istanbul including one week in the flat, Stan announced he was tired of Turkey. I seem to recall him stating the same thing several years ago when we decided to go vegetarian! For the record, I too, was tired of eating Turkey, but I was NOT tired of being in Turkey. I admit sharing that small apartment with a 6’ 4” guy was getting old, no matter how much I love him. But who was I to argue with exploring a new country? So, despite our original intention to visit some of Turkey’s more far-flung sights (like Cappadocia) we decamped for Greece.

It’s extremely easy to get to Athens from Istanbul, a one- hour direct flight. We were in Athens, checking into the Marriott (ah….a BIG bed and REAL shower!) in time for lunch.

We spent the afternoon wandering the Plaka area, around the Acropolis. The Acropolis is the big hill, rock, plateau, whatever you want to call it that is crowned by the Parthenon the jewel of Athens. Plaka is the old city. When I say old, however, I don’t mean ancient Greek old, just maybe a few hundred years old. Imagine a quaint European neighborhood with cobblestone streets. Unfortunately, this quaint neighborhood has become touristy, but the cafes spilling out onto the sidewalks to accommodate the tourists are nevertheless picturesque. That was enough for the first day.

Our second day, we explored the neighborhood of Kolonaki, which is very similar to the chi chi Istanbul neighborhood of Nisantashi; a heavily residential neighborhood with designer-sunglass clad pretty people posing in cafes, boutiques, and ladies lunching. Thanks to a recommendation from our friend Peter we enjoyed a delicious lunch at a sidewalk café called Kafenio. The food in Athens, surprisingly, seemed quite different to us from the food in Istanbul, even though many of the ingredients used are the same.

Our simple lunch consisted of a salad made with chopped zucchini, fresh dill, small bits of artichoke, scallions, olive oil and lemon; a small plate of eggplant salad; a piece of spinach pie; cooked artichokes in lemon sauce; fresh bread, and white Greek wine. Really.

After lunch, we rode a funicular tram to the top of Lybakaettus Hill. This perch provides a beautiful view of Athens including the original Olympic stadium and the Acropolis. A charming church is at the top, and here we lit a prayer candle for the health of our friend Jane. After leisurely enjoying the view, we walked down.

That evening we were treated to a pleasant evening by Stan’s sister-in-law’s brother John (I guess that makes him my brother-in-law twice removed? Not sure.) and his wife Dawn. They live in Athens. We met them for drinks at the spectacular Grand Bretagne Hotel. Think ex-pats and Greek Americans in sport coats drinking gin and tonics. The nighttime view of the Acropolis from the rooftop bar was breathtaking. Following drinks, we walked back to Kolonaki to dine at Oikeio. “Oikeio” means “homey” in Greek and the restaurant certainly lived up to its name. We sat outside (LOVE that bit!) and Stan and I enjoyed an arugula salad with tomato and Parmesan, stuffed red peppers then baked sardines served atop thinly sliced potatoes. Baskets of yummy Greek bread accompanied our meal, as they do every meal. I must say I prefer the Greek bread to the bread the Turks serve with normal meals – theirs is basically just light airy white bread.

So that sums up our first two days in Athens. I’ll leave you with that and post some photos.