Greece, Athens
We took a quick flight from Turkey to Athens where we spent 5 days. Right in the heart of the old city we stayed in our first Airbnb of the trip. We very much enjoyed having the space to lay out a few items without having to trip over them in the night to go to the bathroom. We filled the fridge with local treats including olives, cheese, orange juice and Greek yogurt.
Our first night was spent at the best restaurant we have eaten at thus far on our trip. We walk into a family restaurant and the woman takes us up to the counter and shows us all of the specials for the day in the window. About 15 dishes that look absolutely amazing. We sit down order a liter of wine and continue to eat for 2 1/2 hours. If any have been to Greece you will find that most meals are not a sit, eat and leave, but more of a sit, drink, eat, drink, eat, drink, drink, eat and drink. When we walked in my goal was to sit there as long as the couple next to us were to make sure we were getting the full Greek experience of the meal and what a treat. We split a few items, but the Moussaka was the most amazing single plate of food I have eaten on the entire trip. It is kind of like lasagna, but with eggplant... My mouth is watering as I think of it now.
We of course took our 3 day city bus tour and hit the big tickets items on the history list including the Acropolis, Parthenon, Archaeological Museum and 1896 Olympic stadium. There is a lot of history to be seen in the Athens area with most of it ranging between 500BC-500AD era. However, the history dated back all the way to 3500BC with some of the vases in the archaeological museum. They said that many of the items weren't even discovered until they started to build the underground train system back in the early 2000s for the Olympic games in 2004. For the games the city had a large revamp including hotels, museums and downtown buildings and sport complexes being constructed, however sadly today you see a lot of the buildings to be abandoned with graffiti.
Culturally, I wasn't aware of the 2pm-5pm siesta that most shop owners take. You will see that during those hours most shops besides restaurants close their doors. Although their food is amazing, patience is key here as hours vary. Make sure to show up to a shop 15 minutes before closure because they may close earlier than expected.
Libby's Favorite Meal: Moussaka and Greek Yougurt
Favorite Memory: Drinking Sangria at the market and listening to local music
Favorite Activity: Walking around the track at the 1896 Olympic Stadium
Jesse's Favorite Meal: The family restaurant Moussaka round 2 ! It was so good we went back our last day.
Favorite Memory: Being at the top of the Acropolis on the steps of the Parthenon looking over the city of Athens thinking about the thousands of years which people stood at the exact same spot.
Favorite Activity: The bus tour and seeing the ancient artifacts in the National History Museum
Our first night was spent at the best restaurant we have eaten at thus far on our trip. We walk into a family restaurant and the woman takes us up to the counter and shows us all of the specials for the day in the window. About 15 dishes that look absolutely amazing. We sit down order a liter of wine and continue to eat for 2 1/2 hours. If any have been to Greece you will find that most meals are not a sit, eat and leave, but more of a sit, drink, eat, drink, eat, drink, drink, eat and drink. When we walked in my goal was to sit there as long as the couple next to us were to make sure we were getting the full Greek experience of the meal and what a treat. We split a few items, but the Moussaka was the most amazing single plate of food I have eaten on the entire trip. It is kind of like lasagna, but with eggplant... My mouth is watering as I think of it now.
We of course took our 3 day city bus tour and hit the big tickets items on the history list including the Acropolis, Parthenon, Archaeological Museum and 1896 Olympic stadium. There is a lot of history to be seen in the Athens area with most of it ranging between 500BC-500AD era. However, the history dated back all the way to 3500BC with some of the vases in the archaeological museum. They said that many of the items weren't even discovered until they started to build the underground train system back in the early 2000s for the Olympic games in 2004. For the games the city had a large revamp including hotels, museums and downtown buildings and sport complexes being constructed, however sadly today you see a lot of the buildings to be abandoned with graffiti.
Culturally, I wasn't aware of the 2pm-5pm siesta that most shop owners take. You will see that during those hours most shops besides restaurants close their doors. Although their food is amazing, patience is key here as hours vary. Make sure to show up to a shop 15 minutes before closure because they may close earlier than expected.
Libby's Favorite Meal: Moussaka and Greek Yougurt
Favorite Memory: Drinking Sangria at the market and listening to local music
Favorite Activity: Walking around the track at the 1896 Olympic Stadium
Jesse's Favorite Meal: The family restaurant Moussaka round 2 ! It was so good we went back our last day.
Favorite Memory: Being at the top of the Acropolis on the steps of the Parthenon looking over the city of Athens thinking about the thousands of years which people stood at the exact same spot.
Favorite Activity: The bus tour and seeing the ancient artifacts in the National History Museum
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