Athens: Likely to be the Best Vacation You’ll Ever Take (part 5)

No vacation would be complete without learning about the culture and the people you’ll encounter or the food you’ll be eating…

Dealing with Athenians

Athenians (or perhaps Greeks) are a one of a kind type of people. Very talkative, not inhibited and most of all very curious. Now, of course these are my opinions and they are highly personal to what I have experienced, so anyone who disagrees with this view should bear this in mind.

This mannerism has proven rather out of the ordinary on many occasions. Almost everyday, I went to the same small family-owned restaurant in Kifissias called ‘Ta Salona’. Besides having good quality food, it also had very curious owner. Every night, we’d sit down over a bottle of Greek beer ‘Mythos’ or a glass of ouzo (killer stuff!) and discuss where I come from, life in Athens, food, drink… etc. It really made for enjoyable evenings.

Another example of this extrovert nature freaked me out a little bit. On a couple occasions while walking in the Plaka, I asked a person walking by what time was it, or how to get somewhere and after receiving the answer, the person said ‘You want to go to bar, drink ouzo?’ Now… I’m sure there is nothing wrong with asking someone to go drink with you, but it took me aback a little bit. Coming from the US, I was feeling that if I accepted an offer like this from a complete stranger, I’d probably end up in a biker-bar, arm wrestling with a 300 pound guy called ‘Bulldog’. A British woman I met couple days earlier on a cruise to the islands told me that she was approached a couple of times on the street by complete strangers either asking her out on a date or making remarks like ‘She’s tall! I bet she’s real good’.

If I drew any conclusions from this occurrence, if you ignore the person, they will in due course drop the subject. But in a location like a restaurant or a bar, it actually proved really fascinating to talk to the locals and find out a little bit about their daily lives.

Plaka

Plaka is the tourist’s heaven. It’s very similar to Paris’ Montmarte district. There are hundreds if not thousands of modest souvenir stores, taverns, liquor stores, small churches and open air stands where you can buy everything from produce to ceramic vases to olive oil soap. It’s a place you have to visit on your last day in Athens when you want to load up on cheap souvenirs. You’re not really going to see all that many locals here, at least proportionally to the thousands of tourists passing by every minute. And by Goddess, don’t forget to bring a map! Plaka is a labyrinth, a network of streets that all look alike.

There are plenty of places to eat in Plaka, but most of the fancy looking ones tend to be terribly costly and don’t really offer that good of the local fare. Little take-out places or little restaurants are the best bet for food there. Their Gyros might grease the wrapper, but they taste fine and you’ll have money left over for those souvenirs.

One thing I discovered when buying souvenirs in Plaka, that the price of the item is almost never the price you’ll pay if you play your cards right. In some stores, the owners will tell you right away ‘Today discount 20 percent’ or ‘More you buy, bigger discount’. But as a general rule, you should barter. You’re stupid if you don’t, because you’ll simply overpay for everything. Everyone bargains here, both locals and tourists. And if the store owner is reluctant to make a deal, put down the stuff you’re looking at and say you’ll look somewhere else. They will most likely change their tune and offer you money off right away!

Elan Vitkoff

Owner, Colfax Greek Bistro

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Athens: Likely to be the Best Vacation You’ll Ever Take (part 4)

As promised we’re going to talk about the best part of your vacation to Athens. 

National Archaeological Museum of Athens

If you’re going to see any museum on your trip to Athens, see this one. It is the largest and most inspiring archeological museum in Greece. Even the building itself is quite something to look at. The museum has quite a few different exhibits, but obviously the most interesting ones are the Greek pottery and sculpture, which also happen to take up most of the space. There are also exhibits of Egyptian arts and prehistoric and bronze age artifacts.

The Museum is easily reached by various buses from any point in the city. It’s huge and can easily take up a whole day, but dissimilar to Louvre in Paris, this museum contains such a diversity of things, that I found it very easy to spend several hours there without getting weary of admiring the pieces.

One final note, even though the Type of Museum states it’s an Art Museum, it really is a mixture of an Art/History/Culture Museum. I want to make that clear, so I don’t frighten away art-unconscious people.

National Gardens

National Gardens, which are accessible behind the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, offer a nice escape from all the hustle and the bustle of the city. Looking at the crowds present, I have a feeling they are a trendy hang-out spot for the locals. This is a nice place to take a leisurely walk or eat a brown-bag lunch. In the heart of the park there is a neoclassical structure called Zappion, which I’ve been told is used for important political and cultural events (a security guard told me Greece’s entry into European Union was signed here). It’s quite an eye-catching structure worth checking out if you appreciate architecture.

It is also a fine place to talk to the locals if you so desire. I stopped at a pretzel stand run by a Kurdish immigrant and immediately got into a discussion about the fate of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan (who was being incarcerated at the time by Turkey). Not that I spoke any Kurdish or Greek, or the stand owner any English, but amazingly enough using hand-gestures, and a combination of English, Greek, German and a word ‘caput’, we somehow came to an understanding that he was a goner and we both supported his cause. Afterwards, I was promptly ripped off for a pretzel, but… it was for a good cause.

Three Island Cruise

This was well worth the time and money. I booked the cruise through Cybertravel Network www.hotels-greece-athens.com one of about a dozen travel agencies offering the identical tour (later I found out many tour agencies use the same boat, which can carry several hundred people). It was very well planned: in the early

morning a van picked me up from the hotel and dropped me off where air-conditioned coaches took us to the harbor. From there, it was a couple hours of sailing to our first port of call: Hydra. What a magnificent, laid-back small place! White houses, red roofs, blue water and the sky, about 25 Celsius… and that’s in Feburary! Shopper’s paradise of course with souvenir shops everywhere. We moved on to Poros, during which time lunch was served on board. Poros, wasn’t as tranquil as Hydra to me. It was more commercialized, reminded me a bit of Honolulu, Hawaii. But it was a nice place to grab a bowl of ice cream and just lounge a bit on the harbor. From there we moved to Aegina and were offered to pay for an optional bus tour on Aegina to the Temple of Aphaia.

The bus tour was well worth the money. Temple of Aphaia at Aegina is very well preserved and an outstanding site to take a look at. Aegina is also a very good place to purchase pistachio nuts: there are vendors all over the place, so pick up a bag or two on the way out!

The cruise back was very laid back. There was on board entertainment: live band, comedian, Greek folk dancing etc. I chose to just kick back with a bottle of Retsina (Greek wine) and watch the display which was quite pleasurable. Upon arrival, the coaches dropped everyone off back at their hotels.

Elan Vitkoff

Owner, Colfax Greek Bistro

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