Why I Love Athens Part 1

Athens has an allure all its own.

And its not just archaeology and history.  The ancient capital feels vibrant and alive.  With equal measures of grunge and grace, it is a heady mix of edginess and antiquity.

The city may be known for the Acropolis, but driving through Athens from the airport what really hits you is the graffiti.  It’s everywhere.  I’m not a fan of graffiti, but after awhile you see it fits the city.

Some call it a graffiti epidemic.  It’s combination of high youth unemployment, general unrest from the financial problems of Greece, and the police are stretched too thin to do much about it.

Greece is enjoying a record year for tourism, and not just on whitewashed Cycladic islands. A seven-year recession has been horrible for Greeks: in Athens, shabby residents rummaging through rubbish bins are an everyday sight. But the crisis has made Greece cheaper for holidaymakers, whose spending supports plenty of local jobs. Overnight stays by foreign visitors in the capital have increased by almost 40% over the past three years, say local hoteliers’ associations. “Athens used to be just about museums and ancient ruins. But not any more,” says an American banker. Dozens of new bars and cafés are popping up, and a flowering of street art and graffiti has given the city an edgier look.

 

Athens on every street and corner has a restaurant, bar or cafe with every kind of atmosphere you would want.

Want a quiet outdoor breakfast at 8 before the other cafes open, head to Tazza my favorite, especially the waiter.  Ooh, la, la, those charismatic young Greek men!

Or head to Ipitou for a lively atmosphere steps out the front door of our Airbnb and have a Blazer Yourself served by a hipster bartender with grand staging and an uncanny ability to see to every detail that had me oooing and ahhing.  He had me hook, line and sinker and he knew it. 

Want a modern, contemporary atmosphere head to…Why did I wait so long to post about Athens?  I’m unable to translate this into the Roman alphabet.    

In Athens, order a drink, they bring you the bill, order still water, they bring you a bill, order an entree, they bring you a bill and at the end you have a whole collection of receipts to pay.  I was wondering about this practice and then I remember reading about what happened in Venice.  On the “internet” I read about Japanese tourists who sat down at a restaurant on the main square and by the time they left their bill was over $1,000 for one bottle of wine and four entrees.  They had no idea it would be this much and posted their dilemma on social media.   This isn’t going to happen in Athens!

Or head up stairs to a traditional Greek restaurant with a subdued atmosphere until the waves of American students filed in.