To celebrate her ‘5th’ 40th birthday (do the math), I invited one of my cousins for a night out in Athens.  My cousin has lived her whole life in a small village, a few hours away from Athens.  She loves Athens, but views it as a ‘big big city’, full of cars and tourists, where one could get easily lost – ‘not much for me at my age’, she said…  Well! How I disagree with her…

We had a nice dinner near my place in the northern suburbs, simple tavern with the usual spread.  Then we headed down to the centre, and went for a walk through Gazi.  You may ask, doesn’t Gazi fall into the ‘not for my age’ category?  Well, perhaps.  But not really.  Gazi is one of those districts with something for everyone – and we found ourselves on a nice rooftop terrace, with music, good service and empty seats!  She had never in fact been in Gazi, and left pleasantly surprised at the energy and life of the place…

We decided to walk across to Psirri, across the pedestrian footpath through Kerameikos.  This is a lovely walk, past significant ancient ruins and (well, significant) graffiti’d walls.  It’s a pleasant stroll that emerges at the square outside Thissio station, at the foot of Ermou street.

We wandered in to Psirri, and admittedly it was rather quiet.  This normally busy neighbourhood is full of tavernas and bars, many of which offer live Greek music during the day on weekends – actually a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  We found ourselves at a street-side bar, sipping Raki and introducing my cousin to her first taste of a nargile (hookah).  Nothing over-the-top, but we had a great night.

At the end of the night, we laughed and agreed that “you’re never too old for Athens!”

Jack

 
In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

Athens is well and truly in holiday mode. This means that many locals have left the city, there is less traffic, no line-ups, a sense of calm… For those of us who remain in the city during August, life goes on, although admittedly at a reduced pace and a not-so-secret desire to ‘get out’!

Resigned to tough it out and enjoy August in the city, I spent the past weekend catching up with friends before their mass exodus. I was reminded of the many faces of Athens neighbourhoods – the variety of visuals and communities one encounters. A world away from the historic centre, daily life in the northern suburbs reveals an interesting mix of different ‘hoods…

On Sunday I met some friends for breakfast at White Spoon in Cholargo. This is a hip little corner spot, with good coffee (!) and tasty food – omelettes, baguettes, salads. Interesting space, good service – I’d call it ‘cool and low-maintenance’ – busy with neigbourhood locals reading their morning papers…

In the afternoon, I ventured up (way up) to Dionysos, 20km north of the city centre. This is a very nice, well-organized and mostly well-to-do residential area, surrounded by forest and the Penteli mountain. While Athens was scorching, Dionysos was pleasantly warm – I’m told that snow is quite common in winter!

I finished the day off with an evening barbeque at a friend’s apartment in Maroussi. Maroussi is one of those neighbourhoods with something for everyone – apartments & offices, the usual shops, cafes & restaurants – but with enough variety to satisfy most tastes.

Athens truly has many different faces and neighbourhoods– quite handy when one’s vacation turns into a ‘stay-cation’…

Until next week…

Jack

White Spoon
Mesogeion 234, Cholargo
210 653 3645

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest...

It’s summer vacation time in much of the world, and Athens is still playing host to lots of travelers from all over. It seems like fewer than other years, especially if media reports are correct – but it still seems like the city is busy and in full summer swing.

One of those visitors was my 11-year old niece, who was visiting for the first time from Toronto. After a 3-week stay in Greece, I asked her to tell me what she thought about Athens.

And this is what she said:

“Athens is alive. Very alive. It has lots of energy. Depending on where you go, you might see old history, ancient places, but also lots of newer things. And the newer parts have lots of stores, with nice cafes and really good food.

I would definitely clean up some graffiti. Some of the trains need a good cleaning, too – and maybe better air conditioning. I’d say Athens is more crowded than Toronto, but I think it looks nicer, more interesting. There are brighter colours, and no tall buildings. The old parts of Athens are nice because they give you a variety of things to look at. More people spoke English than I thought, so it was easy to be understood. “

And what should someone see when they visit Athens?

“The Acropolis, of course. Plaka is great. And one of those Laiki street markets for sure.”

What would you tell people to skip, or not bother seeing?

“I’d tell them to see everything! I really liked everything! But you can skip going to the open air cinema on a hot night before 9pm – you’ll be boiling, and you’ll be watching a movie in total daylight.”

There you have it – I’d say most of us agree with her.

Hope you’re all enjoying summer…

Until next week…

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

This week was one of the hottest I have experienced in my life. Outside of trekking around southeast Asia or the Caribbean, I have never sweat more ‘at home’, anywhere…! I must admit I stayed indoors most of the week – even a trip to the beach was beyond me…

What does a person do to cope with heat? Well, if you’re like ‘some’ people that I know, you head for the nearest climate-controlled building facility – The Mall.

And what’s more, it’s a bonus when the need for climate-control corresponds to the start of Summer Sales. Yes, the sale season started this week – and judging by the numbers of cold-seeking shoppers at The Mall, retailers must have been quite happy. On the flipside, it seemed that day that most of the rest of Athens also had the same idea – The Mall was jam-packed!

With prices at 10-20-30-40% off (and more!), it’s a good time to pick-up some deals on everything your life is missing…

And if The Mall proves too crowded, an evening at an open-air cinema is a great way to wind down and enjoy(?) the heat…

Until next week…

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

I spent the last several days in northern Europe (read: Brussels) on a work-related trip. Brussels is what one might expect – organized, orderly, (mostly) clean and ‘subdued’… it’s a lovely city, lots of history, lots of interesting architecture, some cool places to visit...

But on this trip, I felt I had journeyed into the future, into November to be exact! The grey skies, the 18-degree weather, the rain… Oh the rain…

I know that I tend to put a lot of stock in climate, perhaps too much. But it really does affect my mood – the sun shining in a blue sky in the morning, somehow makes my day a little bit better, a little ‘lighter’…

So I must admit I spent most of my days in Belgium secretly praying for warm weather, longing for the warm sunshine of Athens…

And then I arrived in Athens. The phrase ‘be careful what you wish for’ came to mind… 41 degrees, boiling hot, and my little aircon unit sweating to keep up with the demand. Strange how a couple hours in a plane can take you to such a different place.

But still the sun and that blue sky…

Shopping for an aircon or fan? Check out www.skroutz.gr for deals and comparisons!

Until next week…

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

I should state for the record that I do not own a car in Athens. I use cars often enough (rentals, generous friends) – but normally I use public transport, taxis and my own two feet.

So I had another friend in town this week (note to self: time to open a b&b). He was en route to the islands, and stopped in to check out Athens… After a day around the city-centre, he decided to check out the beaches of Athens – I told him this was a good idea, since he’s not the type to stare at ancient artifacts for very long… (!)

But without a car, he was obliged to use the services of the Athens public transportation network. This made him cringe – but I reassured him that the only challenge in this scenario would be the time required to make it from Kifissia to the paralia.

He jumped on the Green line all the way to Neo Faliro, then took a tram across the waterfront to Kalamaki beach – not a glam spot, but more than adequate for a day in the city. He tells me this took him just over an hour. And so he spent his easy afternoon in the sun, with a bite of lunch and a coffee – not so bad! And all of that (including air conditioning!) for the €1.40 public transport fare. Not a bad deal.

Car-free in Athens – oh yes, it’s possible…!

Until next week,

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

Busy much?? With summer really and truly here, Athens feels alive and buzzing with activity. I know that Athens is a big city, and big cities have lots of stuff going on – but this past week it really struck me that Athens offers a lot to its visitors and residents alike.

It really hit home the other day, as I was thinking about what to do, where to go – ‘what’s on’… Do you like music? Do you like dance? Do you like theatre? Do you like culture and history? It seems like there was something for everyone, everywhere, all week long!

A group of us hit the Acropolis Museum anniversary events on Wednesday – people and music! But we could just as easily have gone to the Argentinean Tango Festival, European Music Day events at Philipappou Hill, or Socrates under the Acropolis (still on!)… And that’s just off the top of my head.

Let’s be honest – we’re really spoiled for choice in this city. It’s up to each of us to take advantage and make it happen. Get a group of friends together, pick a spot, and enjoy Athens…

As the saying goes, ‘Just Do It’!

Until next week…

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

Met some great people at the Hard Rock Café this week, with the XpatAthens folks. Nice way to spend an afternoon – and feel like you’re not in Athens for a while!

When I walked in, I must say I really felt like I was in Canada or the US – the look of the place, the uniforms of the staff, the smell of onion rings alone…

A bunch of people came out – few beers and chicken wings made this a decidedly ‘Hard Rock’ evening… At one point, 2 tour buses unloaded a group of Italian tourists into the bar - taking photos of the rock n’roll paraphernalia on the walls and buying ‘Hard Rock Athens’ souvenirs – I guess people still do this…!

Was really cool to chat and hear everyone’s story. There is great variety among us, of course – reasons why we’re here, reasons we choose to stay, our fave places, our joys and frustrations in this crazy city. What’s most amazing is that everyone I met has one thing in common: we are all making the best of being here. We actually want to be here – and our collective cup is half-full. At least, it was on Saturday!

Until next week…

Jack

Hard Rock Café Athens
18 Filellinon Street


In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

My mother is still in town – and we decided to take a ‘city road-trip’ on Saturday. We left the house around 9:00am, stopped at our local Grigoris for a coffee for the road, and went on our way…

We headed out of the city on the Attiki Odos and made our way towards Marathon. Our first stop was Nea Makri and the Monastery of St. Ephraim, a ‘controversial’ saint who lived in the 14th century. It is a small monastery, where you can see the mulberry tree where he is believed to have been hanged by the Ottomans.

We left Nea Makri and headed towards Leoforos Souniou, eventually turning towards Vouliagmeni. What a great day to be at the beach… We stopped in for a bite of lunch at En Plo in Vouliagmeni – nice menu, sea-side views - well worth it if you’ve never been…

Later on, we jumped back in the car and drove across the city on the Paraliaki (beach road) and ended up in Piraeus! A pit-stop in Mikrolimano and a quick look at the cool-looking seafood restaurants around the little harbor, put Mikrolimano firmly back on my ‘to do’ list…

With the gas tank quickly heading towards empty, we headed back north on the Ethniki highway and made Kifissia our final destination. A coffee on the perfect little patio at Casa was the last stop on our city road-trip – one of my favourite corners of the city…

How’s that for a full day on the road?? We loved it.

Until next week,

Jack

En Plo
www.en-plo.gr/en

Casa
www.estiatoria.gr/estiatorio/767/casa_restaurant

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

So I’m on a bicycle kick these days – my first springtime venture a few weeks ago left me braver, and I’m convinced that drivers actually see me as they fly by…

Early on Sunday morning, I dragged myself out of bed and jumped on my bike… The sun and the birds were my only company as I left from Kifissia, and made my way down Kifisias street, past Golden Hall, in through Psihiko, down into Panormou, over the hills of Kolonaki, Syntagma, around Plaka and finally reached my destination in Thissio.

The whole ride took me less than 90minutes – no traffic, no danger, no worries! I loved it. The city took on a different character – it was like watching a movie, seeing sites and scenes that you would never ‘catch’ on foot. The lady washing down the street in front of her door, the couple out walking their dog, the group of people entering the church, the group of men sitting down at the kafeneio for their morning coffee… There was something about riding by these scenes of everyday life, at just the right speed, that made me smile…

Then, after my own morning coffee, I picked up my bike and got on the train at Thissio station, for the ride back home. (Sorry, my cycling ambitions are still ‘one way’…!) Lucky for me, bicycles are allowed on the Athens metro system - you can take your bike on the last car of every train, no issue.

A gentleman in a white suit got on at Monastiraki station, with his bicycle in tow, and said “Good morning” and “Where are you off to?”… Turns out he rides his bike everywhere – always has – and ignores his kids’ requests to buy a car. “At my age, I just need my bike!” His age: 85.

Get out there….

Until next week,

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…