My Week in Athens… Aug 9

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…