Goodbye Athens

  Athens Apartment Buildings 
  Originally uploaded by fredwilson.

We spent a couple days in Athens.

The Gotham Gal was advised by quite a few people that two days would be enough.

I think maybe for the standard tourist visit, two days could be enough, but I left this morning thinking that I have to come back. But this time for a deep dive with some locals or people who know the inside track on Athens.

I love cities and love exploring them.

We had four meals in Athens. Two in fancy restaurants with mostly westerners and two in local haunts we found on our own where we were the only tourists. You don't even need to ask where the best food was. You know.

And so that's why I want to come back and do a deeper dive at some point. Athens is a cool place that I didn't get to know well enough this time.

Comments

[Fraser]

I love visiting a big city and just walking around and exploring the areas that aren't traditionally touristy. Eating the food, stopping into stores, sipping a coffee on a patio and people watching...

I call it breathing a city in and it's something I love.

[scotty]

I had pretty good luck in Athens. We had a really good cab driver who turned us on to the best souvlaki, and then we strolled around near the meat market (crazy cool) and also in Psiri -- which had *awesome* food/cafes.

I wish I'd have known you were off, I could have tipped you off on a couple things -- including the *best* coffee available at Evergreen.

However, you'll be going back!

Also, Matt Barrett's Greece travel guides are pretty darned good -- and its *free* on the Internet.

http://www.greecetravel.com/

[Geoffrey McCaleb]

Glad you enjoyed yourself. Athens is one of those cities that have been top of my "must visit" cities for a while.

I have to admit top of my list was Rome and I had a pretty disappointing visit last fall. The cabs were dodgy, the food was expensive (and I live in London mind you!), and worse was that the monuments did not look like they were well looked after.

How was Athens in that respects?

[Scott Yates]

Before you go, try some of the fried cheese. They take a block of feta and fry it up. Sounds bad, but it was so good. We only had that at the little local places in Athens.

Mmmmmm.

[Jed Christiansen]

It's been a few years since I've been to Athens, but I still think that two days is enough for 80-90% of Athens. Sure, a deep dive might be nice, but I'd save that for the islands! (Personally, I just didn't want to look out over the concrete jungle of Athens any longer than about two days.)

Then again, I didn't have kids along!

[Rick]

I had lamb pancreas at a non-tourist restaurant in Athens. Not bad, really.

[Michael Parekh]

Fred,
Glad the family's having a blast in Greece...would be curious how you're finding the internet access situation in various places, especially in terms of your daily blogging/twittering, etc.

Thanks.

[Giordano]

Greece is in Europe, and Greeks are Westerners :)

[alvaro]

I was the last week in Athens and I think a couple fo days is enough, actually it was so hot that the last thing in the world you wanted to do was sightseeing!

[alan p]

There is the "if its Tuesday, it must be Belgium" set - go see the tourist tat, move on - but if you take time to experience a city (or any place really) one can spend quite a few days...helps to read up a bit on the history, culture etc so you know what you're looking at, can "read" it better (imho).

PS....Greece is "western", just the easterly bit of it :)