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Published: June 16th 2014
Everyone of the major cities that we have visited around the world have each had something unique and special about them to create great memories for us.
Without taking anything away from any of them, there is only one word that I can use to describe
Athens from atop Lycabettus Hill as we emerged from the tunneled funicular and walked through the restaurant perched precariously at the top- breathtaking! [Breathtaking because the 360 degree panoramic view of the city was as spectacular as I have ever seen. We used both Jeanette's research and the advice of a couple New Zealanders we met over lunch earlier, that we should go in time for sunset. We walked from the excellent Amalia Hotel where we are staying (which is at the centre of Athens near both Syntagma Square and the Parliament building) towards the prominent hill. Through narrow streets, beautiful tarvernas, high end stores and apartment homes with flowered balconies, we made the slow and steady climb looking for the funicular that would take us to the summit. Had both Jeanette and I not been gym fit, the walk would have been too tough but taking a taxi would have deprived us of
much enjoyment along the way. Everyone comes to see and enjoy the famed Acropolis with good reason but no visit to Athens should ever exclude what we did. It was very hard to eventually leave such spectacular surroundings but alas we made the easier walk back, taking a different route to Amalia for a shower and nap.
Earlier, after settling in to our room we roamed the
Plaka area nearby. Filled with tavernas, shops and people, we immersed ourselves into the ambience of Athens. The apparently often overlooked area nearby, the
Ancient Agora (public market and meeting place), provided us some insight into Athen's architectural past, as its ruins and carved columns lay at the bottom of the hill on which perched the
magnificent Acropolis (which we would visit later).
For lunch, once again following Jeanette's research and Fodor's recommendation, we wandered around and found
O Planatos, a highly rated taverna that has been in the family since 1932. Sitting outside in the shade under a canopy of green foliage, we were once again thrilled with the Greek cuisine. Jeanette had
Moussaka and I
grilled squid. Once you taste authentic Greek cuisine such as this, it would be
Athens from atop Lycabettus Hill
Acropolis all lighted up in the distance.difficult to readjust to the North Americanized versions back home as we have noticed the difference. We engaged in conversation, both the New Zealanders referred to above as well as a visiting Greek from London who said that he had known the family and had last visited the restaurant some fifty years ago. He was effusive in his praise of its reputation.
There are restaurants and tavernas located virtually everywhere although the Plaka area (old town) focuses a lot on the tourists who flock the area. In every block are tempting arrays of Greek cuisine from Slovaki to finer restaurants. I found that portions are generous and usually good value for money. All seating includes the typically Mediterranean outdoors which makes for an incredible atmosphere. We always engage our neighbours in conversation and have come across interesting internationals.
Of course, Athens is famous worldwide for its iconic Acropolis and we spent several hours there as well as many other historic sites across the city hosted by our lovely well educated and knowledgeable guide, Mikela. There is far too much information to record here in the blog but I can sum it up by saying how much I now
understand that we share with these people of the ancient past - our language, religion etc. For example, the symbol of peace, the olive branch, came from Athena who, in competition with Poseidon for the affection of the Greeks, planted an olive tree to win them over, according to their mythology. This custom has remained with us through the ages to the point that to culminate the recent unprecedented meeting hosted by the Pope between him and the leaders of Israel and the Palestinians, they planted an olive tree to celebrate this event of much needed hope.
And now to end with an anecdote. When you are first seated at any Greek restaurant, a basket of crisp fresh bread is placed on the table and of course, being a perpetual bread lover I dig in right away and often request seconds. The words "
Bread of the house" is the customary phrase used when it is placed in the table and which I had always thought meant free of cost (not that the cost mattered as it didn't) but I felt a little silly thinking that it was "on" the house, not apparently hearing "of". Ha. Ha.
We have
thoroughly enjoyed Athens and constantly remarked how safe we felt walking around. We noticed an unobtrusive police presence at certain locations downtown but most impressive for us, both in Athens and elsewhere, was the warm hospitality of ordinary people despite the language barrier.
We are so taken in by the lifestyle throughout Europe and that is why we will keep returning as long as we are able to.
And now we will soon go to Piraeus to board the cruise ship to Mykonos and the other island ports including calls in Turkey.
Don't forget, if you enjoyed the blog, please leave a comment in the appropriate section.
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edmond gee
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wonderful journey
Roger: thanks for the wonderful blog. We are learning so much, as usual, from your entries. We can use the info in your blog hopefully to plan a similar journey someday. Looking forward to your next blog. enjoy your trip.