The Greece Diaries: ATHENS - Part 1

Hey all! Whassuuup?

This is my very first blog post!! :) :) - took me quite a while to willingly write and finally finish this segment hehehe (procrastinator here!)

First things first, little intro about me wouldn't hurt: My name's Mega, I'm 20 years old and I'm Indonesian, there..short and sweet :)

Well well.. if you stumble across this post, this means that you are planning and looking around your luck to go to GREECE!!  Well, in this very first post, I will brag guide you for your upcoming adventure - particularly to Athens (Part ONE) & Santorini (Part TWO).





First of all, let me tell you the basics about Greece (y'all need to know this before you go yo!). The country is known for it's romantic, honeymooney ambience, white washed houses and blue domes, but there's more to that you see..

• Greece consists of two main peninsulas with the rest made up of over 2000 of small islands

• Greek is made up of mostly mountainous and rocky terrain

• Greece has zero navigable rivers because of the mountainous terrain. Nearly 80% of Greece is mountainous

• The country is secluded by three seas the Aegean, Ionian and Sea of Crete

• Athens is the capital, centre to all international travels and inhabited by 40% of all the Greek population

• The world's third largest country for producing olives. - their olive oil & olive fruits are so damn good to eat with bread and anything basically...

• An old Greek legend says that when God created the world, he sifted all the soil onto the earth through a strainer. After every country had good soil, he tossed the stones left in the strainer over his shoulder and created Greece.

• Inhabited continuously for 7,000 years, Athens is recognized as one of the oldest cities in Europe. It is also the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic Games, political science, Western literature, historiography, major mathematical principles, and Western theories of tragedy and comedy.

• Enjoys more than 250 days of sunshine or 3,000 sunny hours a year

• Feta Cheese, which is made from goat’s milk, is the Greece’s national cheese. It dates back to the Homeric ages, and the average per-capita consumption of feta cheese in Greece is the highest in the world

• The country hosts rich heritage, culture, warm hospitality, endless adventures, and excellent cuisine! 

Which is why you must at least visit Greece at least once in your life!!

Disclaimer: Visited Greece on May 2016.

Athens

If you're flying from another Europe country, it is best to look up whether Ryan Air is operating or not. We took Ryan Air for the entire Greece trip because it is the only operating airline at that time that is also affordable (murah bingits). For our to fly between Milan -> Athens -> Santorini -> Athens, tickets cost us only a total of 100 chf or 90 euros for the whole return trip!

You certainly cannot go to Greece without stopping by in Athens (like literally!). It is a historic and vibrant city where surprises awaits! It holds over half of the entire greek population so it's quite crowded comparing to the other islands.

From the Airport, we directly took the subway to Monastiraki station, which cost us about 10euros for a 50 minutes ride. TIP: If you are a student, show the attendant your student ID they’ll give you a 50% discount!

Another TIP: Iif you’re not on a tight budget, you can uber or taxi your way out of the 50 mins ride for an affordable price and cut down to 30minutes drive to the center (taxi flat rate of 38EUROS & uber depends)

Once you get to Monastiraki Station, you are actually now in the centre of Athens where you can find most restaurants, cafes, shops and the famous flea market! I suggest you to wander around Ermou Street and Psiri Street, which are the pedestrian streets for shopping and food!

If you're up for some randomness, go your way to Pittaki Street. It's like an alleyway kind of street decorated with all kinds of beautiful chandeliers ranging from real chandeliers to an upside down garbage bin, which is all hung above the streets making it look like a very interesting street to go into!! (at least for us girls). Walls on this street are also washed with graffiti works. The street is a pictureque street perfect for photo taking! (just like me below, hehe).

There's a reward when you finally reach the end of Pittaki Street, you would spot an Alice in Wonderland inspired cafe called "Little Kook". This cafe is so well-decorated (There's even a huge dragon sitting on it's roof!) and when you go inside there's different kind of rooms amplifying different vibes and setting of Alice's adventure. There, the waiter all dressed up in a colorful maid costume and particularly the host was wearing the princess and the frog costume (she literally holds the frog prince..). However, I don't think it is an official Alice in Wonderland Cafe but it's a nice surprise for us and it's a well-done job for them to have this cutest cafe in a very spot on location. 

Little Kook Cafe
Address: Georgiou Karaiskaki 17, Athens 105 54, Greece

Website: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g189400-d9710322-Reviews-Little_Kook_Cake_Shop-Athens_Attica.html 

Of course not to mention.. in Athens, you have to visit the Acropolis, Parthenon and Temple of Zeus to allow yourself to immerse in the ancient greek history and scenery. Do take loads of pictures of Athens city from above!! 

TIP: Bring your student ID again, you could get a FREE pass to enter the Acropolis site! YAS! kachingggg!

Where to eat in Athens

For restaurants in Athens, I honestly didn't find any stand out restaurants :( too bad.. But I'll share with you the two restaurants that we ate in!

• Oineas Restaurant : It's located in a small neighborhood in Psirri area and it serves good traditional Greek Food. Our main courses was great! The grilled and deboned fish was fresh and fragrant and my friend thought that the stuffed lamb was delicious. However, we really dislike the appetizer that came which is the Greek Fried Cheese.. it was too salty and buttery. After this experience we dreaded to try other fried cheeses in other restaurants as well.. lol. but you can still try this delicacy in other restaurant and tell me how it really taste like.. because based on other blogs that I've read, everyone loved it! So give it a go anyway! 

Address: Aisopou 9, 10554, Psirri -Athens. 

Website: http://www.bestofrestaurants.gr/attiki/athina/sites/restaurants/oineas/?l=en 

The Saganaki Cheese or Greek Fried Cheese

•  Bubble Tale: This one is not a restaurant but rather a place to get fresh teas and drinks!. The menu unfortunately is in Greek language but the waiter's kind enough to explain to me all the different flavors and toppings that they offer (hehe). Their signature is the syrup bubble not the tapioca bubble (in Indo we call it popping boba) and they serve it under various drink types. I chose the peach milk tea with the lychee popping boba and it's so different than what I've tried before but it's good and refreshing as well

Address: Aiolou 17, 10551, Ermou - Athens 
Website: bubbletale.gr

• Any Restaurant in the Plaka Neigborhood: This petite neighborhood is near to the Acropolis entrance and it has lots of outdoor greek cafes and restaurants to try! Don't forget to try the classic greek iced nescafe or greek coffee if you're a religious coffee drinker! it's so refreshing under the drenched hot weather. For more info about the Plaka, you can find it in Matt Barret's Athens Survival Guide 

More restaurants in Athens here!!!

This is the end of Part ONE Athens, head over to the upcoming part TWO for extensive guide to Santorini Island!! 

P.S. it would be a great help if you guys comment and share this post whether it is helpful to you or not? or if you have any questions regarding the experience, feel free to ask! I will try to answer hehe.. <3

Thanks for reading! xx ;) Hugs,

Mega

megalimantara@gmail.com