Some suggestions on where to go and what to do during a short break? in Athens.
Part 3 - More food, another bar and Kolonaki.
Continuing the saga of a four-day break in the city; in Athens, we need a little rest, and many gay bars / clubs are closed on Monday, we can do it without feeling guilty!
After the usual early sleep, I go to Goody in the middle of the city. Goody is the answer of the Greeks to McDonalds, the ordering system on one table and walking to another to collect food, confusing, none of the staff speak English, but you can always specify, can't you? The food is good, although it is enough, but it is not cheap. But if you want a good hamburger, then you have to pay for it.
Monday is a multiple night around Monastiraki and Psirri, I find a bar called Inoteca in Platia Avisinia, which houses a flea market. This bar is listed as “friendly.” but I cannot say for sure that I am the only person there. I can say that it is interestingly decorated, warm and cozy, maybe if someone else goes there, they can let me know. I can imagine that there was evening.
Moving on, I find a place in a bar-restaurant on Miaouli Street near Platía Iroon, called Rebecca. Usually you cannot get to these places as they are packed, but this is Monday. When I sit with a big bottle of beer (EUR3) and start writing my notes, there is the brightest flash of lightning I have ever seen, and then the magnificent rumble and heavy rains and hailstones for the next twenty minutes. Never mind that under this canvas awning is warm and dry.
Tomorrow is my last full day, and I want to make the most of it, so I will do it early in the night.
Tuesday comes and another bright sunny day, besides a strange rain shower, I had pleasant weather, but I especially need a coat and sweater, especially at night.
My plan is to visit Kerameikos, which is located on Ermou Street, next to Essio Station. This area was very hopeless, but now it is a pleasant pedestrian area, but beware of scooters. The archaeological site is in fact old cemeteries where the good and great ancient Athens are buried. I expected that it would take me just thirty minutes to get around the site, by the time I was around the museum, I spent three hours!
Grabbing spinach pie on the way through Monastiraki, I head for Ermou to the parliament building. The streets are packed with buyers, since the January sales began today. Having reached Syntagma Square, I look in the post office to find out if he is all busy and chaotic. It. (There are other post offices that are less occupied near Omonia Square and opposite the National Bank on the square near Afinas Street).
Stopping to photograph one of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, I continue to go to Kolonaki, which is the most expensive area of Athens and is home to many foreign embassies and government buildings. Here you will find all the famous designer shops, and most of them sell. There is also the usual number of street cafes where rich, famous, beautiful and not very beautiful Athens play.
this a place to take coffee, and so I do it. In my chosen cafe the menu is new and wonderfully made on heavy glossy paper. The price of a cup of coffee is so close to EUR5, that you should not accept your changes, and if you also have something to eat, the prices will be elaborately designed to be sufficient over EUR9, that you should not accept changes from note EUR10! My coffee is called something of an espresso. and I choose him because he has more ingredients than anything else! When I leave, I take the menu with me, but I leave it in my hotel.
Tonight is my last night, and I stay in the city at the Euripides hotel to shorten the time to go to the airport the next day. I am going to get another early night without alcohol, since I do not travel as well as before.
I am warned by the owner that they have a worker doing some repairs, but I don’t mind because I want to be quite early.
For food, I head to Monastiraki and to the street by rail, where rich Greek “komaks” have already tried to get me three times (sorry, I lost the card and don’t know the name!). Ordering and getting to the Greek salad, I realize that I left my money at the hotel and quickly went back to get it. The Greek salad is big enough for three, there is half the bread, and when they come, the meatballs are awesome with rice on the side. Another case when two eat as cheap as one! I serenade from two Greek musicians, as I am the only person on the spot, I buy them a jug of raki and a bottle of beer. They ask me where I'm from and when I say “Crh.” since i'm obviously english. But, of course, they have relatives in Crete. I pay the bill EUR23 for everything, a deal, considering that I could not finish all the food, but managed to drink half a liter of wine!
Strolling to the hotel, I pass by Aleko, it will be open for the nightcap, it is closed, so I decided to return to the hotel for an early night.
Now I don’t know about you, but when I walk through the bar where Boney M plays, who moves to the Village People, my interest is aroused. Well, it is still early, and one Metaks and Coke will be all right. The bar is called Cosmopolis, and it stands on the corner of Agatharch and the unnamed street, very close to the hotel. I enter and sit in the bar, he is busy, and the bartender is in the middle of pouring a big round. For a Greek, he seems to be tall, and I think that maybe the floor behind the bar rises, getting up, I check, but no, he is really so tall, and he is an absolute dream to watch how it works, what else have you done Think I could understand this? Now he sheds a round of tequila shots, I look around the bar while I wait, the bartender throws me on my shoulder and pushes me, and then points to the crowd of Greek men behind the 20s. Obviously, this is some kind of celebration and being a person who never refuses what I drink. I squeeze the glasses with them before dropping them in one.
I order my Metaxa and Cox, the bartender looks a bit dazed and must open three refrigerator doors before he finds Coke, Metaxa is terrible! I get a drink with a large glass of water, strange? Here, the warmth, the music and the mood of the place are contagious, and one thing is certain, this is not a gay bar, but then I can drink anywhere.
When I swallow my drink and enjoy the music, I watch the bartender and understand that none of the spirits, who seem to be the only thing they sell, have a mixer. Even intense gin glasses go straight! But why not? Everyone has a big glass of water, which is often filled, and it is not surprising that the bartender looked stunned when I asked Cox, he could not remember where he was! Of course, after another drink, the rot got up, and it was 3 hours before I went to bed, but with drinks of this size and only EUR5, everyone who am I to complain? As always, these are unplanned events, which are often the best!
I will wake up the next day at 9 am, having heard the sound of the blow and drilling, he sees that the workers started at 7 am, and they are amazed that I can still sleep.
Breakfast is included in the price of my room, 25 per night, and I need something solid. I go up to the 7th floor, and the first thing I do is turn the thermostat on the boiler. (Remember, I have stayed here before!). Breakfast here is Dutch & # 39; breakfast with juice, cereals, cold meats, cheeses, croissants, dried and fresh fruits, jam and bread. A new addition is a toaster, which is very welcome, as Greek bread is often very dry and roasts it. While I'm making toast, the water boiler is now up to speed, and I can make a decent cup of tea, don't even think about trying coffee here!
I go back to my room to find that the builders had already removed the doors, I was lucky that I packed the suitcase before I went out last night!
Handling my luggage back to the Monastiraki metro station, located about 600 meters from the hotel, is a difficult task with a thick head, but I agree and I will speed up soon on my way to the airport. Thirty-five minutes and the one-way EUR6 fare return me to the airport for a long time to return home to Crete, and as the plane takes off, I wonder if I can really live in Athens and stay in my right mind.
