In September 2024 Jason and I decided to celebrate 25 years of marriage with an epic trip to Greece. We had friends celebrating their 15th and 20th years of marriage in the same year and so we made it a group effort. This trip was about a year and a half in the making; a redo really from a 40th Birthday trip we were supposed to plan during COVID. The trip was ambitious. We had six legs of the trip, including 4 islands and the mainland of Greece. We decided to coordinate our own lodging and transportation between islands; each of us taking two legs of the trip to coordinate.

What a trip it was! Our journey started and ended in Athens, which, upon reflection, is such an old and beautiful city. It does not apologize for the way it has interfaced between the ancient and the modern, nor does it attempt to fix the flaws that occur when infrastructure is repeatedly called on to adapt to changing times. As an example, our AirBnB’s in Athens were nestled into busy metropolitan streets and involved hiking up slippery staircases of marble to access. Elevators were available, but I doubt more than two of us should have traveled inside given how small they were. And of course there was absolutely no flushing of toilet paper down any of the toilets along with the line drying of washed clothing at every location.

For both legs we stayed areas immediately adjacent to the Acropolis. Life centered around the massive hill with its ancient buildings. In the evening, the main thoroughfare contained tourists and locals alike who walked past the hill. Restaurants were overflowing with patrons, shopping went well into the morning hours, and everything felt alive. A concert was being held in the Odeon of Herodes, which we could hear from our rooftop as an added bonus! The visual effects offset the stone buildings and classical music, which again spoke to the seamless intertwining of modern and ancient.

Acropolis

Given our limited time here. 1 1/2 days at the beginning and another 1 1/2 days at the end, the Acropolis was the first thing on the list. We opted to follow repeated advice on the internet to book the earliest entry in order to avoid the crowds. 8 o’clock in the morning after a 13 hours flight is no joke, but we did it. This advice did not lead us astray. For a brief amount of time we were able to enjoy the ancient ruins on the hill without a massive amount of tourists, like ourselves, getting in the way. The Parthenon was just as impressive as I had hoped for. While we were there, a friend reached out sharing pictures of the reconstruction of the site from 1983. Reconstruction is still going on and, given the pace, I think it will likely be going on forever.

The views of the city from the Acropolis are equally amazing as the architecture. This was a repeated theme everywhere we went in Greece. I kept repeating to myself, I can’t believe this place is real. The Temple of Nike Athena was probably my favorite of the archaeological sites in the Acropolis, however, there is something to be said about just walking the grounds and soaking it all in. We spent about an hour and a half exploring the ruins before hunger set in and we left to find coffee and food. We had purchased multi-tickets which granted us access to a host of sites around the city and we still had much to see in our one day walking tour of Athens.

Other Archealogical sites

After breakfast (Freddo Espresso and a pastry!) we set out to explore the City using the additional included sites with our multi-ticket. While these sites are important and interesting, it was a lot of open fields and stones of buildings that used to be. Don’t expect grandeur when tackling as many of the historical points of interest in Athens in one day.

We were able to walk to Ancient Agora, Roman Agora, Hardrian’s Library, Olympieion and Aristotle’s School. The added benefit of walking meant we got to walk through many of the districts of Athens. We were able to see the National Gardens, the “New” Olympic Stadium, and the shopping district of Plaka. It was important for us to walk the track at the Olympieion (well, almost the whole track, it was cut off at the end) and, while we were excited to see Aristotle’s School, it really was just a hole in the ground. We spent about 45 minutes or so in the shade contemplating life, and lunch.

Some things to consider when walking around Athens:

• The sidewalks are slick, even when it’s not rainy. Wear appropriate shoes.
• The sun is intense, even if it’s not overly hot. Bring sunscreen.
• Athens is full of hills. Walking will feel like exercise; which wasn’t a bad thing for us given all the food and drink we imbibed in over the span of two weeks.
• Public transportation, yelp reviews, and maps are your friend.
• Locals give good advice on where to go and what to eat. Listen up.

Nightlife

While the day was full of history and the past; the night was vibrant and alive. Our group spent one evening exploring the city with an impromptu bar crawl. We decided where to go based on proximity to where we were at, and their Yelp or Google reviews.

Ergon House-Probably one of my favorite meals of the entire trip was our starting off point. This restaurant is on the bottom floor of an apartment building and also features a grocery store inside. I had octopus and was surprised by the meatiness of it.

The Bar in Front of the Bar-The was a walkup bar, literally in front of another bar which called to us because of it’s references to 90’s U.S. culture. They had a rotating drink menu and were not afraid to tell us that there was no deviations allowed. The drinks were interesting and delicious. I stuck with a traditional Campari; it was perfection.

Palatine-was everything I wanted from a European bar. Smokers sitting outside casually talking to each other and the bartender. Seating outside on cobblestone streets so you could watch passersby. A dark interior that felt like the place had been there for a century at least.

hUge Athens-Literally tucked into an alleyway and nothing like the name implies. I could have sat here for hours people watching.

Tiki Bar Athens-Our last stop and it did not disappoint. It was full of Tiki and Elvis and delicious cocktails to round off our night. It was a stark contrast inside versus the exterior of Greece which was urban concrete and graffiti.

Miscellany

One of the best experiences we had was at Fratti Bristro in Athens. We stopped here for a pre-meal cocktail our first evening. Mike, the manager, took the time to come chat with our group. When he learned what islands we would be visiting he gave us some of the best recommendations for food and really made our time spent there so much fun. It was here that I started my journey to try all the different spritzes offered by Greece during my time here.

Our first night in Athens we stopped at the grocery at the foot of our Airbnb. We wanted to try Ouzo, for real. The owner helped us pick out which brand and suggested we drink it over ice, rather than shoot it as depicted on television. When you pour it over ice it immediately becomes clouded…and much more drinkable. That being said, Jason muled the same bottle of Ouzo around with us the entire time as we worked to finish the bottle we had purchased.