Roadboys Travels: Roadboy's Rendezvous in Athens

Sightseeing and Diane Kochilas' Taste Athens Tour

My first visit to Athens confirmed that this city needs a much better PR team.

Before arriving former travelers warned me Athens would be dirty. Well, compared to many cities I've visited it was actually tidy.

They warned I would find a city choked with traffic and smog. We enjoyed glorious days with sparkling, clear skies 🙂. Traffic, who cares, we walked and took Metro.

I was counseled it is overcrowded and stiflingly hot. Well here they are probably right. Locals confirmed Athen's summers are hot and muggy. And like swallows to Capistrano the summer heat arrives with hordes of international tourists.

So, DUH, don't go to Athens in June, July or August!

I guess I do sort of empathize a bit as I live in the blast furnace that is Phoenix Arizona in summer. But, the difference is our heat is pretty dry and coincides with tourists leaving, not arriving. So Phoenicians (acclimated to surface-of-the-sun summer temperatures) are left with a hot, yet gloriously empty, city.

Anyway, Athens offered friendly people, great sights, amazing food, spectacular art and cultural treasures all topped off with a clean and modern subway (that provides efficient transfers from the airport to city center).

For us Athens served as sort of a travel bookend. We arrived from London, spent a couple of days sightseeing before flying to explore two Greek Islands. Then we returned to Athens for a couple of more days prior to flying home.

Here are some highlights from this first timer's visit to Athens.

So, first off, lets review a little Greek travel etiquette. Before drinking tap water verify it is safe (its a Yes in Athens and a No in Santorini and Crete). Second, be aware ancient cities have ancient plumbing. Used toilet paper does NOT get flushed down the toilet (put it only in the waste receptacle that will always be near the toilet). Finally, be nice. The Greeks we met were warm and caring. Please don't skimp on sincere smiles and learn to say thank you! "Efcharistó" (Eff Care Iss Toe).

To begin our time in Athens my traveling companions humored my request to began with a visit to the Acropolis Museum (completed in September 2007). For this architect, this stunningly designed and engineered museum was a total geek out.

The Acropolis and its Nearby Neighborhoods

For those unaware, the massive Acropolis Museum is truly an engineering marvel. The whole museum sort of floats above an excavated archeological dig. In fact, the entrance is a bridge with sections of glass to afford views of the ruins below.

The Entrance to the Acropolis Museum

As you enter the building it offers very intuitive wayfinding that leads visitors to the center of the building and up a gentle inclined ramp presided over by 5 of the original caryatids (missing the one Lord Elgin ripped off and hauled back to London).

The Five Original Caryatids

Other treasures include an array of sculptures that demonstrate the ancient Greeks understanding of human form in contrappostos.

Female Head

(a marble copy of a gold and ivory statue from the 4th or 5th century BC. The color that streams from her eyes is a product of oxidation from the statues original bronze eyelashes)

The Blond Boy

One of the most treasured items in the museum is this bust entitled Blond Boy. When found its hair retained traces of yellow pigment. I found it interesting that these beautiful Greek sculptures we traditionally think of as white stone were originally painted.

As you rise in the building its direction shifts with its highest level parallel to the acropolis. The building was of international significance because of the care used in seismic engineering. It is designed to (and should) someday rightfully house the frieze of the Parthenon.

But of course the frieze currently resides in the British Museum (yep Elgin "purchased" it too). I find it hugely ironic that the frieze is now referred to as the "Elgin Marbles". Such dark humor to name them after an international crook. In my perfect world the British Museum should create and display copies of the frieze panels while returning the originals to Greece. But more on this later.

PS Egypt would appreciate their mummy's back too.

The next event for us was a wonderful (and tasty) stroll. My chef friend organized a tour organized by PBS's renowned host of My Greek Table, Diane Kochilas. Her 4.5 hour Athen's culinary began near Syntagma Square and led us on a blissful meander through bakeries, the bustling main central market, and cheese shops. We made lots of stops to sample local food, Greek coffee, and wine.

Our tour guide was Lida who was an effervescent source of information and warmth. Our group was lucky enough to be joined by Ms. Kochilas herself for a couple of hours. She walked with us answering questions and also joined us for coffee (cooked in hot sand). I enjoyed her insights. She and Lida also gave us great recommendations on places to eat on Santorini and Crete.

First Stop A Multi-Generationally Owned Bakery

A Coffee and Plant Shop

In This Cafe The Barista Crafts Drinks Among the Customers

The Fresh Seafood was Dazzling in Athen's Central Market

While passing a cafe the owner came bursting out to chat up Ms. Kochilas. So we all were invited in to see their specialty (soups). They had an extensive brag wall filled with photos from Guy Fieri to Anthony Bourdain (and among them was a photo of Diane).

Our next stop was a break to enjoy some classically brewed Greek Coffee.

Coffee Warmed in Hot Sand

The coffee led to a session of fortune telling by reading the coffee grounds. So much family tradition is found in every facet of Greek cooking.

Reading Our Fortune

We finished off the tour in a lovely little wine bar where we all sat at the bar sampling a variety of Greek wines (whites). It was such a great way to spend a lovely spring day in Athens.

The next day was spent in transit to Santorini where we would meet Antonis our amazing AirBNB host met us at the airport. But I'll cover that in the next Post.

After spending the next 10 days on Santorini and Crete we returned to Athens for our last couple of days in Greece before returning home.

First up on my agenda was to eat a great breakfast (eggs scrambled with feta, fresh fruit, coffee, toast and some Greek yogurt drizzled with honey).

Now it was time to climb the Acropolis.

Although the climb appears daunting it is actually a glorious walk through history. The trail is gentle and passes two theaters before reaching the Temple of Athena Nike and the Propylaia. There is a glass elevator for those that need it.

Just be very careful as the steps, worn smooth by millions of tourists, are slippery even when dry. After a rain, damn!

Now I know it sounds absurd. But wear good shoes. We actually saw visitors wearing high heals. No synapses firing there.

Soooo Slippery

Once you clear the Propylaia the view of the Parthenon is breathtaking. This is the building whose architects and engineers considered proportions to be everything. It delivered slightly inclined doric columns and added a slight curvature to the pediment to make it appear flat.

The building is currently scaffolded to enable repairs from some ill advised prior restoration efforts.

Imagine how beautiful the building would be if so many successive insults to it had been avoided. First there was the destruction of its (nude) sculptures by the Christians seeking to convert it into a Christian church.

Then the Ottoman Turks used the Parthenon as an ammo dump (what could go wrong?). That answer came explosively in 1687 when Venetian invaders knew right where to send their bombs to destroy the Turk's armory.

The final insult came in 1801 when Lord Elgin's workers arrived to hack away at the pediment to remove the last remaining intact frieze panels for transport back to London. He displayed them as a curiosity until the British Government purchased them for installation in The British Museum. The museum asserts they were stolen fair and square and will never be returned. Kind of smacks of the Galerie Belvedere's unwillingness to return art the Nazi's stole from Viennese Jews in WWII.

I think the Greeks should buy Stonehenge from the Scots. Who cares if the Scots don't actually own it? After all Elgin "bought" the marbles from occupying Turks who had no legitimate claim to the Parthenon.

Stonehenge might look good on Crete? It might last longer out of the rain too.

The Parthenon

After our visit we enjoyed lunch at a restaurant recommended by Lida. I had risotto with wild mushrooms followed by a desert of poached pears with pistachio ice cream. Color me happy.