Athens: Day 1 (What Grace Did and What Grace Ate)

Day 1 : Athens ( What We Did and What We Ate)

After arriving at our Hotel we were starving, like hangry ( Hungry + Angry). So, what would have started off the vacation better then having traditional Greek food? Why, having traditional Greek food found on trip advisor! Lucky for us the Restaurant that we chose was not far away, and in the local area Plaka ( aka. my favorite area). We took a taxi which cost around 6 euro. However it was obvious that the driver was taking the most longest and scenic route ( he was trying to make more money). So if you are using a taxi I would make sure to have a fixed price before getting in, and make sure you have an address for where you wish to go. We used taxi's quite a lot on this trip, and is again an easy mode of transportation. Anyways, the restaurant that we ate at was this cute little tavern that has been around since the early 1900's. We went their fairly early ( around 6 ) so there wasn't many people there ( only us and another family). One thing about mediterranean culture is that you eat dinner later in the night. The reason why is because it's too hot during the day and not enjoyable. So you will see most mediterranean night life and dinner starting way later then western culture. Going back to the food, IT WAS AMAZING. It was too amazing, that our taste buds were bias the rest of the trip ( *insert winky face*) . Here are some pictures of the food and the restaurant.

Everything was cooked in olive oil and salt. 

Greek Salads are the best. However, they traditionally don't have lettuce ( only tomatoes and cucumbers)

My favorite : Fried feta with honey and sesame

Zucchini Bread

Grilled Octopus with Gorbanzo Beans

Meat and some pita bread.

Can you tell that it was good?

The tavern/ restaurant was family friendly.

The restaurant was called Lithos

View from the alley across the restaurant

In the end, I would definately recommend this restaurant. It's called Lithos, and the address is Esopou 17, Athens 105 54, Greece. It was family friendly, cost around 40 euro for 4 people, and had a great atmosphere. 

* CULTURE ALERT* - When eating with a group of people, native Greeks usually order each a dish and share the meals. Now to spot a tourist from natives, natives will add a little bit of each dish to their own plate and never will eat from the plates. 

After we ate we decided to walk around the center of Athens. I instantly fell in love with the markets ( SO MANY TAPESTRIES) and all the anitque shops. At the markets you can haggle or try to bring down the price, and usually they will. It was really neat being able to walk around the city, and we did as a family. So if you are worrying about family enivornment, I have a seven year old sister and it was fine. The only problem we had was what we call "The Bracelet People". While we were walking around the center we were over crowded with a bunch of people selling bracelets. Now, if your from europe you know that this means pickpocketers. And well, they were. They try to put a bracelet on you and distract you while others either pickpocket you, or they demand for money. Now, you can avoid this by avoiding the area, or you can just be firm and just tell them no. They were aggressive to us and started touching my sister's wrist and grabbing her, but that instantly stopped when mother bear stepped in. And then..... mother bear saw a few of the "Bracelet People" giving signs to each other, at that point we were hightailing out of there. Another thing I noticed about the city itself and that I wasn't to fond of was all the graffiti and empty buildings. You would literally see just random buildings destroyed and empty .  I wasn't quite expecting it, even though the city is a mix of ancient and modern.  Like in America it would be equivalant to detroit. However, I would feel more safe in any european city than most american cities.

*City Alert* - If you have never visited a european city , you might just only visit Athens and have your vision of a European city be bias. I have lived in Europe my whole life, and each country you go to has a different "city atmosphere"or "city character". So do not let Athens cloud your vision. 

Some of the market.

My favorite graffiti on the whole trip.

Again, graffiti was everywhere.

Oh, the colors ( * silent gasp*)

The market street

We called them the ultimate hoarders, after I took the photo he was very happy. 

Some of the antiques.

Some more antiques ( I am in love)

And more bracelet people. There was around 14 of them in the square at a time. I can not stress this enough, after seeing them give signs to each other we were pretty skiddish around the area.

Another thing in Europe is during dinner and you're eating outside you might experience beggers. The thing we learned from years of experience is to just look straight ahead and carry on. You make eye contact and they will pester you.