Athens, Greece: ancient history, tasty food, and helpful people

Rome, then England for two short days and then to Athens, Greece -another foodie friendly country to visit. We stayed in the capital of Athens for three days to see the major sites and get a taste of Greek culture. 

Parthenon on the Acropolis

We were especially excited for Greece because this term we were taking two Greek classes: gods, myths, and heroes (religion in Ancient Greece) and Greek art and architecture. After studying all these art pieces and buildings, we were finally going to get the chance to see them. Our hostel was right in the middle of all the sites. Located in Plaka, we were less than a 3 minute walk from the Acropolis, Roman and ancient Agoras on one side and the temple of Zeus Olympus on the other. Plaka is a safe and a fun area to stay in Athens, I highly recommend it.

Temple of Zeus Olympus

I also recommend eating as much Greek food as your stomach can handle. First start off with the € 2 gyros. The toasted pita is filled with spit-roasted meat, tomatoes, red onions, and tzatsiki sauce. We found good ones in Monastiraki square and near the Central Market.

Tasty Tasty Gyro

 Many of the restaurnants are touristy and try to lure you in with sweet Greek talk. Don't eat at them. Instead find our favorite taverna, Scholarhio, is located off the tourist path in Plaka on Tripodon 14.This is a MUST-EAT in Athens. It's a family style place where they bring you 18 traditional Greek dishes of the day you choose which ones you want. 

Talk about a decision.

Although it was a little expensive (€ 14, that's a lot for travelling students), you get to taste a huge variety of Greek dishes. 

Bekri Mezedes (Pork stewed in wine), Hortes (Wild greens with lemon, Tiropita (Cheese pies) and Keftedes (Meatballs)

For two of us, we got to choose 5 of the 18 with drinks, bread, and dessert. We were beyond stuffed. Great deal in my mind.

Moussaka

There is a great bakery located on Athnias 39, on the way to the central market. The name was impossible for me to say or write down. All the cookies were made with olive oil and were a perfect snack. I really like the chocolate chip made with olive oil and the cookie with cognac, raisins, and orange zest.

After the cookies, head to the Central Market. It's a large, chaotic place full of very fresh and inexpensive products.

They have stall after stall of meat, mostly lamb.

I had a blast in Athens, it was the perfect way to end our trips around Europe. After England, Greece was my favorite country overall. The people are ridiculously kind. The food is tasty and the city is clean. I can't wait to come back and do some island hopping. Be sure to check for strike days for public transportation, free days (mostly Sundays during the winter) and student discounts (There are a ton!).


We leave Canterbury in two days and were heading back to California. It's surreal that I'm finally leaving. I feel like it went by in the blink of an eye but at the same time the initial flight into London feels like years ago. It's been such a good trip and I'm going to miss my friends here so much. We started saying good bye to them, I hope to see them really really soon. Canterbury is such a great place, definitely my favorite place in Europe. It's full of great history, the best people, and good food. It's what you would imagine an English town to be. If you're ever in England, swing by Canterbury and explore my favourite city.