So our first full day in Athens dawned and we were up early as Boo had booked us on a walking tour. Now, I didn’t know just how far I was going to be able to walk, but I didn’t really want to miss seeing anything so we had decided that I would give it a go and if I needed to stop then Boo would continue on and find me afterwards.

We went down for breakfast which was a serve yourself affair, but had hot cooked breakfasts, pastries, Continental meats, numerous juices and hot drinks.

They even had an Earl Grey tea so I was pretty happy.

We had to be in the heart of the City by 0930 and were given instructions to meet near this tiny little church. The sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky and I was ready to give it a go.

The Tiniest Church…

The tour was being taken by George and was due to be around 2.5 hours. I thought that I could manage the time as long as the pace wasn’t too fast. I had my walking stick with me so I was hopeful.

Walking Tour

Blogger Besties on Tour

Pretty Churches

George was an amazing tour guide. He took us from the centre of the City, to some of the outskirts including the Home of Democracy, the two Observatories, Temples, the location of Socrates prison and the Stoa.

George was extremely funny and knowledgeable

The side of the Acropolis

City Panorama

He told us tales of the Gods and the Philosophers. He took us around Monastiraki and told us of places we needed to visit.

Not a cloud in the sky…

Repair and renovate

He was really attentive and checked on me frequently to see if I was coping and it wasn’t too fast.

The seat of Democracy

To be honest I was managing the speed of the walk all right, I just needed to sit down frequently when we we standing listening to his tales.

Tombs and artefacts

The juxtaposition between ancient and new…

After three hours (George was so enthusiastic) the group split up. Boo asked if he could recommend somewhere good to eat with excellent vegetarian options. Not only did he recommend them, he took us to them!

In the middle of Monastiraki

Moving into the Monastiraki and Psiri areas George showed us several places to eat including the amazing Sabbas which is where we decided to eat.  During the tour we had met a young American lady who asked if she could join us for lunch. Well, the more the merrier and we headed in to eat.

They had two floors of seating and we went upstairs to an area that had outdoors and indoors seating. Even though the sun was shining, the wind had kicked up a little and we didn’t want to get either sunburnt or chilly.

The view of Sabbas

Boo and our new companion, Adrielle went for a huge falafel platter and I went for a kebab. I have to say it was out of this world. The meat was juicy and flavourful and as far as Athens prices go, pretty good value. With soft drinks, the whole bill came to around €40 for enough food to feed 6 people.

Lunch is served

After eating Adrielle had other things to do so Boo and I decided to walk around the flea market area of Monastiraki. I don’t know if we went to the wrong area, but we didn’t see anything other that souvenir stalls, but it gave us a chance to check out the prices and different things on offer so we could get a few trinkets at the end of the holiday.

Monastiraki Street Art

We walked through the crowded part of Syntagma Square heading towards Parliament Square. If you are not aware of the Changing of the Guard, you really need to check it out!

Every hour, on the hour there is a Changing of the Guard with traditionally dressed Soldiers in skirts, folded hats and soft looking shoes with pom-poms on.

They are changing the Guard….

This is not usually what you expect soldiers to be wearing. It is very pretty and ornate.

However this is nothing compared to the ‘routine’ they perform when changing guards. The whole process takes around 15 minutes and involves what can only be described as Interpretive Dance.

There are twists and flicks, movements that look like a horse pawing at the ground, scraping their hoofs backwards. At one point they are standing on one leg with the other lifted forward at about 75 degrees with a flat foot. On cue they flick the foot into a point and back again.

We were astounded. It was so deliberate and artistic. Apparently there is a story behind the movements, but we never managed to find out quite what!

By this point I was flagging quite a bit so we grabbed an Uber back to the hotel to have a rest and freshen up before going out in the evening.

I have to admit, I may have snoozed for an hour or two before it was time to get ready.

Boo and B out for Cake

Freshening up, changing clothing and putting on a bit of slap, Boo and I discussed where were were going to eat that evening. We had been told by Adrielle of a couple of places that were amazing, including a Magical place called ‘Little Kook’.

This place of wonder apparently had the best cakes ever and really was one we shouldn’t miss.

I want a ride in it!

Well, you know we love a bit of cake, and as we had eaten a massive lunch, it made a lot of sense. We grabbed another Uber and hit the town.

A huge statue. On top of a Roof!

Little Kook really stood out right from the start. There was a huge dragon on the top of the roof and through the windows you could see all kinds of madness.

Little Kook

We asked for a table and were directed upstairs. We passed shelving full of gnomes, A huge golden Rhinos head and a complete dinner service including table upside down on a ceiling.

A Wonderland…

Oh and there was a massive Beanstalk right through the middle of the building!

Absolutely normal then.

Where’s Jack?

We sat and had a look at the menu and the different flavourings on offer were crazy. I really fancied a slice of ‘Wolf, Wolf here I am’ which had layers of Vanilla sponge with peanut butter and tahini sauce distracted by a layer of passion fruit marmalade.

Decisions, Decisions

What a combination.

We sat chatting about what we had seen during the day whilst waiting for the cake to arrive.  To be honest I didn’t really know quite what to expect from my cake and I was flabbergasted when it arrived.

Against a Hi-Ball glass for scale

The slab of cake that had been put on my plate was massive. The wedge probably filled the whole of the plate and accompanied by three scoops of ice cream, well it was something to be seen.

Gnomes Galore

Sitting down with a fork and spoon I genuinely didn’t know how I was going to manage to eat the whole thing.

Pea Pods

And I really couldn’t!

I admitted defeat

Eventually we had to admit defeat. There was no room left for even a crumb.

Deciding to have a wander around Psiri and its environs, I hoped that it would work off some of the food I had consumed today.  It was actually really lovely walking around at night-time as the City was illuminated and looked beautiful.

So Pretty

George had also recommended a visit to the rooftop terrace of the ‘A for Athens’ hotel. The Odyssey Roof terrace offered a range of cocktails, spirits and wine with some of the best views of the Acropolis!

Well we had to give it a go!

Arriving at the hotel we followed the signs through the reception area to the roof car.

If I remember correctly, it was on the ninth floor so we got the lift straight up there. Once out of the lift there were half a dozen steps to navigate and then we were there.

The Rooftop View

High in the sky we had the most perfect view of the Acropolis; all lit up and as pretty as can be.

I had recently decided to go tee-total, and they had a lovely couple of alcohol free cocktails. I went with the Pickled Pickfords which was a combination of Pineapple, Pomegranate shrub and Soda.

What a view!

It was divine. Refreshing, tasty and right up my street.

We sat chatting for a while, talking about our day and what else we had planned for the rest of the week. Time had flown and it was gone 11pm. Knowing we had another busy day ahead, we decided to call it a day and got an Uber home.

I have had worse views…

My head hit the pillow and I didn’t resurface until the next day!

Watch out for the next episode coming soon.

Till then

SPSG xxx