Covid free and ready for gyros!
Monday, September 12th: Montreal, Canada > Athens, Greece
We landed around 11:00 AM local time, cruised through passport control, upgraded our rental car (which still didn’t have enough space for three passengers and all of our luggage… and it was a manual) and headed into the city. Matt reacquainted himself with the stick shift and we quickly realized that driving in Greece would not be as comfortable as driving in the U.S. (or Canada, Norway or anywhere else we’ve visited recently). Motorbikes were everywhere, weaved in and out of traffic and seemed to ignore the common rules of road. Traffic signals and signs were somewhat optional and flashing your brights had the inverse meaning to that in the U.S.
We couldn’t check into the AirB&B right away, so we found a parking garage and walked around Athens in the Monsaraki / Plaka neighborhoods. We grabbed an espresso and spanakopita to keep us alive. We passed by farmer stands with buckets of different olives, nuts, fruits and vegetables. We walked through flea markets selling all kinds of knock off branded items, antiques, souvenirs and other things we surely didn’t need. We strolled through the streets, admiring the architecture of old city meets new.
We ate at Thespis on their patio, shaded by tree branches that were strung up to create a natural canopy. We ordered a Greek salad (made of red onion, cucumber, tomato and kalamata olives, topped with a hunk of feta cheese, olive oil and oregano) and mousaka. While dining, a few friendly cats came over for a visit. They were looking for scraps but settled for free pets.
We continued walking around, strolling through a street that was inspired by Alice in Wonderland and passing by several of the ancient sites that we’ll visit later in the week, like Hadrian’s Library and the Roman Forum.
The jet lag was sinking in as we headed to the AirB&B to check in and meet our friendly Greek host. We settled in and unpacked… and suddenly, we realized the sun had already set. We walked a block over to the culdesac of small shops, bars and restaurants and found our new favorite local joint where gyros are only $2.80.
Accommodations: AirB&B, Filopappou, Athens
