Vravrona

After a nice summer, hello again from Athens. Well, not exactly in Athens, but in Attica. Vravrona is a place to the east of the city, where the temple of Artemis was in the ancient years. Nowadays one of the calmest places in Attica, not a lot of houses and still a lot of green. And a blue sea. Certainly worth a visit. Search for the small tavern in the place called hamolia'.

Pireus

The Port, the gateway to the greek islands of the Aegean sea, and also a destination for a nice walk.
This is the port of Mikrolimano, that harbours mainly sailing clubs.

Argw

Argw, the ship made like the one the Argonauts used to explore the Black Sea in the ancient years, is now at the courtyard of the Foundation 'Ellhnikos Kosmos' (Hellenic World) near the centre of Athens (Pireus str. 254, http://www.fhw.gr/fhw/). After travelling the seas, the ship can be visited, an experience worth trying.

Playing with shadow and light.

In Technopolis, the art festivals are ready to take you for a walk to the future. The young and the restless take a walk there.

Coming for a ride?

Under the Acropolis, the coach is ready to take you for a walk to the past. I hope the -very nice- horse enjoys it too.

Cup of coffee..

Here's a cup of coffee for the morning, the greek style. Best enjoyed prepared in a copper container, 'briki', the originally made one is hard to find.

Sounio..

And tht was a lot of city pictures for such a hot day.

Let's take a trip to the south of Athens, cape Sounio.

And let's see a photographer trying to get the great shot.

Technopolis 2

Gazi, the area around Technopolis, is full of bars and taverns, very new but made according to the traditional style of the mezedopolia, which are the places to drink wine or ouzo and have something to eat along, although the prices are not that traditional, spicy, I'd say. It's worth trying, but don't be carried away and order too much..

Some images from Technopolis, the one from an old machine and the other from an exhibition during the comics festival, I'm sorry I haven't put down the artist's name, should anybody recognise it, let me know.

Technopolis, Gazi

On 100 Pireos str. there is Technopolis, or the city of Art. The old gass factory has been renovated into a meeting point for modern art, music, video, comics, photography and dance. There are festivals held here asrouind the year, including the very good European Jazz Festival, and the Comics Festival. Full of young people, mainly alternative, who sit on the grass and drink their beers while engaging to conversations about life, universe and everything (as Douglas Adams would say).

Acropolis of the Metropolis

And a blog for Athens should have at least one picture of the Acropolis, a bit blurry, (photo taken without tripod), I must confess.

Monastiraki, the old and the modern

The Monastiraki area is one of my favorite in Athens, as there you can see how the old, the ancient and the very modern co-exist and give life to one another. There you can find a lot of young people, greek, immigrants and tourists, and the word for it is colourful. Hand made jewellery made from everything, from siver to knitting threads, lanterns, oddities.

And some of the most innovative dressing styles and hairdos.

Bars and coffee

For the romantic souls, athens is better in the summer by night, day is too sunny and dizzy.
Many bars, cafes and restaurants everywhere, for all tastes, from the posh ones with haute cuisine to the south, to the suburb of Glyfada, to the ones near the center, with a more urban style. Try to find one with airconditioning for the noon.. Elegant: Zonar's, Brasserie, La tasse in Kolonaki for the afternoon, in the center. Kafekouti, Skoufaki, Circus, from afternoon to (very late) evening, in a more relaxed style.
Urban bars, to the early morning: Bartessera, 7 Jokers, Key, all in the center, near Syntagma Square. Try the sweets of Glykogenesis, Karagiwrgh Servias street, Syntagma and the snaks from Da capo in Κolonaki, the people watching place.

Monastiraki.. The flea market

Monastiraki, which means small Convent, is a place in central Athens, just next to Plaka, the area the Acropolis is in. There you can see all the chaos of the modern city, a lot of people, a lot of street vendors, selling just about everyrthing, including food. Generally, food and tap water are safe in Greece. Although street vendors may have conspicuous storing conditions, usually nothing goes wrong. You can walk around safely all day and in the night in the monasthraki area, as there are many cafes open till very late, let's say the morning, in Adrianou street, leading to Thisio. Monasthraki is a metro station. The nearby Abbysinias Square is the center for used furniture in Athens. Every second Friday there is held a colourfull bazaar of antiques.
Trust the fruit vendors everywhere in the square, good prices and very good quality.

Hello from Athens!

Hello, from a sunny and -very- warm Athens.
I'll try to guide visitors and natives to Athens as we know it, and as we don't.
Have a nice day, Kalhmera, as it is in greek.

For photos from Greece-and not only- you can visit:
http://www.5dromoi.blogspot.com/
and http://www.fwtotaxidi.blogspot.com