The touristy-part of Athens is scattered with ancient ruins and restaurants with all the mouth-watering foods that beg me to be a fatty: moussaka, stuffed vine leaves, stuffed tomatoes, gyros, baklava - and that’s only to name a few. It is truly my foodie-heaven. Moussaka is probably one of the richest savoury foods I have tasted. Wine is also stupidly cheap compared to Australia - at the supermarket you can buy a decent bottle for under 10 euros. This is definitely my kind of country.
The ancient ruins took half a day to explore, but were well worth it - I can’t fathom how old some of the ruins are - I can’t even believe they still exist today. There is so much history and culture embedded in the architecture. When I reached the Acropolis up at the very top, there was a panoramic view of Athens. I could see the hills, the houses, glimpses of the ocean far off. The view is so different to anything I would see in Australia. I took well over 100 pictures of the ruins.
The Greeks are some of the friendliest, charismatic and passionate people I have ever met. They were willing to explain things to me and have a good laugh. The taxi driver from the airport to Athens took the time to explain useful Greek phrases to me. He even taught me how to ask a Greek boy to coffee - because he insisted I should marry a nice Greek boy. The taxi driver was so thrilled I was trying to speak Greek that he kept heartily laughing and cupping my hands in his. After a long red-eye and dehydrating flight, it was a welcome change to laugh so hard.
