Athens, what a magical, ancient and engrossing city. Everywhere you turn there are archaeological sites, bakeries, cafes and bars each more alluring than the next. Walking through the twisting streets decorated with vast street art, cool boutique shopping and delicious smells, Athens taps into all of your senses. The further you get towards the center of town, the more chaotic it becomes. Taxis and people pack the narrow avenues, all getting to their next shopping, eating or sight seeing adventure. Just be wary of the taxis at night, they double their meter price and take you the long way if you don’t know where you are going.

The street food scene is absolutely amazing, which is good given our limited budget. You can get an incredible meal with two beers for $30 or less, sometimes including an appetizer. This city is much more expensive than its other Balkan counterparts, yet it offers so much more in diversity of cuisine. These two gems, Vietnam Street Food and Vegan Beat are neighbors, both delicious in completely different ways. I had an incredible udon shrimp soup, with shrimp cakes, prawns, bok choy, and tofu in a savory shrimp broth. It warmed me up on the cool night we went, all of the restaurants have heaters outside to keep you warm while patio dining, which is sometimes the only option. Our server gave us a jar of homemade chili sauce, to her surprise we ate the entire thing. It was so refreshing to have something spicy, the Balkan people are not usually known to enjoy heat in their food. Vegan Beat was one of the most delicious veggie burgers I have had, with sweet potatoes and black beans, alongside the famous potato tornado. My faithful travel companion ate a fried cauliflower sandwich on a pretzel bun, and even he admitted it was enjoyable without meat.

Grateful to have exposure to Asian food, we shared a meal at Ikura Sushi, which has offerings from most Asian cuisines… Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese and even some Chinese dishes. We had hot and sour soup, bibimbap, and tteokbokki (korean steamed rice cake in gochujang). Ikura is a bit pricier than some of the other restaurants in town and though tasty, we felt that what we received didn’t reflect our 50€ tab. On the other hand, we couldn’t suppress our delight when we found the alleged American barbecue place PoBoys. In true American style this meal was over the top decadent. Fortunately we had this grub on one of our many trekking days where we walk at least 15k, and have been currently doing OMAD (one meal a day) on days like these so we can still function after such a heavy meal. Andouille sausage poboy with sriracha, cheese sauce and slaw; pulled pork mac and cheese and one of the best potato salads I have ever eaten with homemade bread and butter pickles that reminded me of my mom. PoBoys have an excellent craft local beer selection too. The restaurant was packed and we could easily see why, it is absolutely next level and hands down the truest American food we have eaten abroad.

There are an infinite amount of cafes and bars to enjoy your coffee and beers at. In true Greek fashion you are always offered a small snack with your beverages. From queen olives, figs, chips, salty nuts or popcorn with your beers, or a small biscuit with your coffee. Our very favorite place in Athens, The Friends Cafe, has the best prices in town for small plates and beverages. It is located in a small, nondescript strip next to our cozy flat where we stayed. The warmth of the owner is unmatched in our travels, he spoiled us with local Christmas cookies, various snacks and Raki. I wished I had taken some pictures of his small delicious plates, but the covered patio at night was a low lit intimate experience. Dakos, one of my favorite Greek dishes, is soaked dried bread with chopped tomatoes and mizithra cheese, topped with capers and oregano. He also made incredible meatballs on the grill served with hand cut fries alongside sautéed greens with olive oil and lemon. Amazingly he served, fed and cleaned his small restaurant solo, he could easily attend to the 50 guests in his charming establishment, keeping everyone full and drinks flowing.

During our stay at least I was able to get a photo of one of our local friends. The cats here are so sweet and loving, you will be walking anywhere and they will come to you for pets and love, or escort you down the road. When we asked the owner at Friends Cafe if the cat had a name, he said no, but we should name her. So here is my friend Kaiser the Cat, after the local lager that is enjoyed throughout Greece. Every time we went there, we both had some snuggles; it is amazing to be able to enjoy the company of cats without the burden of caring for them full time. Most residents leave bowls of food and water, or small impromptu shelters for the strays. It is a community effort, and one that is shared throughout.

The Greeks love Christmas, so it was pretty magical being in Athens during this time. The whole city is alight, but not anywhere in comparison to Little Kook, a fairy-tale inspired Patisserie that is transformed into a wonderland for the holidays. The servers are dressed as elves, painstakingly serving tea and coffee to those who are brave enough to sit street side. All I could think briefly walking through the claustrophobic crowd is this is a pickpockets fantasy come true. It is worth taking a short walk through the madness, however, I have never seen anything quite like it. For those who love Christmas it is a dream (for others, a special kind of nightmare).

I have been waiting to be in Athens so I could replace some worn clothing from our 14 month adventures… We are still living out of a 35 liter pack, rewearing the same items on repeat have started to take its toll. There are so many unique boutiques and vintage clothing stores, all with special offerings that are fun just to look at. Remember Fashion (since 1979), was the most incredible shop I have ever been in. It is a punk paradise of clothing and part museum. There are a plethora of distinctive items, wearable works of art hand crafted by locals. I haven’t enjoyed shopping for a long time, it was so refreshing to be surrounded by individual garments, not the usual trash fast fashion that can be found everywhere. The shop keeper was gracious, letting us take our time perusing the numerous racks of conversation pieces. I settled on a green denim chore coat that had been artistically bleached to perfection, along with a hand painted t-shirt that is one of a kind. I was gifted with a Remember Fashion tote with my purchase to remember them by, although forgetting my experience would be impossible. They made me love shopping again.

The surrounding neighborhood is full of other gems, notably New Skin Vintage, where I picked up an 80s checkerboard printed top. The customer service here is on point, and the staff is dressed to perfection. They have a good variety of pieces throughout many eras, so you are sure to find something to give a second life to. It’s nice to know that out of everything I purchased, I am not going to bump into someone with the same clothes. It was time to take a break from our shopping trek… Around the corner from New Skin we found a cool bar, Bad Tooth, which won us over with the 80’s music blasting from inside. The amount of edgy little punk and rock cafes is overwhelming, in our month stay there is absolutely no way to explore them all. One of the coolest is Imperial fox, although as the night went on when we were there I felt like maybe it was a little too cool for me (or I not cool enough for it, as the case probably was).

One of the most memorable nights was going to a local metal fest at Temple Athens; a small, dark venue perfect for witnessing five metal bands back to back. There was so much beautiful curly hair, like it was straight out of a shampoo commercial… with the exception of it being an olive skinned, dark eyed beardy guys instead. Everyone was dressed in their metal best and having a great time, friends embracing and catching up along with three chicks that managed to head bang in unison the entire time. It was a blast. Our bartender generously gave us each a free beer, which has never happened to me at a paid show. The music was everything we have been missing from Portland, it was awesome to hear metal in Greek too. Luckily for us there are posters all around town of upcoming events, theatre, art shows, movies and concerts so you are bound to find something up your alley.

For New Years we decided to hit Syntagma Square, the central square of Athens, located in front of the Old Royal Palace that houses the Greek Parliament. It is a central gathering place for Athenians, one of the largest metro stops are underneath the square. On New Years they have a concert leading up to the countdown and a dazzling fireworks display at the stoke of midnight. There were thousands of people there with their families and friends, everyone with their phones fixed on the sky, trying to catch the perfect photo or video of the event. One curiosity of the evening was trying to have a drink afterwards. Bar after bar we walked by were closed for the night. We ran into some perplexed Eastern Europeans who were looking to have a celebratory cocktail outside of one of the places we tried. They asked us if we had seen anything open, but after our third try we decided to enjoy the walk home and find something along the way. We finally did! Another small rock cafe packed to the gills with people dancing inside. We opted for street seating since it was a beautiful night out, enjoyed a Guinness and finished the long walk home. Be sure to stock up on everything you need before holidays, as sometimes shops can be closed for days; Christmas and Second Christmas (the day after), New Year’s Eve and Day, and the Epiphany is also celebrated here (Jan 6th).

I have fallen in love with this Metropolis and am so sad to have our time here at an end. I could easily find myself living here long term, I would just have to start studying Greek. It makes it difficult not being able to read things, but when you have no idea how the letters are pronounced it makes the challenge even more so. Thank you to Google translate and maps, without those two apps our travels would be harder in so many ways. I continue to pick up things here are there, but knowing we will be in Macedonia soon it’s hard to commit to any one language. Just make an effort wherever you go and it will be appreciated by the locals. Goodbye Athens, I will miss you in my heart, mind and stomach!