[Baby products in Greece you might as well consider]
This is for the moms out there, if you have babies and you do not cook at home, the supermarkets offer 3 varieties of baby food from the brand Nestlé which is highly expensive and comes at a whopping 2.60-2.80 euros per bottle. So I suggest all those lazy moms out there to start investing time and effort in your precious angel’s food intake by making home cooked meals unless you could afford the prices I just gasped about. There are also nappies that you might consider to look up on. I would say, consider throwing away those ‘Pampers’ and buy the ‘Babylino’. The brand that offers no spill and no hassle, the best diapers in town. And for the baby range of toiletries there is huge amount of choices you get in the supermarkets. And nothing will disappoint you.
[left to right: Ermou street,Traditional Greek sandals, Plaka]
The shops in the city have funny timings; they close in the afternoons on some days and open until 9 pm on the others. Shops like hairdressers don’t open on Mondays and Tuesdays and you might have to make appointments following those two days. Not to forget the shopping, Athens is a shopper’s paradise as the sales for some of the branded exclusive collections drop by more than 80% during the month of February every year. So if you want to shop till you drop, don’t forget to book your flights during this period for a promising load of clothes and range of shoes, bags and whatever you crave in fashion. The Ermou street is where all things fashion happens, the busiest street until the end of business hours and even on Sundays when there are no shops opened, is the street you never want to miss the chance to walk once. The street leads you to the squares of Monastiraki and Omonia where all the street shopping happens. And there is a flea market where you can buy awesome junk collections be it art, jewelry and antiques for really good bargains. And there is plaka, the tourists souvenir paradise. You can get all the souvenirs you want to take home. My personal choice ranges from anything to do with authentic Greek like the mastic oils, olive soaps, the greek spices, the Peloponnese wines, clothes, greek shoes with the funny wool like balls for decoration, the fridge magnets, awesome leather items, art pieces and so on. My list can go on and on.
[Left to right: Traditional Greek tavern, Pita Gyros, Souvlaki, Moussaka, Shrimp Saganaki]
Alright, I would like to come back to the food just for you not get confused what to order when you get here. Like I mentioned in the previous post, Greek cuisine is one of the oldest in tradition. It has mostly Mediterranean produce. As a visitor or a person living here you would be tempted to eat (at least) a meal outside once a day. So what you would have to look for are Tavernas if you do not want to end up getting served western food. The Greeks like to eat their meals quite late and they eat huge breakfasts and tiny portions of afternoon meals and then a heavy mid evening meal and a heavy late dinner followed by wine, with lots of music. These dinners usually wind down only in the early morning hours, usually at 4 am. When you get here, do not forget to order Souvlaki which comes in two versions, one where you can have it wrapped with a pita bread and they call it Pita Gyros with everything in it, like a simple salad consisting of tomatoes and onions and then a sauce called Tzatziki which is a yoghurt based sauce with cucumbers and some fresh dill which makes a perfect dipping sauce. The pita can come as gyros which is basically meat off the roasting spit and then there is Souvlaki which is meat on kebab sticks and wrapped in pita and salad or can come with the sticks and served with pita separately. There is Moussaka, the Greek national dish made of layered beef mince and eggplant with tomato sauce, perfect for an afternoon lunch! Do not forget to try the feta salad with some pita bread and house wine. There is also, Saganaki, cooked seafood in tomato sauce and fresh feta. Trust me Greek food can never disappoint anyone. There are a lot of other varieties but I urge you to explore.
For me, the most fascinating time has been the weekends so far, once the summer hits Greece there is so much on the table to do. You can just soak in the sun on the beach, as you all know, the Greek sea is a 1000 shades of blue to the eyes with beautiful sand filled shore perfect for a sunny day. There is so much to do, I tried fishing, getting to hire a boat and go around the coast to see the beautiful landscape Greece has to offer. The roadways leading to the south of the Attica towards a place called Suonio is an amazing ride for bike lovers and equally perfect for a car if you love long drives with picturesque sceneries. Starting from the Athens coastline Glyfada to the Tip of Attica the midway has beautiful beaches to suit your preferences or you could also explore each beach as you go. For me it was a kind of addiction. The coast line was love at first sight for me. The drop down cliffs touching the sea are a beautiful sight for one’s eye. Once again, there is nothing in Greece that will disappoint, as everything is to fall in love with. I hope I was able to keep you my reader entertained, about visiting Athens.
In my next post I would talk about the places you must visit as a visitor in Greece and what you would find fascinating there. So, hold on to your horses and stay put for my yet another interesting and fun filled adventure in another part of this fascinating Historical Greece. Stay Tuned.
tête–à–tête of my memoir 