Athens post-partum thoughts
Greetings from Spain! But first, a few parting thoughts on Athens.
Generally, we prefer the medium size cities over the very large ones. Amsterdam, Paris and Rome are amazing for their culture, history, food, nightlife, public spaces and other features. As a first-time visitor, however, they feel a bit like vacation-by-checklist. Gotta see this, gotta see that.
The places I find the most peace, the greatest desire to spend a month or more, are smaller. Montreux, Utrecht, Lyon, and Nimes to name a few.
Athens looks like the first group. It’s large. Loud. Crowded. There’s litter and graffiti. Even in the hospitality sector, the locals are more perfunctory than friendly.
They do, however, enjoy each other’s company and exude strong family connections. We saw mothers holding hands with teenage or adult daughters in public spaces and older men hanging out with peers or playing backgammon in the corners of restaurants.
We stayed a short walk from the Parthenon and other major archaeological sites. Several public parks on hilltops offer breathtaking views of the city. Others provide meandering paths with plenty of greenery. The city is very walkable, with distinct and interesting neighborhoods. Did I mention the food? OMG and we could have a conversation without the head-banging volume of music that dominates U.S. restaurants.
For Americans, Athens is highly affordable and a bargain compared to other parts of western Europe. The biggest exception is gas (like all of Europe), but we didn’t have a car and the Metro system is cheap, reliable and easy.
Regular readers of this blog know I’m a fan of the ancient Greek philosophers. Retracing their paths and revisiting their thoughts was inspiring. But there’s more, I believe, something intangible in Athens’ culture or vibe that I’m struggling to find the words to describe. We felt it right away and definitely want to go back, and stay longer.
We absolutely loved it there. Both of us.
By the numbers:
9th largest metro population in continental Europe... Athens
~25% cheaper than the U.S. - restaurants in Athens
~35% cheaper than the U.S. - groceries in Athens
~60% cheaper than the U.S. - housing in Athens
16,902 steps - daily average for our last four days in Athens
As always, help spread the word!
