Athens, Greece -- a study in contrasts

When it's time to celebrate your best friend's 70th birthday, make it Greece. First stop - Athens.

Dinner at Pharaoh Restaurant & Bar

As most European vacations begin, we flew through the night, arrived at our hotel -- L'Avventura Athens -- by mid-afternoon, and crashed for a quick nap before setting out for dinner. At the advice of our fabulous Greek travel consultant, Alexia Hatziiliades (more on her in a later post), we had a reservation at a funky, modern restaurant called Pharaoh. In the midst of run-down, graffiti-scarred neighborhood was this gem of a place with eclectic decor, an interesting menu, a most attentive sommelier, and a DJ spinning tunes that had us wishing there were a dance floor.  We shared a collection of plates including: charcoal grilled lamb chops served with grilled veggies, a paprika spread, and spicy cheese dip; a yummy salad made from roasted pumpkin, beets, cabbage, and "rocket" (arugula); a chestnut & onion stew; and grilled wild greens with Manouri Cheese , 

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The Erechtheion

With a full day of sightseeing planned for the next day, we wrapped up dinner and headed back to our hotel.  At Alexia's urging, we arranged with Alternative Athens for an all-day tour of the Acropolis, the Acropolis Museum, and the Ancient Agora. We hit the jackpot with our tour guide Antonia -- she is a working archaeologist with deep knowledge of Greek history and culture who happens to also be a jewelry artist and a most attentive guide. 

The Acropolis (Greek for "high city") was amazing, especially the two major temples that honor the goddess Athena, after whom Athens is named. The Parthenon is the most famous, but  the lesser-known Erechtheion has the beautiful "Porch of the Maidens", and also contains references to the rivalry between Poseidon and Athena over who would become the patron of the city.

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Between the Acropolis and the Agora, we stopped at a lovely sidewalk cafe called Sycophant where we enjoyed an amazingly beautiful fruit salad plate, the prettiest presentation of yogurt and fruit, an herbal "Mountain Tea", Greek coffee, and a delightful pair of lemonade drinks -- one with ginger and mint, the other with hibiscus & mint. Gotta try these "mocktails" at home!

While noshing we took the opportunity to chat with Antonia about Greek holiday traditions -- she recounted how the aroma of spit roasted lamb permeated her neighborhood on Easter,  that Christmas is focused on church, and gift exchange happens on New Year's day.  

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The final stop of our all-day tour was the Acropolis Museum. Antonia prepared us for the fact that the building itself is a main attraction.  Opened in June 2009 it is an architectural wonder. Because it is only 300 meters from the Acropolis monuments, the site was filled with important archaeological discoveries, so they carefully constructed the foundation in a way that exposes them through openings and glass floors. 

Below the floor of the Acropolis Museum

The top floor of the museum seems oddly off kilter, until you realize that it is exactly mirrors the Parthenon in its dimensions and orientation so that the sculptural artifacts can be precisely placed as they appeared in the original temple. Particularly interesting is how the portions of the marble sculptures that were taken to England by Lord Elgin in the early 1800's are replaced with plaster replicas. It is a stark reminder of the ongoing dispute with the British Museum over who rightfully owns the "Elgin Marbles". We particularly loved the beautiful floral "Akroterion", which once adorned the roof of the Parthenon. The lower floors feature other sculptures rescued from relentless damage of outdoor exposure, such as the Caryatids (the "maidens" that held up the porch roof of the Erechtheion).

A full day of touring antiquities deserved a second cafe break, and what better place than the Museum cafe that has the finest view of the Acropolis anywhere. As we enjoyed our tea and coffee, Nancy asked Antonia an interesting question: What are the main misconceptions Americans have of Greek food? She answered without the slightest hesitation: 1) There should never be lettuce in a Greek Salad - only tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, peppers, and red onion, 2) The feta cheese should never be crumbled - only presented as a whole slab on top of the salad to ensure its quality, 3) Gyro is never made of lamb -- only chicken or pork.

Before long hugs and goodbyes to Antonia, we got her to suggest a taverna that might have live music for our evening meal. She recommended a tiny place called Kapnikarea. After a short nap we set out to find it -- it was really close to our hotel. The music was authentically Greek and so was the food.

We had a renewed burst of energy so we finished the night at a place called MS Roof Garden. We got really lucky -- with no reservation we were ushered past the crowded tables to one with an amazing view of the Acropolis lit up in full glory. The cocktails and wine were great but it was all about the view.

Coming up next? The Oracle says, "Time for a road trip".

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View of the Acropolis from MS Roof Garden

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