I have always had dreams of Greece since I was in high school and I read The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Of course that was specifically centered in Santorini (the real goal!) but I knew Athens was the capital and was a must see especially if we were already going to make the trek out there! 

When we arrived, it was almost night time and to be honest I was a little scared. Athens reminded me of a scarier New York City with graffiti on every block and there seem to be a lack of street lamps. We are some gyros (when in Greece…) and went to bed. FYI, Athens is very “city” in that a nice hotel will still be quite small due to their limited city space. For example, the shower literally just fits me standing. If I had to turn or anything, I would need to spin exactly on the same spot or I would hit a wall 😛 

We were only there for a full day so we decided to make our own “tour”. Thank God my travel partner, Stephanie, looked up the general direction of things so first stop was the shopping square 🙂 We were amazed by all the leather goods and the triplets everywhere. I was told that Athens coffee is the best (it’s really strong) so we made sure to grab some. To be honest, I like more milk and sugar than actual coffee so I can’t tell you if it was more amazing than America’s coffee…I did like my ice freddo though 🙂 

After a round of shops, we decided to learn some history and hit up the historical parts including the Acropolis. It was amazing to see how tall the columns were and to see the exposed stones. After a while, we got hot from climbing all the stairs to the columns so we just sat and relaxed some.

 There are 9 parts in total and it’s 30 euros to get a pass for all of them. If you’re a student (or have a student ID) you can get that same pass for only 15 euros. Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes because there are a lot of steps and dust everywhere. 

My favorite was the Acropolis just for its sheer size. But my most favorite was the shopping square 🙂 I have decided I will only buy leather from Greece because the prices are amazing! Also I love gelato!!! 

After a full day, we called it and packed up to head to our first island. Athens could be fun for the shopping, but you really only need one day for the history part. Till the next island…aka next week’s post xo