Greece was everything that I imagined and more. We spent 9 days in Athens and we flew to Santorini for 1 day at the beach. I cannot take credit for all of the amazing things that we did because Mitchell did all of the planning. I just had to do show up. Mitchell took notes during the whole trip so we could share the details with you guys!
While we were blown away by Greek culture, the food was our absolute favorite part. Everything was so fresh! The cocktails were out of a dream. Everything was made with freshly squeezed juice.
The Greeks were also so kind to us. One of our favorite parts of the trip was talking to servers and taxi drivers. It’s clear that the people are much more relaxed, are never in a rush, and value relationships more than anything. While most bars in the US are cocktail bars, the bars there were cocktail and coffee bars. It was a normal thing for friends to stay out until 11 PM on a Monday night sipping on coffee or cocktails.
Our Airbnb was in the perfect location. Everything was within walking distance. We walked on average 5-10 miles a day, which was necessary considering all of the food that we were eating! I wore my favorite slip-on, pink sneakers which were perfect for walking and I still felt fashionable.
Now to the fun stuff, our favorite spots!
While I am a fan of quiet and more private restaurants, Mitchell is a fan of busier places. We went to our fair share of both.
Balcony: This restaurant was by far my favorite! Mitchell read about it online. It was perfect and everything I dreamt it would be. If you like clean, light, delicious eating, then this is your place! We ate there 3 times! We obliviously sat on the balcony that was filled with beautiful flowers and sunshine. While the entrée menu looked amazing, we ended up getting 2 apps, a salad, and a cocktail each time. This restaurant gave me some real recipe inspiration to bring home with me. On each visit, I ordered their green apple juice cocktail. It was so refreshing! Mitchell ordered a warm whiskey and ginger drink and it was delightful. Our favorite apps were the poached egg and the Athenian which was blue crab, capers, earth and sea eggs.
Philos: The breakfast was so good that we ate here twice. The benedict was the best thing that we ate on the whole trip. The bread literally melted in your mouth and the egg was done just right.
Odori: Our Air BnB host told us about this place and we ended up going there 3 times. It was right around the corner from our apartment. The food was just as amazing as the people! The servers went above and beyond. At each visit, we ordered a charcuterie board. The meats were to die for. Every time we were there they brought us something on the house. The first night they brought us Mastiha, which is a Greek liquor. It tastes like stevia (the sweetener). It was delicious and you can’t say that about many liquors. Another night they brought us a friend ice cream ball. Mitchell doesn’t even like sweets and he ate the whole thing! If you ever go, ask for Jim. He was one of the nicest guys we’ve ever met.
We went to the beach twice. First, we went to Astir Beach, which is a private beach about 30 minutes away from downtown Athens. I really liked that it was private and there were servers that got you whatever you wanted.
Acropolis and Byzantine and Christian Museum.
We also did some historical sightseeing while we were in Greece. We took a tour of the Acropolis and it was spectacular. The Acropolis overlooks Athens and the views were breathtaking. The Parthenon sits atop the Acropolis, which was surreal to see in person. We also visited the Byzantine and Christian Museum, which told the story of how Greece became the diverse culture that it is today. Mitchell was in his glory!
