Discovering Athens

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Athens and Sounion are true places of history. Wandering about the ancient ruins, I was struck by the pure beauty of the landscape. The rocky terrain and deep green forests were complimented by the light blue skies and weathered stones.

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We started our journey in Athens, Greece’s capitol city, located in the southern part of the country. The historic columns of structures that once were stood tall atop the cliffs. Being one of Greece’s most famous landmark, The Parthenon structure (shown above) is breathtaking – the Acropolis is the site where the ruins are, the Parthenon is at very the top of the mountain. A travel tip for hiking / exploring rocky areas : comfort is key! You don’t have to sacrifice style to be comfy, though. My top pics are stretch skinny denim, a breezy top and sneakers will do the trick. I had a great time touring these ruins, nestled in-between the busy city life below.

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ACCOMODATIONS

I’d highly recommend The Hotel Grande Bretagne – it has a stunning view of the Acropolis, and each room has with a balcony terrace that faced Syntagma Square. By looking off the balcony, you could also see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The hotel was in walking distance to the Monastiraki Market in the Plaka. With amazing handmade pieces and unique finds, it’s fun to search through all the Greek treasures!

The cityscape, breathtaking – the buildings look almost as if they’ve been placed between the mountains.

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If you love history, The Acropolis Museum houses all the Greek ancient treasures – it’s ultra modern in style. Hellenistic relics fill the spaces, creating art and drama.

unnamed-27Processed with VSCOcam with c1 presetimg_4346Traveling down to Sounion, about 40 miles south of Athens, the sun shone bright through the clouds. It was a great place to stop, relax, and reflect on everything – definitely a “zen” moment for me. If you’re looking for something to do in the area, try taking the Sounion tour from Athens – it’s a great day or half day trip, down the Grecian coast.

DINING

If you’re in Sounion, stop at Ithaki Restaurant, a fine dining spot with delicious homemade fare. The setting is storybook- set on the side of the cliffs, it has full-on views of the ocean, making it the perfect place to hang out for food and drinks. The food here was really delicious and homemade. One thing that really stood out to me in all of Greek cuisine was their tomatoes – so sweet, they tasted like candy!

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(Image above from Ithaki Restaurant)

Also — don’t leave Greece without trying loukoumades – a mix between a sweet donut and fritter, this fried sweet dough is drenched in honey and sometimes sprinkled with nuts on top. Literally, to die for. The original loukoumades come from Aigaion, located in Athens. It’s after at tiny little cafe that cranks out batch after batch of these sweets – get ’em while they’re hot and fresh out of the fryer!!

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For a once in a lifetime experience, you definitely need to treat yourself to dinner at Funky Gourmet in Athens. With over 10 courses of innovative dishes like Greek Salad Sorbet and more, it definitely is a place to remember. Their dishes also look (almost) too pretty to eat!!

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(Funky Gourmet images above from The Good Eater blog)
Until next time, Athens!

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