As evening approached we were ready to get out and keep exploring this city! We headed towards the Plaka neighborhood to roam the streets and do a little shopping. I basically always leave my souvenir shopping until the final day because who wants to lug around gifts their whole trip?! As we walked the streets we stumbled upon the gorgeous flowers and vine lined alleyways. We popped into Brettos Bar which is the oldest Distillery in Athens. Beautiful colorful bottles and lights decorate the walls of this small bar.
Outfit Round Up: Under $80
Dress: Target $20
Sunglasses: Forever 21 $8
Necklace: Francesca’s (similar) $20
Bracelet: Forever 21 $6
Shoes: Target $20
Headband: Forever 21 (similar) $5
Total: $79
For dinner we headed to A for Athens. This rooftop cocktail bar and restaurant has the most stunning views of the Acropolis and Monastiraki Square. We ordered the Truffle Pasta after we saw it delivered to another table (anyone else do that?!) The food here was good but not amazing-you’re definitely paying for the view. If you do plan on dining here I’d suggest making a reservation or going earlier than sunset. We ate around 6PM and were seated at a wonderful table but only because they had another reservation coming at 7:30 and we promised we’d be done by then!
We took a leisurely stroll back to our hotel stopping to take pictures of the Ancient Agora and street food we oogled at along the way. Once back at the hotel we headed up to the rooftop pool to see if we could catch a view of the sunset and boy could we ever! It was one of the best sunsets we saw the entire trip. Sure, watching the sun disappear into the sea is romantic but watching the sun disappear behind a mountain as the entire city illuminates into colors of orange, pink and red is pretty darn special too! Maybe it was so amazing in part because I wasn’t expecting it to be so beautiful?
The next day we packed our bags and hopped in a cab towards the airport. As we passed the Parliament building I could see the Evzones and immediately felt sadness for forgetting to make it a point to see the changing of the guard. I watched a documentary all about the Evzones which is a special unit in the Hellenic Army that stand guard. What makes them so unique is the outfits they wear and the fact that their “guarding” is mostly ceremonial. Every soldier guards for 60 minutes 3 times in 48 hours. They have to stand PERFECTLY still for the entire hour. When it’s time to change the guards, they move in pairs so they can coordinate steps. At some points, it literally looks like they are moving in slow motion. I found out later that this is to protect their blood circulation after standing still for 60 minutes.
Now for the outfit, they wear what looks like a skirt and white tights! But this prestigious uniform holds a lot of significant meaning. The skirt is actually a Greek kilt which is made with 30 meters of white cloth. Their look is complete with red leather shoes each weighing 6 pounds! Can you imagine walking with 12 pounds of shoes on your feet?! The Evzones only wear this full uniform on Sundays and Holidays. As we drove past Parliament, I realized it was Sunday and we had just missed the changing of the guard by about 5 minutes! Our taxi driver hearing the disappointment in my voice let us know that in 10 minutes they change the guard on a little side street in front of the Presidential Mansion. He asked us if we had the time to spare to go and watch. Although I was hesitant because I didn’t want to miss our flight (I am that girl who gets to the airport way too early) we decided to go for it! We pulled up right in front of the mansion just as the ceremony was beginning. It was very cool to witness and we are so lucky we had such an amazing taxi driver! He didn’t try to charge us any more for this detour, which just adds to everything I’ve said about Greek people being the most welcoming and kind hosts!
Everyone tells you one day in Athens is enough and while I agree with them for the most part this statement does a dis-service to this amazing city. No, Athens is nothing like Santorini or Mykonos. It’s not so in your face beautiful but more a hidden gem. Walking around knowing that so many ancient philosophers and historical figures roamed these streets was a powerful feeling. We loved the cute streets of the Plaka, the kitschy vibes in Monastiraki and the incredible ancient ruins that fill every inch of this city. While I don’t feel like I missed out on anything only being in Athens for one day I do feel like the saying of “Ohhhh you only NEED to spend one day in Athens” should be modified to “You are going to LOVE spending one day in Athens!”
Britt Heller 