For the next few weeks we're taking you on a mini 'road trip' series through Greece.
Wow!
You have to experienced that.
It's like nothing I've experienced in my life.
We're starting this adventure here in Athens, where we've hired this
cute compact car for three weeks for 500 euros. When you arrive you can absolutely see why this
is one of the top five beaches in the world. Along the way we're going to be staying in
drive inland to a town where monastery are built in the sky. Every step that we take is another incredible view.
We'll then plonk the car in a few ferries to experience some of the most jaw-dropping islands
on the west coast. Oh my gosh, so high. It's like straight down. So join us for all our top tips, our
favorite spots, with our first stop being Athens, because it was the easiest city for us to fly
into and where we've hired our moving home.
Hello. Hi Thank you Yianni. Wow my bag is heavy.
John and I have moved our belongings from our boat into a couple of suitcases, swapping the ocean for land
just for a few weeks before we get back to boat life.
So this is our ride for now. We hired it from the airport and that's where we'll be returning it.
We've got a downgrade, unfortunately.
But we got to pay the same price for the privilege.
550 buck-a-roos for three weeks.
So we're driving into the City and it is chaos.
There are yellow taxis everywhere and the parking is limited. Wow it's so tight!
There's also an extra layer of difficulty for us because unlike Australia the drivers sit in the left-hand seats. Turn left then turn right.
We ended up finding this small hidden car park which was amazed to get to and ended up costing
us 15 Euro a day.
Super convenient though. Just a two minute walk to our accommodation.
We've arrived to Athens.
Lugging around our lives in a few bags.
Worried that we might get mugged.
The first thing we noticed in Athens this bustling city which is the capital of Greece is the huge
structure built on a hill in the Heart of the City, the Parthenon, one of the oldest buildings
on planet Earth. It'll be our first stop after we check into our Airbnb, which was a bargain.
Welcome to our Airbnb. Who decided to bring a big suit case?
I think there's stairs. Oh no, there's an elevator. What level are we on?
Eight.
The area we're staying in is called Psirri. It's Central and walking distance to most attractions.
How cool. So this was really cheap, like 80 bucks a night? Something like yeah, I
think, that's the bathroom through there. Well let's go and have a look.
This is real luxury for us boaties. Wow. If you watched our Australian sailing series it was in this very apartment
that we sold Tucana, our yacht.
What are you doing?
And what did you just tell me?
What did I just tell you?
I'm not sure if it's a good idea.
Uh no special conditions, we both sign...
Because we're close to everything by foot we're gonna walk up to the Acropolis which will take us about an hour
and along the way we'll be walking through the city so we'll point out the best parts.
No need to write any of these places down I've made a little map for you guys which I'll tell you about soon.
So this is the Central Municipal Athens Market the biggest in the whole city and definitely worth a
look. From fresh fish to Fresh Produce. Hey quickly while we're here, what do you think about the city?
Since 2015 when they had that big financial crisis.
The people are out on the streets again.
They look like it.
We visited just after that last time. Since then it feels like everything's gonna state of disrepair. Like their foot paths,
there's just graffiti on everything. There's even a car that had obviously sat there for too long
and even had graffiti on the wheels, like on the tires yeh. All the tires, like it's just everything is just graffiti on everything. It's crazy.
There's some really nice parts of the city too though. So good.
Like the food's exceptional. Oh my Gosh. The food is definitely top on the list.
Everything's affordable.
We're to next? We're making our way to Monastiraki Square next.
This is where the city's bustling flea market is. There are bakeries, Street musicians, tour groups
but John and I kept our head on a swivel through here.
But once you get: in the heart of Plakka, the vibe changes.
It is really nice area here isn't it. Plaka is the city's oldest neighborhood settlement.
A maze of cobblestone streets. It's also lined with cute vibrant houses, charming shops and quaint taverners.
Tavernas are restaurants and we'll reveal our favorite spots over lunch shortly
Now as we walk towards the Parthenon, we pass Hadrian's library and the Roman Forum of Athens.
Both ruins are around 2,000 years old.
I just wanted to say how incredible it is just to stop for a second and look out
to see all the apartment buildings in Athens, like this place is huge. You don't really realize it until
you just stop and look back out over the city hey? It is massive. It's huge, I mean it goes all the
way from over here and over there. It's all spread out, it's beautiful.
The CBD is so densely populated that we were so shocked to find out that between certain hours Monday to Friday cars with license
plates ending in an even number can only enter the city center on even days of the month.
While those with odd numbers can only enter on odd days.
More than 3 million people call Athens home.
And some of the most prettiest homes are up here in Anafiotika.
A tiny scenic neighborhood part of the old historic neighborhood of Plaka.
It lies in the northeast side of the Acropolis.
This hilltop masterpiece dates back to the 5th Century BC. Yeap, it is more than 2,500 years old
and it's home to the Parthenon.
Now the Parthenon is the most famous structure.
A Temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. It is so busy here, crazy!
Our rookie mistake was that we didn't arrive early.
Not only was it super busy but it gets roasting in the blistering sun.
Spare a thought for this guy.
Wow. This is epic hey?
Wow. Look at that.
We purchased our tickets at the gate but you can buy them online and skip the queue.
It took us a couple of hours to explore the many different buildings and structures that made up the ancient city
but depending on how much of a history buff you are you could spend all day here.
And then around the corner you also have Museum which houses more than 3 000 artifacts from the Acropolis
protecting them from the outside elements.
Wow definitely recommend coming here either in the morning or at Sunset hey?
That's what the experts say.
And you can see why.
To get away from the crowds and to cool off we headed to a rooftop bar, there are plenty peppered all over the city.
This spot was back in Monastiraki.
Some of the local delicacies are moussaka, and of course the Souvlaki and gyros.
We just happen to stumble upon one of the most famous iconic Athenian street
food stores selling Gyros since 1950. The owner Kostas now runs the store
which was founded by his granddad. Best gyros in Athens, allegedly.
Is it good?
Yeah very good.
Really?
Try it.
Oh it's good.
The sauce is good.
Oh, yum.
But if you prefer sweets over savory, like John, even though he doesn't like to admit it.
and what do you have in here? Just uh....
You have to try this custard field filo called galaktoboureko.
I've got my dessert, John has his dessert.
So we went to the bakery and this is what you call Ekmek Kataifi.
And as you can see there's a cream of the top
bit of custard and then some shredded wheat with a syrup down the bottom
and this is my favorite dessert of all time.
This one is from a place called Cristiano
John got a coffee and a bakava from there this morning and he said it was the best thing you've ever had
and so we went back for seconds and then I saw my favorite dessert sitting there in the window.
Oh my Gosh, yum. So the cream on this one is infused with mastick which is a gum that is harvested
from Chios which is actually where my grandad's from.
And as a little girl, my granddad would buy me mastik bubble gum so
this just brings back so many childhood memories
you have to try some John.
Now Greece is part of the Eurozone so the currency used here is the Euro.
I'll just say I was scared by the siren.
So we're here in Athens in May. We woke up this morning to a chilly at 14 degrees but it's expected to
get up to about 24 degrees later today.
So we probably will be taking a puffers off.
You should definitely pack a few jumpers.
When it comes to tipping it's customary here but you're not obligated.
We read that at restaurants it's common to leave around five to ten percent of the bill if you're happy with the service.
John wake up this morning and he said I want a cheese pie and Greek yogurt with honey and
walnuts and so we are feeding the Beast. It's amazing thank you.
Wow, look at that that!
Look at that!
I've pinned all the locations in this episode on a Google map for you. I've found this really helpful
in the past, so you can save it on your phone and it'll help you navigate your way around the city.
I've made it absolutely free so if it helps please consider giving this video a quick 'like' to show
your support or let me know if this is useful to you guys in the comments below.
Now I don't want to stereotype but like most men John hates shopping.
So we won't spend too much time in this area but if you want to do some damage
head to Ermou Street, it's located in the city center.
This is really pretty area.
Right at the end of the street you'll cross over Syntagma Square and at the end you'll be greeted to by this
significant war memorial. So just behind me is the Monument of the Unknown Soldier.
This is definitely a beautiful spot to visit mostly because of the traditional aspect.
The change of the guards takes place every hour by the military unit wearing their traditional uniform.
And the cenotaph is dedicated to the Greek soldiers killed during war.
It's a really beautiful tribute to those who have fought.
Literally right next door is the huge Athens National Garden with its own little turtle pond.
Stroll through and you'll pop out in front of an Olympic game Stadium.
It is getting steamy. We've just walked from the National Gardens, and you also have a view of the Parthenon.
And over here the gorgeous view up on the biggest hill in Athens
and then over here is the Panathenaic Stadium.
So you can pay to go inside but just here on the outside from the street, it's completely free.
And it hosted the 1896 Olympic Games.
By this point it feels like we've ran our own marathon so while heading back to our Airbnb to put our feet up and have a bit of a rest
we stumble upon this fairy tale themed alleyway.
John just spotted this little alleyway and we thought why not, let's pop down.
Now in terms of the language, well, Greek is the main one but most people speak English.
So we have just checked out of our Airbnb. We have the car and it is in perfect shape.
I look like I'm fat like this. Can you just uh...
Yeah we have been eating a lot of baklava.
I know. Well, I don't want everyone to know.
Quickly you were talking about clothing. If you're visiting Athens, don't pack all your best gear.
And if you just dress like casual, what you'd wear on like just the average weekend out, even to dinners and stuff.
Also like if you're dressing up you'll become a target. Like for scammers, pickpockets. Like I think there's a lot of petty crime
pickpocketing. That seem to get talked about a lot.
Yeah, even when we were picking up the vehicle, they mentioned to us you should put it in a car park
because in Athens, in the heart of Athens, cars get broken into regularly.
So next stop is Delphi, and Meteora. A short day trip from Athens which is absolutely breathtaking.
We're in the foothills of Meteora
and the views are already pretty spectacular.
On huge natural pillars of rock, are six individual monasteries that sit high in the sky
but if you prefer to see us on a sailboat traveling through Greece make sure you go back and check
out our little series that we did where we sailed down to the Cyclades. It was absolutely beautiful checking out Islands such as Milos
and Folegandros. It was the most beautiful scenery we've ever seen on a sailboat.
And perhaps if you're new here as well you might want to go and check that out after you see our Athens video
because if you just head down to Agios Kosmos Marina you can pretty much Charter your own boat.
and if you found our trip to Athens helpful give this episode some love, a 'like'
and leave us a comment below.
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