From the best vegan restaurants
to local island life,
I've got that and more here in Athens, Greece.
I'm sitting down now with my host, Dimitra
for our first meal since my arrival.
We are at Yi? Yi, which means "earth" in Greek.
We've got some delicious roll and
some stuffed mushrooms and zucchini, uh, pasta.
Caesar salads
Another cool place is Trivoli.
It's an all vegan coffee shop that also offers
some vegan food options.
One of my favorite restaurants in Athens was Rosebud.
It's a fully vegetarian place
with lots of vegan options, and I shared,
with my host, some tomato meatballs,
vegan yogurt-based cheese pizza with faux sausage,
and souvlaki, also known as gyros,
or gy-ros, depending on where you're from
Okay, definitely best place to get sweet
or dessert here in Athens is Ice Queen.
It's near Acropolis, or near the Pathenon,
the museum, Acropolis Museum, so it's within
walking distance to some really great stuff.
Check this out, we've got a vegan
waffle with vegan mocha gelato,
vegan dark chocolate gelato, and vegan nutella.
I mean...
Bamboo Vegan is a really cool, completely
vegan grocery store-- the only one in Greece.
It's a really cool couple that
runs the shop and they've been doing it
for about five years, they've got a little
bit of everything in there.
This is a loukanikopita, it's a vegan sausage roll
pretty much with, uh, some herbs inside and tomato ketchup.
It's like a classic Greek thing that we
here as non-vegan, so we did a veganized
version of it because, I care, you know
people ask for it a lot and, something you cannot get easily.
If you're into beer garden kind of places,
definitely check out 500 Miles Away.
They've got a wide selection of beer,
alcohol and wine, as well as some vegan food options.
I'm headed to a vegan meetup at
Avocado, it's one then I arranged with VeganTravel,
um, my sponsor for this trip.
So, we'll see, uh, it's, the meetup is scheduled for a
bit earlier in the day that people
usually get together for dinner time
meals, so we'll see who shows up.
Oh we're here!
If you ever find yourself walking around
the tourist area near Acropolis,
you'll find this freshly pressed juice place.
You can build your own juice and it's
really cool and you can drink it right there
in these glass mugs.
Something I kept hearing a lot about are
the local lukumades.
They're kind of like doughnut holes.
This location in particular is known to have the best
lukumades in entire Athens.
Another favorite stop I made was at Mama Tierra.
It's a vegetarian restaurant with lots of
vegan options and the owners are super nice.
It was definitely the best falafel I think I've ever had.
It was perfectly crispy on the outside
and fluffy and wonderful on the inside.
Before we move on from the food I just want
to give a quick shout to my host in Athens, Dimitra.
She insisted on making wonderful, wonderful
brunches for me or breakfasts every
morning that I stayed with her.
Dimitra, thank you so much for your hospitality
and delicious food.
There's always something to see or do in Athens.
Have a stroll around the Plaka District
with their shopping, museums, historical architecture,
and unique art.
You can visit the most central square in Athens, Syntagma,
visit the National Archaeological Museum
or the Acropolis Museum, and of course be sure to
make time to visit the 5th century BC temple
monument that is the Acropolis of Athens.
Also home to the Parthenon, an iconic 5th BC
Athenian temple ruin.
There are lots of historical monuments to visit.
If you want to change things up, check out
what's happening with local theater,
catch an open-air cinema show or live
theater, surrounded by some of the most
notable historic ruins.
[Singing] Industry boom in America!
[Singing] Twelve in a room in America!
Or heck, go to a concert like we did here and went to
see Pink Martini.
No trip to Greece is complete without visiting at least
one of the thousands of stunning islands.
While the island of Santorini may be one
of the most popular tourist destinations,
I took a short ferry ride to the island of Aegina.
Known for producing some of the world's
best pistachios, this beautiful island is
home to many Greek locals and has a
short annual tourist season.
Stroll around Aegina Town's quaint and narrow streets,
enjoy some local Mediterranean cuisine
(they've got lukumades here, too).
take advantage of the crystal-clear waters,
and definitely make time to watch some breathtaking sunsets.
Take a short drive up narrow, twisty roads
to see the Temple of Aphaia, formed in 500 BC.
Interesting fact: this temple,
the Parthenon, and the Temple of Poseidon
form a near perfect triangle.
Aegina is home to some great hidden beaches, hiking trails,
and a very relaxed atmosphere.
Scope out local shops for unique fruits & veggies,
and of course, try the pistachios.
I hope you enjoyed this tour of Athens, Greece
and Aegina Island.
Be sure to check out VeganTravel.com for more on all
things vegan travel.