Athens!

My friends and I got into Athens yesterday afternoon. To be honest, my knowledge of Greek cities is pretty much nonexistent, so I came with no expectations.

Our experiences here have been sort of a mixed bag. On the way from the airport to our hostel, two of my friends almost got pickpocketed! Sad. Luckily, the pickpocket wasn't very good at her job. The weirdest part about it is that she was in her mid 30s, attractive, and really well dressed. The area we're staying in is graffitied and not super pretty, but the surrounding area is full of adorable bars and restaurants with outdoor seating. The newer parts of the city are run down, but then you stumble upon beautiful old architecture.

We went in search of authentic Greek food last night for dinner. I don't know if what we had was authentic, but it was delicious for sure. We ordered moussaka, tzaziki, some sort of chicken dish, lamb with lemon, fried marrow balls (my first marrow experience) and something called "hot cheese salad" which was neither hot nor a salad. Everything was delish but the marrow balls and the chicken were my favorites.

After dinner we took a nice stroll around the city (we like to walk it off) and then had dessert at another restaurant. We ordered baklava and a dessert I've never had before called ekmek. I've never been a baklava fan and sadly I'm still not. I'm sorry, Greece. The ekmek was amazing - it had some sort of sweetened noodle stuff and.. well, honestly I have no idea what was in it, but it was divine.

We followed dessert with a trip to the rooftop bar at our hostel.

I think we planned to go to bed after that, but the bartender from our hostel invited us to go out so HOW COULD WE SAY NO? When in Athens, right? We ended up staying up until 4:30 in the morning and ate some delightful street food.

Some sort of grilled pork sandwich with lettuce, tomato, russian salad, hot sauce, FRENCH FRIES, and lord knows what else. Incredible.

Today we're hopefully going to eat a giant meat platter and some more street foods, plus go see the Acropolis and the Parthenon. Tomorrow morning we take a ferry to Santorini at 7 am - our hostel there has a pool, so I see major lounging in my future.

xo,
R