my local guided tour of Athens when my mom came visiting

During my semester here in Athens, Greece I won't be having any friends or family visiting other than my mom. Many of the erasmus students have been having a lot of relatives here during the last weeks, and I was so happy to share this experience with someone from home. And to be honest, it felt good to be more of a curious tourist again and also to have the responsibility of being her local guide. Never have I been speaking this much in Greek as I did when she was here, and overall talking this much to the locals. 

A lot of the things that we did on the first day, was straight off a re-do of my first day in Athens the 28th of September. You can read my blogpost about that here: THE FIRST DAY IN ATHENS

She arrived late on Friday night, and before that I ate dinner with my friend Mia at my place. On Saturday we started the day with brunch at my favourite restaurant Ama Lachei before walking down the street Kallidromiou where the farmer's market was held. We bought lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, chestnuts, persimmons (my favourite fruit!), olives, avocados and greek mountain tea (also known as Shepherd's Tea). 

After that we walked back to my place to drop off all of our fruits and vegetables, and I convinced her that we would take the metro in to the city instead of a beat (=taxi). I then took her to my next favourite place, ERGON house where we shared a cheese platter that we ate together with fresh sourdough bread, olive oil and a glass on wine. 

Ergon house is a hotel, but they also has a restaurant that serves dinner, brunch, deli as well as a café. If you go further inside they have a store full of delicacies, spices, pasta, sauces, cheese, meat, olive oil, tea, coffee... you name it! It's an expensive place, but reasonably priced. You won't be left disappointed! 

Next stop on my guided tour of Athens (haha...) was to walk down the main road of the city with all the big brands, heading to Monastiraki where we walked down the Flea Market towards the neighborhood Plaka (also known as "Neighborhood of the Gods") and from there we walked to the traditional Greek restaurantrestaurant Liondi where we shared a platter of traditional Greek dishes. It was the first time I visited that restaurant, and I can REALLY recommend it. The platter had a lot of different traditional dishes and was well enough for 3-4 people. Of course they had other dishes too (which also looked wonderful) but I thought this was a perfect way to get a taste of Greece in one meal, and it was! 

Flea market and the view over Acropolis

Walking through Plaka...

On our way through Plaka we passed a restaurant as well as a the most amazing winebar. So after our dinner we walked back there and sat down for a glass of wine. The place is called finewine and it's yet another place that I need to ad to my favourites. The place is owned by a family and they have the most incredible selection of wines as well as some whisky, tsipouro and so on. I can highly recommend this place, and the restaurant just next to is looks amazing a well!

Since it was Sunday on the next day, almost all shops were closed and I saw it as the perfect day to go outside of Athens to see the coast. The forecast said that it would rain, but we woke up to a clear sky and got dressed for an nice, but a bit cold, autumn day. 

After breakfast I ordered a beat to Vouliagmeni, which is a seaside suburb 20 km south of Athens named after "Lake Vouliagmeni". It is one of the most prestigious Athenian suburbs, home to famous hotels and beaches. The area has some of the highest real estate prices in the Balkans and is an interesting and impressive contrast to Athens. 

The weather surprised us once again with summer heat and we both wore way too warm clothes. And I who had laughed at my mother when she packed her swimsuit now regretted not doing so too. We walked around in the area, ate lunch, sat down for a coffee and in the afternoon when the sun started to set we sat down at the beach and my mother went swimming. 

We took a beat back to Athens and I ordered it to drop us of in Kolonaki where my friend Mia lives so my mother got to meet her as well. We then walked through Kolonaki and looked at all the nice shops and boutiques, before reaching our place for the dinner which was yet another favourite place of mine: La pasteria! 

The weather forecast said that it would rain on Monday as well, but thankfully that was not the case this day either. I had some suggestions for places to see and things to do, but we agreed that we would rather take a day in Athens. So we walked into the center where we went shopping together, basically for the first time since the pandemic broke out. In each store you had to show vaccination certificate, identification and wear a mask, but otherwise everything was as usual. I bought some warm clothes for colder days since I didn't bring that much here, and some Christmas gifts that my mother brought back home. We also went to the Acropolis museum (where I as a student have free admission). 

For that nights dinner we walked back to the finewine and bought a bottle of rosé and to some other stores to buy some local cheese and cold cuts. Back at my apartment I roasted some chestnuts in the oven and then we sat down and ate and talked for hours. And we both stated that this trip has been very good for me. It has given me new perspectives, ways of thinking and values. And I have, with my hand on my heart, never before been this happy or had so much desire and joy of life. 

Early on Tuesday morning we got up and my mother took the cab to the airport. All of a sudden the apartment felt very empty and for the first time since I got here I felt a little bit homesick. Not to return to Sweden, but I missed my friends and family. So I spent the day and the afternoon talking on the phone with many of them, and wonderful Thora came by for lunch and stayed for a while to keep me company. 

I felt (and I still feel) so grateful.

With lots of love, Elsa ♡