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Athens
Street Art: Mix & Match
So here I am, on a sunny day off, wandering around the Plaka area in central Athens, taking photographs, talking to stray cats and dogs and listening to my music. A day to myself, one might say, during which I happen on a wall bursting with creativity.
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Athens
Life-Giving Flowers
Among the bustle of shoppers up and down Ermou street, the small open-air flower stall owned by barba-Yiannis, a term of endearment used for older folk, is a pretty oasis where time seems to stand still.
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Athens
Eat after Midnight and Confess at Mavili Canteen
Yiannis makes sandwiches that feed your soul Should you find yourself enjoying a drink at one of the historic bars of Mavili Square, a well-known piazza near the American Embassy and Athens Concert Hall that provides relaxing weekday evenings and buzzing weekend nights, you may well end up partaking in the ritual of the obligatory sandwich from the local canteen. But let’s take things from the beginning. A fountain, old…
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Athens
Lefteris and his Soft Pretzels
How and why “koulouri” became our national snack Multigrain, with sesame or without, with tahini… “Tomorrow I’ll have wholemeal; the kind you skinny girls favor.” Lefteris Agorastos, whose cart is permanently parked beside one of Athens’ busiest streets, sells about 50 koulouria, a Greek type of soft pretzel or bread ring, every day. Hailed as a “national snack” or “street breakfast,” simple and cheap at just 0.50 euros, you can…
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Athens
Seeing the World From your Couch
Avid Athens couchsurfer Spyros Drakatos has hosted 150 couchsurfers from abroad in Athens flat Amy from the Netherlands wanted to hitchhike to Ioannina, northwestern Greece. Otavia and Julia, both from the UK, focused entirely on visiting ancient sites and went to bed early. Adrian from Spain liked the local olives so much that he wanted to take two large packets of them home with him, and Linda from Norway got…
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Athens
Voulis Street’s Lady Luck
The most popular lottery vendor to pick your ticket. Athens has been the kind of city where a fortune could be waiting around the next corner since the 1920s – maybe in the form of a bundle of lottery tickets. There are your faithful punters who play on a weekly basis and your random passersby who may buy a single ticket, just like that, just in case. Georgia is one…
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Athens
Athens in the Palm of your Hand
The three smartphone apps that you should never leave home for Athens without. Like all new destinations, Athens may seem overwhelming if you’ve just landed. Don’t panic though. App developers are striving to help you feel less like an alien and more like a local by making it easier to navigate the city.
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Activities
Impression Book: Athens
Nine tourists open up about their likes and dislikes of the Greek capital. What is the nicest thing you had to eat in Athens? Are Greeks “loud”? Which stereotypes were shattered in your mind? Spending a day as a tourist at the Acropolis recently, I realized that October is the best month to visit the ancient sites – people are less stressed than during the summer as there are no…
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