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Athens from a different angle

 

It’s that time of year, when families and friends gather around for feasting. So we thought we would introduce you to some of the delicious foodie delights of Greece.  You’re going to feel hungry after this …!

In all our travels we pride ourselves on being independent and making our own discoveries. We have found all kinds of things that aren’t on the tourist trails, but we have sometimes missed out as well. So we decided to book a walking tour and Athens Walks Tour Company – with its perfect rating on Trip Advisor seemed like a good place to start.

An army walks on its stomach, so we opted for the food tour first, to get a different angle on the city. We began at breakfast – well 10am for us! – at the lovely Meliartos bakery  not far from the Monastriaki flea market, with traditional Greek pies of spinach and cheese.

 

Mouthwatering breakfast pies

Mouthwatering breakfast pies

 

Over the course of the next few hours we strolled with Kostas, our guide through the places that Athenians go for their food – the fish, meat and veggie markets…..

 

Athens fish market

Athens fish market

Athens fruit and veg market

Athens fruit and veg market

Athens meat market

Athens meat market

 

……  and the traditional coffee brewers.

 

Old school coffee roasting - in hot sand

Old school coffee roasting – in hot sand

The oldest coffee roasting cafe in town

The oldest coffee roasting cafe in town

The old coffee house also makes great fruit compots

The old coffee house also makes great fruit compots

 

We visited the most amazing cured meats and cheese shop, Miran, which has a few surprises in store for you……

 

The first surprise is the garden on the gable wall

The first surprise is the garden on the gable wall

The second surprise is the sheer quantity of salami and cheese in the shop!

The second surprise is the sheer quantity of salami and cheese in the shop!

Just a little snack to keep up our energy

Just a little snack to keep up our energy

Geoff raises his eyes to heaven

Geoff raises his eyes to heaven

Just some of the herbs and spices in the sausage shop

Just some of the herbs and spices in the sausage shop

 

and got our own table at a high class deli – Pantopolio tis mesogeiakis Diatrofis (which means the place of the Mediterranean diet!) – where we got treated to real Greek salad and some great tasting vinegars and oils.

 

We know a great little place in Athens

We know a great little place in Athens

Vinegar tasting - and they were delicious

Vinegar tasting – and they were delicious

 

Greek wine tastes good - how come no one outside Greece drinks it?

Greek wine tastes good – how come no one outside Greece drinks it?

 

We got an old fashioned welcome at one of the long-established café, Krinos, still making loukoumades donuts in the traditional way.

 

Loukoumades man!

Loukoumades man!

Loukoumades other man - the real thing this time

Loukoumades other man – the real thing this time

Lucky loukoumades man doesn't go home with third degree burns every day

Lucky loukoumades man doesn’t go home with third degree burns every day

Depsite the way the deep-frying looks - the donuts are light, fluffy and irresistible

Depsite the way the deep-frying looks – the donuts are light, fluffy and irresistible

 

We were inspired by the tastes – who would have thought that a shot glass of flavoured vinegar would taste so good, or even a glug of olive oil; or a oil-cooked donut could be so light and fluffy; or that a real greek salad is the colours of the Italian flag; tomato red, oregano green and feta white.

 

Mint vinegar on fresh tomato and feta - heavenly!

Mint vinegar on fresh tomato and feta – heavenly!

 

We were equally inspired by the company and our new-found friend. Kostas then took us to some of the less explored areas of Athens; via a good coffee at the Aegli Café and then through the once Royal, now National, gardens, planted nearly 200 years ago by Greece’s Swedish queen….

 

True in any language

True in any language

The Royal Park has countless different species and styles

The Royal Park has countless different species and styles

The palm trees were a gift from America

The palm trees were a gift from America

 

….up into the secretive Cyclades village built at the base of the Acropolis wall by stonemasons from the islands and still inhabited by their descendants; through the pine-clad park on the The Filopappou hill to Socrates cave jail and up onto one of the best and least used viewing points of the city.

 

The secret Anafiotika village below the Acropolis

The secret Anafiotika village below the Acropolis

 

We walked and talked of many things for ten hours, lubricated a little along the way with a visit to Brettos – an Athenian institution, where if you can name the fruit, they will probably have made a liquor from it!

 

Inside Athens oldest liquour bar - you can get almost any flavour in almost any colour

Inside Athens oldest liquor bar – you can get almost any flavour in almost any colour

 

It was a day of real pleasure and indulgence, so then next day we decided to put ourselves in the hands of Kostas’ colleague, Thanasis to take us around the Acropolis.

 

The view from the Acropolis - all Athens lies before it

The view from the Acropolis – all Athens lies before it

The Temple of Athena Nike on the Acropolis

The Temple of Athena Nike on the Acropolis

 

The goddess Athena  battled Poseidon for the honour of being the patron of the city – hence its name.

The Parthenon was built to honour Athena. It is incredible to discover that the architects had built the temple with slightly inward titled columns, to better withstand the many earthquakes that rock Greece to this day. The Parthenon has been attacked, blown up, drilled and chiselled, but none of the columns has fallen because of an earthquake.

 

The Parthenon architects were far ahead of their time

The Parthenon architects were far ahead of their time

Sara & Geoff at the Acropolis

Sara & Geoff at the Acropolis

The Acropolis is a World Heritage site, but the responsibility and cost of conserving it falls entirely to Greece

The Acropolis is a World Heritage site, but the responsibility and cost of conserving it falls entirely to Greece

The lighter repaired sections will fade to the original colour in just a couple of years

The lighter repaired sections will fade to the original colour in just a couple of years

 

Thanasis is a professor of archaeology. He is also a theatre director and he managed to combine the drama and history of the Acropolis brilliantly.

 

Our guide, Thanasis, and Geoff

Our guide, Thanasis, and Geoff

 

He also told us of some of its great archaeological controversies. After the Persians sacked Athens and destroyed the Acropolis in 480BC, the walls were rebuilt using materials from some of the destroyed temples and buildings. While it is now a significant archaeological structure in its own right, because much of it was built using stone that had been part of ancient Greek temples, there is great debate between experts as to whether the wall should be once again brought down, to recover those lost treasures, or  if it stands as a war memorial to those who died.

 

Real controversy surrounds the wall of the Acropolis

Real controversy surrounds the wall of the Acropolis

 

Debris from the damaged Parthenon is amongst the stones that were used to rebuild the Acropolis walls.

 

Recycling the Parthenon

Recycling the Parthenon

 

There is less debate about the horrific damage done by the British aristocrat Lord Elgin. In a looting spree in 1801 he hacked out entire statues and facades from sacred temples, chiselled the faces off others and left the remains broken on the ground. Ironically his grand larceny became so costly that he eventually had to sell his ill-gotten gains to the British government.

 

This is what part of the Parthenon frieze would have looked like if Elgin had not stolen pieces and smashed the rest

This is what part of the Parthenon frieze would have looked like if Elgin had not stolen pieces and smashed the rest

Sections of the Parthenon frieze that Elgin didn't steal

Sections of the Parthenon frieze that Elgin didn’t steal

 

The most famous of his trophies is the solitary caryatid still housed in the British museum, while her five remaining sisters stand as silent witnesses to his archaeological vandalism.

 

The caryatid's face was chiselled off by Elgin, but she is still beautiful

The caryatid’s face was chiselled off by Elgin, but she is still beautiful

The old Temple of Athena and the caryatids, with a space left for the one in the British Museum

The old Temple of Athena and the caryatids, with a space left for the one in the British Museum

 

The history of Greece is full of drama – brilliant scholars, architects, scientists and artists; seemingly endless wars and revolution and in more modern times a more peaceful favourite holiday destination for millions.

It seems fitting that the distinctive blue and white flag represents almost all the facets of this country’s turbulent and magnificent life.The stripes, depending on whom you ask, either symbolize the gorgeous blue seas and plump white clouds of the Greek sea and sky; the nine muses of Greece who represented art and civilization or, more dramatically, or the nine syllables which make up the phrase “Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος” – “Freedom or Death”.

 

So much meaning in such a simple design

So much meaning in such a simple design

 

Who knows which is the correct version – they all have their part to play in Greek life and history; and we would not presume to guess. We take our cue from one of the greatest Greeks – Socrates, who famously said “The ancient Oracle said that I was the wisest of all the Greeks. It is because I alone, of all the Greeks, know that I know nothing.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The olive pickers of Kalamata

 

Kalamata olives and oil are famous the world over and for good reason. We spent a weekend of sunshine and showers helping create some glorious greeny gold stuff.

 

Framed by the branches, the olive pickers get to work

Framed by the branches, the olive pickers get to work

 

Our good friends Koyan and Stella live in Kalamata on the Peloponnese peninsula. Close by is Koyan’s father’s olive grove. Harvesting is a family affair, so it was a privilege for us to join.

 

Koyan's father

Koyan’s father

Auntie Anna

Auntie Anna

Everybody from the family pitches in

Everybody from the family pitches in

In the olive grove

In the olive grove

 

Before the pickers even get to the groves, the ground below the trees has been cleared and cut back. Then the nets are laid to catch every precious fruit.

 

Nets are laid under the trees to catch the olives

Nets are laid under the trees to catch the olives

 

Bigger branches are pruned back, to make way for the new year’s growth. The tops of the trees are beaten with long plastic forks, while the cut branches are threshed with machines or by hand.

 

Takis pruning the tops of the trees

Takis pruning the tops of the trees

The tops of the trees are beaten with long sticks to loosen the olives

The tops of the trees are beaten with long sticks to loosen the olives

The trees are pruned to make way for new growth in the new season and more olives

The trees are pruned to make way for new growth in the new season and more olives

The newly-pruned trees, ready to grow next year's harvest

The newly-pruned trees, ready to grow next year’s harvest

Georgia & Takis

Georgia & Takis

Geoff at the thresher

Geoff at the thresher

Olive threshers can save a lot of time!

Olive threshers can save a lot of time!

The olive threshing machine feeds the olives straight into the bag

The olive threshing machine feeds the olives straight into the bag

The cheery red trident is used to bash the olives off the branches

The cheery red trident is used to bash the olives off the branches

 

It’s hard manual labour, so there is always a hearty lunch beneath the trees, brought by Koyan’s mother. The already-filled sacks make handy seats

 

Picnic in the olive grove

Picnic in the olive grove

Clementines grow in the olive grove and make a refreshing energy boost

Clementines grow in the olive grove and make a refreshing energy boost

The olive king!

The olive king!

 

After lunch it’s back to work. Bagging the olives is a hard and heavy job. First large yellow rakes are used to clean out the branches and leaves, leaving just the olives behind in the nets.

 

An ocean of olives

An ocean of olives

The big yellow rake

The big yellow rake

 

Then the fruit is scooped into hessian sacks, tied and stacked.

 

Scooping up kilos of olives

Scooping up kilos of olives

The olives are bagged into 50kg sacks

The olives are bagged into 50kg sacks

Olives ready to be bagged

Olives ready to be bagged

Koyan wrestling the olive sacks

Koyan wrestling the olive sacks

It takes two people to lift the 50kg bags

It takes two people to lift the 50kg bags

The olive pickers are incredibly strong

The olive pickers are incredibly strong

 

The work doesn’t stop until all the olives are picked – come rain or shine!

 

The last light of day streams through the olive branches

The last light of day streams through the olive branches

The blue skies suddenly clouded over

The blue skies suddenly clouded over

The rain in Greece falls mainly on Koyan!

The rain in Greece falls mainly on Koyan!

 

Once they are all gathered (and you have got the van out of the mud) – it is immediately off to be processed. They are pressed that very same night.

 

Auntie and Georgia heaving 50kgs of olives into sacks

Auntie and Georgia heaving 50kgs of olives into sacks

The olives go straight from the grove to the press

The olives go straight from the grove to the press

The olives for oil are smaller than the famous Kalamata olives for eating

The olives for oil are smaller than the famous Kalamata olives for eating

Ready for the olive press

Ready for the olive press

The last sack loads as the sun begins to set

The last sack loads as the sun begins to set

We picked so many olives we bogged the van in the mud!

We picked so many olives we bogged the van in the mud!

The ones that got away!

The ones that got away!

 

Nearly 70 sacks were collected from the Kokkorogiannis olive grove. Each bag produces nearly 8 litres of oil

 

The olives come by the palletload into the brightly lit presses

The olives come by the pallet load into the brightly lit presses

The olives are poured into the hopper by the sackload

The olives are poured into the hopper by the sackload

 

Ankle deep in olives

Ankle deep in olives

 

They are washed and separated from twigs and leaves…..

 

Separating the fruit from the sticks and leaves

Separating the fruit from the sticks and leaves

The fruits track up the conveyor, shaking out the detritus as they go

The fruits track up the conveyor, shaking out the detritus as they go

First wash your olives

First wash your olives

 

… then they’re mushed into almost a paste…..

 

The olive flesh is churned to break it down and begin the pressing process

The olive flesh is churned to break it down and begin the pressing process

Low tech yellow stickies mark the tanks with our olives

Low tech yellow stickies mark the tanks with our olives

Our olives

Our olives

From pulp to puree

From pulp to puree

From the puree phase it gets further pressed

From the puree phase it gets further pressed

 

… then further treated to extract the stones from the pulp and finally cold-pressed until the golden liquid runs from the taps.

 

Separating the pits

Separating the pits

The huge steel tub of freshly pressed oil. The black box on the wall is the weighing scale

The huge steel tub of freshly pressed oil. The black box on the wall is the weighing scale

On average Greeks use 18kgs of olive oil EACH per year!

On average Greeks use 18kgs of olive oil EACH per year!

 

It is good enough to eat straight from the pipe onto a slice of fresh bread.

 

The golden oil on the final pour

The golden oil on the final pour

The Olive King inspecting the final product

The Olive King inspecting the final product

Crusty bread coated with oil, fresh from the presses

Crusty bread coated with oil, fresh from the presses

The olive pickers turn olive tasters

The olive pickers turn olive tasters

Tasty treats

Tasty treats

 

So, as you tuck into your Christmas feasts this season, spare a thought for the men and women of the olive groves. And thank you to the Kokkorogiannis family for letting us be a small (and comparatively feeble!) part of their harvest.

 

 

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To hell and back

The myth of Hades and the afterlife was born in the ancient Diros caves. Bold explorers that we are, we dared the ferryman to row us across their still waters…

There are two Diros Caves  – Alepotripa and Vlichada – and together they cover a huge area at the edge of the Peloponnese Peninsula. Since their discovery only sixty years ago, archaeologists have excavated tonnes of ancient artifacts and more than a hundred skeleton. The true significance of the caves is still being studied, but it is known to have been extensively used in Neolithic times as a place of worship, cemetery and even dwelling. It is believed that mourners came from miles around to bury their dead in the caves.

We were rowed across the underground lake of Vlichada, maybe not by Charon – the ferryman of Hades –  but possibly by his not very chatty cousin.

We really did go to hell and back to bring you these photos

 

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Sensational Santorini!

 

The volcano that wiped out an entire civilisation and spawned the legend of Atlantis, has, fortunately for us,  left behind the most beautiful curved island, fringing its sunken crater.

Even if you have never heard of Santorini – you will still probably already know it. That photo of Greece in every travel agency, with the blue domed roofs – that’s the one!

 

The famous blue domes are in every visitors photo album

The famous blue domes are in every visitors photo album

 

But it is much more varied than that image suggests. Part of the Cyclades groups of islands, which includes Naxos, one side of the island is sheer cliff, the other sloping fields. The caldera – the cauldron in the centre – is inky black deep and the cliffs are dizzyingly high, sliced through with red and black layers of rock.

 

Far above the craters' waters the towns of Santorini perch along its length

Far above the craters’ waters the towns of Santorini perch along its length

Santorini's still waters run very deep

Santorini’s still waters run very deep

Panorama of the Santorini caldera

Panorama of the Santorini caldera

 

The tsunami that followed the massive eruption of the Thera volcano in 1200BC wiped out the Minoan race on Crete, hundreds of miles away, as well as causing untold and unrecorded damage across the Mediterranean . The volcano collapsed in on itself, creating the caldera and leaving a craggy lip still pouting out of the water. It was on these rocky outcrops that Santorini was built. This video gives you a graphic idea of Santorini’s creation and destruction.

 

 

The towns and villages stretch the length of the island's arc

The towns and villages stretch the length of the island’s arc

 

Many of the traditional ways of working – such as using donkeys to move almost anything and often anyone – have not changed because of the extraordinary geography of the place.

 

Step aside, donkey coming through

Step aside, donkey coming through

 

And it even has a tomato museum – a celebration of the tasty Santorini cherry tomato paste which used to be pulped and canned on the island. Now, not many places can boast all that!

 

We were surprised at how interesting it was!

We were surprised at how interesting it was!

 

But above all else , it is a visual feast – so let us give you a plateful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ministry of seriously hard walks

 

If you saw just how difficult this is to do in real life, you would never snigger again. Especially when you discover those shoe pompoms are hiding a dagger!

Changing the guard, Greek style, means a muscle-screaming march of high steps, far reaches, tremendous balance, perfect timing and all of it done in slow motion.

If you still aren’t impressed, stand up and stick your right leg straight out in front of you at hip height and hold it there. Did you even manage the first part  – nah, didn’t think so.

So, sit back down and prepare to be amazed.

Oh, and the dog? Lucy is the most famous stray dog in Athens. She usually hangs out with the guards and often joins in, though her high kick leaves a little to be desired.