The Greece Blog No One Asked For
CALIMERA! Good Morning from Athens!
Let’s try this live blogging thing & see how far we get, shall we?
I’m heading to Greece! Well. I guess not. I’m already here. You get the point. I have decided to give this blogging thing a try - so bear with me here.
Yesterday, I got to the airport wildly early (thank you to my madre for driving me) & immediately celebrated with Home Run Inn pizza because I knew there was approximately a 0% chance I’d enjoy airplane food. We boarded… then taxi’d for close to an hour before spending the next ten hours aggressively exploring the skies through turbulence. As expected, the meals sucked (sorry United) but the highlights included unlimited apple juice & a United Airlines blondie with blue & white sprinkles for their 100th anniversary that I initially thought had mold on it.
According to my Oura Ring, I slept a grand total of 1 hour & 42 minutes, though it felt like significantly less because my neighbors were VERY committed to bathroom trips. Honestly, relatable. Flying with stomach issues is its own Olympic sport.
We landed in Athens, stood in one passport control line, got moved to another arguably longer passport control line.
After an hour in traffic with our Uber driver who casually told us he lived in Villa Park for two years, we finally made it to
📍 Eternity Athens
Beautiful hotel though slightly concerning the amount of things that didn’t work.
Our room had a balcony, complimentary wine & water, a personalized note, & most importantly: an Acropolis view directly from the bed. Life changing. After desperately needed showers, we headed out to explore. Starting with lunch because we were starving.
We went to Thanasis in Monastiraki after a recommendation from one of Evan’s people. Immediately chaotic. Packed. Confusing seating situation. Lots of waiting. Eventually the waiter looked at Evan in a way that somehow communicated “your time has come.”
I grabbed a Coke Zero because why are they SO much better outside the United States??? The food was honestly really solid. Saganaki: good. Chicken souvlaki: good. Evan’s beef souvlaki situation: not for me personally but he seemed thrilled.
Then we saw a sign that simply said “Gelato Experience” & naturally had to investigate. Solid gelato. Probably a 7/10. Bonus points for the live marching band happening outside on Ermou Street while we ate it.
NEXT STOP: THE NATIONAL GARDEN
But first, McDonald’s bathroom break because nature was calling.
We wandered from Syntagma Square to Parliament & eventually through the gardens where we saw:
Turtles stacked on top of each other
Questionable water
A tiny zoo situation
Approximately 400 degrees of heat
It was lovely, but we had much more to see, so naturally we decided the answer was a hop on hop off bus tour because nothing says “immersive cultural experience” quite like aggressively sitting.
We stopped at the Panathenaic Stadium, home of the first modern Olympics in 1896, where we sat in giant marble seats watching people run the track while trying not to fall asleep. Then I DID fall asleep on the bus while the narrator explained Greek history. Evan woke me up just in time for a beautiful Acropolis view before we reached the final stop.
By this point we were beyond exhausted, but somehow still convinced ourselves we needed dinner. So we went to Tartufo, an Italian restaurant I found that was… fine.
Before anyone asks why I wanted Italian food in Greece, I genuinely do not have an answer for you. I just love truffle & pasta & that’s all I’ll say on that.
They started us with some kind of olive cheese bread situation. Yes I tried it. Yes my mom would love it. No I did not love it. But olives are slowly growing on me which feels convenient given my current location.
Then came the true highlight of the evening: “THE MAGIC OF GELATO” which was an actual sign outside Kayak. I am personally trying every stracciatella gelato in Greece so you don’t have to & this one earned a strong 9.5/10. Giant chocolate chunks throughout. Excellent work by everyone involved.
Eventually we accepted defeat & headed back to the hotel because we had a 3 AM wakeup call for our next flight.
& that brings us to right here right now, sitting at the airport, waiting for our flight. Any guesses where we’re headed?
OUR CURRENT TRIP STATS
Gelato consumed: 3
Actual Greek meals: 1
Greek words learned: 2
Kalimera which is Good morning!
Yassas ie Hey! Hello!
Times Evan wore Illini gear: 1 (2 if hats count)
Hours slept: spiritually zero, but according to Oura 4 hours & 43 minutes. Not too shabby.