I’m dipping into my archives for this next series of posts – in April 2022, Dr HH and I took a trip to Greece and had a really beautiful time. We split our time between Athens and Santorini, one of the islands. I really wanted to see the sea and was hoping that the promise of a beautiful island would motivate me through a few days in a city that I’d heard was quite grimy. Sure enough, I felt that Athens was not a particularly pleasant city to get around. It was awful for pedestrians, with really narrow and uneven paths everywhere. And it was generally quite dirty as well. But the historical sites were absolutely top notch, so I would definitely still go back for another visit.

On arrival in Athens, our first stop was for lunch at Vegan Beat. The vegan scene in Athens seemed to be awash with mock meat, bread, and potatoes, all of which was absolutely fine with me – and this was a promising introduction to that world.

I got the space gyros. The mock meat in this case was actually mushroom, which was not that rare on our wanders in Athens. I love the texture of a nicely cooked mushroom, so this was right up my street, and they were also nicely seasoned. Crucially for me, there was also not an abundance of salad. I’m sick of ordering a wrap and finding it’s half salad, give me the good stuff! See how thick and tasty that bread looks as well, it was a real treat.

In the background you can see a spiral potato, which we both ordered as our side. It’s a nice idea for a twist on a traditional chip, but to be honest it wasn’t as good as chips or crisps would have been. Also the beet sauce was a little too sweet for my tastes. Still, it looked like a fun holiday treat.

Dr HH got the lamajoun, which was a new dish for us – basically mince with hummus in a wrap. His verdict was that it was tasty, but messy to eat because of poor structural integrity, which you can probably guess from the photo. Still perfectly passable though.

The vibrant drink you see in the background was a turmeric lemonade, which Dr HH found delicious and different from anything he’d had before. I had a green cola, and while I appreciate independent brands, I can’t help it – I love a proper CocaCola on holiday!

Something else I love on holiday is dining outdoors, and this place did indeed have outdoor seating. Unfortunately it was on a busy street, so it wasn’t a super relaxing time, but the tables were set quite a way back from the traffic, so that helped. It was a very English-friendly establishment. There was no table service – we ordered at the counter indoors, they called us in to collect our dishes when they were ready, and it all went smoothly.

We followed it up with a trip to the archaeological site of Keramikos, which is one of the many historical sites in the city centre. This one was very pleasant for wandering around as an introduction to Athens – not the most spectacular spot we would visit, but a nice gentle start. We enjoyed seeing the wildlife (including tortoises which were roaming around) thriving amongst these ancient walls and statues – some parts were replicas, some were real. There was a small museum on the site as well. It really got us in the mood for the Acropolis, which was what we were most looking forward to.

All in all, this was a satisfying start to the holiday!