Heart of Athens

Morning coffee at Omonia Square; bathed in morning light; busy passers-by, tourists, beggars, traffic & the sounds of a city. You're in the heart of Athens and you can feel its beat. Leaving the square on foot along one of the avenues will lead you to the different faces of Athens: old Athens with a view to the Acropolis, poor and shabby neighbourhoods towards Piraeus, everyday Athens to Victoria square and glamorous towards Syntagma square and the Parliament.

Fruit pants!

Still looking at the menu? It's not in Greek don't worry; it might as well have been in Greek; at least I could point to a thing and be happy with the idea I chose something local and traditional. That's what my friend said and decided to collect Greek menus, frame them and hang them next to the toilet; "this way you never run out of interesting reading while constipating". Anyway, I'll have the pastry named 'Cream Caramel' please and bring it quickly!

Amaxa

At the horse-carriage parking in Kifissia luxurius SUVs are blocking the way. Keeping a horse in Athens is not a trivial thing. Finding customers who would still enjoy a ride under the canopies is hard indeed. Not to mention maintaining the equipment and keeping it from rusting away. So what if they are subsidised by the state; they are undermined by the era.

Mon plaisir

The abandoned villas of Kifissia preserve a past that is stained by the passage of time. Still the passer-by can detect the glamour these villas must have enjoyed. Time, like a layer of rust, has been deteriorating these buildings while transforming them in aesthetic relics of an era never to come again.

The Big Move

The marbles of Parthenon are being moved! There is a new museum at the foot of the Acropolis where the marbles are going to be kept. The move is a big operation with a huge cost in insurance money. The discussion is already out there: the Elgin Marbles should be returned to Greece.

Light me up a ciggy diggy!

Most European cities have banned smoking or have isolated smokers so much that it's really hard now to smoke in public areas. Athens is far from that. The ciggie is the way to relax, have a chat and think about the problems and beauties of life. Still now the best seats in a resaturant or cafe are the smoking ones. Asking someone to put out their cigarette or even cigar can still create a huge argument!

A glass of Wine

Below road level hide the small, valuable places. The marble bench with a vase of roses next to the glasses and further, on the carved marble, the caraffes for the wine; or is it Retsina? Who knows what the letters KX stand for...