Athens received its title as the historical capital of Europe because of the first settlement there dated back to the 5th century.
Athens appeal for me was Acropolis the most important site in the Western world.
I started my day by heading there Acropolis is the rocky remains of the ancient Greek city located on top of the hill overlooking Athens Along with the Parthenon, a few more structures stand proud in the test of time Restoration to the buildings in Acropolis have been ongoing since the early 1900s while heading to the museum i stopped by the park housing the temple of Olympian Zeus Oh my God, so it turns out the museum closed on Tuesday and Wednesday in the offseason and guess when the on season starts two days from now so i missed it by two days it looks like such a grand museum though like i’m going to show you it’s just really gigantic i was looking forward to checking it out because like all the reviews say it’s like super informative and everything but oh well i got to walk and the weather is really beautiful in march after visiting the epic monument i wanted to see another side to Athens so i signed up for a tour with a local i am here with Maggie and she’s showing me a different side of Athens around the touristy area but with like a little bit of a twist.
I met her through the website My Athens and she is going to tell us a little bit about it.
This is an initiative of the Tourism Bureau of Athens and it’s called This is My Athens and the concept is that there are volunteers because this is for free and we take people on tours that are not touristy that’s forbidden if you want a historical tour you go to a guide this is a kind of anthropological alternative kind of tour okay so it’s been a really cool tour with Maggie.
We looked at a lot of the places around and i learned so much about the history i didn’t realize how much i didn’t know i actually didn’t know anything about Greece before today So it was very good.
It’s a small country It’s full of history.
It’s got a big heart yes and it’s full of history like there’s so many stories and now we’re like kind of at the end of our tour After we had very nicest vegan foods So, where are we now? What Square is it? This is Syntagma Square Syntagma Square It means the constitution There is the Parliament over there oh yah guess what we just witnessed? The change of the guard! yup Did you plan it? no It was just pure fate Did you enjoy watching it? Yes.
I haven’t seen that since i was It was cool actually like i don’t think their shoes were comfortable or the moves but you have to honour history They also wear tights They have to wear that same costume whether it’s like rainy, cold, 40 degree weather.
Oh my! They have to sit still for two hours.
My tour with Maggie wasn’t my only interaction with the locals! i started befriending them from the plane then the bus, and the cafe We just made it to Athens i just met Danae.
Salam Alikum (peace be upon you) And she speaks a little bit of Arabic! That’s so cool! We just met on the bus and she validated my ticket.
Thank you very much you’re welcome it is my pleasure i want to say that Greeks love you People from your country It’s really nice meeting you here i wish you like our country.
I love it so far It’s really nice and i can’t wait to go and discover the rest of the history Bye! hi! hello! i just met my new friends here at the cafe 21.
Grams! If you want to come visit Athens you should come at this time.
In March? Yes okay so I’m very lucky that March is the best time to visit.
Yah it’s seriously the best time It has the best weather Does it get really hot afterwards? Yes! more than 40 degrees c.
We want sunshine but now that much sunshine Come visit! we’re waiting for you.