Greece

Runny nose, shivering and bleary eyed. That’s the state I arrived at the Airport to catch my flight to Athens. A 6:30am flight when I was that ill. What was I thinking? I was really regretting life choices at that moment. All I wanted to do was go back to bed and sleep off whatever I was feeling. It was a 4 hour flight from the UK to Athens, add that to the 2 hours it took my to get my luggage and catch the train to my Hostel, I was ready for a nap.

Feeling slightly better after a nap, I headed in search of food. I found a Pizza place 4 minutes away from the hostel. The Pizza wasn’t great, it tasted like it had been sat there for hours. I ate half and threw the rest away. I’d try get better food the next day. Did I find better food the next day? Sort of… I had Loukoumades, with Honey and Cinnamon. The first from my Greek food bucket list. They were rather crispy, I expected them to by softer. I definitely needed to try a few different Loukoumades shops to see where the best ones were.

I spend a week in Athens, eating Gyros and cooking up a storm at The Greek Kitchen. I wasn’t sure I would like Athens, until I did the cooking class. Vassia, the instructor, had a wicked sense of humour and was a ball of fun. It was a group project to cook the food, we all had certain elements to make and then combined them altogether to create; Dolmades, Tzatziki, Spanakopita, Imam Baldi, and Orange Pie. I think a few fellow ‘chefs’ got a little tipsy once the wine was brought out but it all made for a great lesson. I’m heading back to Athens in 2025 to cook again at The Greek Kitchen, with my Mum in tow this time, she saw the photos and videos of us all dancing in the Kitchen and wanted to give it a go.

My first Saturday night in Athens was spent panicking. My phone was dead, wouldn’t charge no matter which way I turned the cable and I had to be up and out by 10am ready for the Eating Europe Food Tour. I borrowed a cable from Reception but this didn’t help, spent 3 hours panicking, trying to get the phone to charge and missed all the performances on Eurovision. Eventually at 1am, the phone miraculously started charging and I was able to set an alarm for the tour.

The food tour was the best I’ve done or one of the best. I did a few more tours with the same company in different locations and can honestly say, they know how to do a food tour. I had originally booked for the Monday, however, I was contacted a couple of days before as I was the only one booked on the tour, so it didn’t make sense to host just for me. I was moved to the Sunday slot. Including the tour guide, there was 4 of us on the tour; Zoe, our tour guide was brilliant and my fellow foodies, Liz and her husband from Hawaii who were lovely. We talked about all sorts, Liz’s trip to Santorini for a friends wedding, Zoe’s love of learning languages, the Government in California giving homeless people one way tickets to Hawaii to try get rid of the ‘issue’ and all this whilst trying amazing Greek food and Greek Coffee.

I started my Greek Contiki adventures after spending a week on my own exploring Athens. Although the trip didn’t technically start until 6pm, we all met in a rooftop bar at noon for drinks before the trip started. By 3pm I needed food. I headed to the bar and ordered Chicken Tacos. Two other girls in the group ordered the same as I did. The waiter brought 3 Chicken Tacos out, handed the 2 girls theirs and before I could put my hand up to say the other plate was mine, someone else in the group claimed it as theirs. I did wonder if she had gone to the bar to order and I hadn’t noticed so I gave her the benefit of the doubt… for all of 10 minutes when the waiter didn’t return with another plate of Tacos. I mentioned to the waiter that I had ordered food and hadn’t received this. They went to check how many tacos had been ordered… 3. Yes, just 3, which meant my food had been stolen!!! I asked the girl, (we’ll call her L) if she had ordered food as I hadn’t received mine. L’s reply “I just saw food and took it” I’m sorry but what the actual F!?$. L then proceeded to offer me the half eaten Tacos that should’ve been mine in the first place. I declined the offer. Why would I want half eaten food from someone else? I wanted the full portion that I had paid for. One of the other girls in the group told L to head to the bar, order and pay for the Tacos and then once they arrived I could have them. L gave her a look of ‘why should I do that’ but begrudgingly went to the bar. I was told later in the trip that L tried to pull the same stunt with another member of the group at a restaurant in Olympia. Anytime we went to a restaurant as a group, if we had ordered different dishes, we offered each other a chance to try the dish we had ordered. Most of us declined, but not L. Everything she was offered, she took, she was the first one to grab food from your plate before you had even finished asking. Needless to say, I avoided ordered and offering food when L was around.

The Contiki trip was broken down into 2 parts. The first part was on Mainland Greece and covered; Athens, Olympia and Delphi. Part 2 was the Islands; Mykonos, Paros and Santorini. There was an option when booking the trip to head to a 4th island- Ios before heading back to Athens were the trip would end. I, however, ended the trip in Santorini.

Whilst in Paros, we had some free time one afternoon, a large group of us headed in Paros town, 8 of us found a restaurant on the main street with views of the Ocean. The rest dined elsewhere. Bread was placed on the table, we ordered our food and drink and once we had eaten our mains, we were offered desserts. We all declined. I headed inside to ask for the bill before heading to the bathroom. I noticed the waiter who had served us, placing desserts on a tray. One of every dessert they offered. I quickly sent a text to the group. When I arrived back at the table, I noticed the tray on the table next to us, all the desserts lay untouched. I think they thought they could entice us with dessert if they showed us what they had to offer but it didn’t really work. Looking at the bill they brought, the Bread they placed on the table when we first sat down… not free. They tried to charge us 2 Euros per person for the bread that I don’t think anyone touched. We argued about the bill but in the end, one of the group members paid for the bread even though we told her not to. Overall, the food and service was a little underwhelming. I ordered Steak and was not asked how I wanted it cooking (Medium Rare, is there really any other way?) so the Steak arrived a bit well done and needed more sauce.

If you are ever in Mykonos, there is the oldest woodfire Bakery in Greece. Gioras Wood Medieval Mykonian Bakery has been around since 1420 as the sign outside read. A few of us had our fill of the clubs of Mykonos and decided to head to the Bakery. It’s open until Midnight every night so was perfect for a little late night sugar rush. I had a Chocolate Chip Cookie. It was 95% Chocolate Chips, amazing. It was quite cheap too from what I recall. We spent a few hours eating desserts and having a good old natter before joining the rest of the group outside a club. Sometimes you need one of those nights where you choose food and friends over noisy clubs.

All too soon, it was time to say goodbye to my fellow travellers on the trip. A few others finished in Santorini as did I, others headed to Ios, the last Island if you booked the extended trip. I had a couple of extra days in Santorini on my own to reflect on the last 10 days, and enjoy an ice cream or two whilst watching the sunset. I still had 1 more month of travelling ahead of me but could it really be as good as Greece?

My Tips for Greece

• Always check the bills at restaurants before paying. You may find hidden charges for things you didn’t eat such as Bread.
• If you need to withdraw cash whilst in Greece, always choose a ATM that has bank in the name i.e.; Alpha Bank, Piraeus Bank etc. You can expect to be charged 1-4 Euros for withdrawing cash from these ATMS. Avoid Euronet ATMS, they have no set fee and you could potentially be stung with high withdrawal fees or other charges.
• One nugget of information we were told at the start of the Contiki trip, if you tip Bartenders, they may offer you a free shot. Do with this information as you see fit, I am not responsible for anything that happens to you.
• Do not flush the toilet paper. Yes, this might be disgusting but you can end up blocking the toilet. There will be a bin next to the toilet for you to put your used paper in.
• Tap water is not drinkable on the islands.
• If you are staying in Athens, head to Syntagma Square to watch the changing of the guard, every hour, on the hour. The ceremonial changing of the guard is every Sunday at 11am.

The Fine Dining Foodie

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