Athens

Falling for Athens was a surprise; Greece is much more famous for its islands afterall. Apart from the splendid monuments like the Acropolis, Athens turned out to be a city which has bits and pieces of what I liked most about some of the other cities around the world; from Valparaiso, from Barcelona, from Bogota, from Rome, from Budapest, from Berlin, while being uniquely Athens and noticeably Greek. On every other corner there seemed to be cafes and restaurants which seemed to be saying “come in, sit down and absorb the atmosphere”. Athens also had fresh food market, beautiful suburbs like Plaka, amazing graffiti, interesting people on the street, artistic jewellery stores, very smart-looking policemen, cafe freddo (or ouzo), and the sea near by, as we saw it in the dark on our night out.

Thessaloniki

  

   

The most charming thing about Thessaloniki, was undoubtedly having the sea right in front of you. Apart from seeing the White Tower, the Byzantine walls, the Rotunda, the (meeting point) Arch of Galerius, and many more "ruins", we continued our sole mission of eating delicious Greek food, and hanging out with the amazing Greek people over coffee, coffee, and more coffee. Apart from enjoying the sun on UFOs, the relaxing atmosphere of the city, we also caught glimpses of nightlife (which was very active even on a Sunday night!). Thessaloniki also had great street food, like its version of Souvlaki with Tzatziki, like giant crepes; it seemed like there was something to eat every 10 metres. I got a little addicted to Bougatsa with Cheese filling.