Mythological
Tour of Greece
I’ve been enamoured of the Ancient Greeks, ever since my dad took me to see, Jason and The Argonauts in Merthyr Tydfil ABC cinema back before time began. Consequently, I became a sucker for any sword and sandal epic : Ulysses with Kirk Douglas, Helen of Troy starring Stanley Baker and Rosanna Podesta, Hercules featuring Steve Reeves as the muscled hero; and lapped them up like a dog who’d just found his tongue. Thus, when the opportunity came to embark on what was described as a, ‘Weekend Mythological tour of Greece,’ I was packed before I put the phone down.
Day One: Athens by Night
Having caught the lunchtime flight, a doddle at a mere 4 hours, we arrived in Athens full of the joys of spring just as the cities busy bees were adjourning for the weekend ; and yet, contrary to what I’d been told, the cities famous ‘terrible’ traffic and ‘appalling’ pollution was nowhere to be seen or, for that matter, inhaled. Thus , already impressed, we checked in at the Classical 2, Fashion house Hotel which, although rather inexpensive, is situated bang in the downtown area features some 115 rooms- each of which has been ‘designed by artists from the fields of urban art, graffiti design and illustration,’ and is entirely different from the next. A hotel that ticks all the boxes, such as lap top hire, free WiFi ( hotels really let themselves down when they charge extra for WiFi) and excellent breakfast, each room proffers a city survival kit that includes an Evian face spray, plasters, toys for the kids and a big box of ‘stuff’ one normally forgets to bring along. After making the room mine (or as the wife say, ‘ making a right mess’) I , with time to spare before dinner , opted for a walk around the inner city and discovered a big, beautiful bustling city, that, full of arcane shops that sell almost anything from birdcages to bean bags, has yet to fall foul of the corporate chain store curse that has befallen almost every city in the UK. Then it was off to The Gazi - the site of an old gas works - that is now the cities centre of all that is groovy. Rather like Shoreditch and Soho in one, it houses myriad bars, clubs and restaurants of every description within its confines while the central stage area often plays host to bands of every ilk. We started with a splendid fish supper of shrimp, sardines and squid at Sardeles (20 Persephoni street) followed by a few drinks at Bios that, frequented by Athens’ uber groovy Art and Design elite, boasts a quite impressive minimal, Bauhaus inspired interior and acts as a café bar, gallery and performance venue. After that we hit, The Hoxton Bar that was better than it sounded, and finished at the Intrepid Fox- a heavy metal bar where pints of lager with Jagermeister chasers seemed highly appropriate.
By Style & Travel Editor Chris Sullivan
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