A morning in Metaxourgeio
I feel very happy that we made this meet-up and we had an enjoyable relaxed walk in a part of Athens. Metaxourgeio is not considered as one of the most popular areas of Athens among locals and tourists but I believe that happens because of a misconception and that is the reputation it had as an infamous district. But this is an old story now and the area is renovating and worths a visit. Especially if you are a tourist that you like to get off the beaten track and get a more original feeling of Athens and how locals enjoy a coffee or lunch.
Here is the walk we did (split into two parts because of Google maps limitation).
1st part of the walk (Google maps route)
Our meeting place was Kerameio, a bar that is operating also as a cafe in the morning time. We were the first customers and we were able to enjoy our drinks in the beautiful back yard. After about an hour of introductions and talk about photography, travels, food and many more, we decided to begin our walk with direction towards the Municipal Gallery of Athens. As you exit the cafe, on the left-hand side you can find Elvis, a small shop that grills souvlaki kalamaki, a Greek fast food delicacy. It is noon but as we are Greeks, we had coffee at 11:30, therefore no lunch before 14:00, so we took a look and continued our walk. A quick stop at Latraac Skate Cafe a cafe that has a skate ramp! We arrived in the Municipal Gallery of Athens and we entered the building to attend the temporary exhibition âJapan and the bookâ. Note that there is no entrance fee and the exhibition will be open to the public until June 9th. Just outside the galleryâs building is Avdi Square where you can find numerous cafes and restaurants like Blue Parrot and Seychelles. The next stop before walking to the other side of Peiraos street was Saint George, an orthodox church built in 1899. A building with two caryatids holding the roof of the balcony is at the end of Agion Asomaton street as you are coming from Thisio metro station. This house was painted by the famous Greek painter Yiannis Tsarouchis and photographed by Henri Cartier-Bresson. A characteristic example of Athenian neoclassicism and the native architecture of the area. The Caryatids adorning the facade are the work of the sculptor and owner of the house, Ioannis Karakatsanis. Today the building hosts the Hellenic Olympiansâ Association.
2nd part of the walk (Google maps route)
It is time to begin our way back as the time for lunch is approaching! Bios is our next stop, a venue that hosts various events and also has a restaurant on the first floor and the terrace (where you have a clear view of Acropolis). We consider staying for lunch as the place looks very nice but still, it is too early for us and we decide to continue and view some more places. A visit to the English headquarters during the civil war after WWII wasnât much impressive, the building wasnât interesting but in the area, you can still spot holes in the outside walls of some old buildings made from bullets or shell fragments.
Artofili Bakery is known for the best bougatsa (a type of pie, usually filled with a sweet cream but other fillings such as spinach or minced meat are used also) in the area. so before having lunch, it is a good time for a snack! Interesting is the cutting of the pie which is made in front of the customer.
And now that we have energy, it is time to find a place to eat, we tried Kanaria which was our first choice but the restaurant is small and couldnât accommodate all of us in one table so we ended up to Korova, a small plates restaurant. What is better than to end a wonderful meet-up and walk by sitting again in a table drinking and eating together?
Our shared Google photos album can be found here for anyone that wants to take a look to them in full size:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ysk7bvJ2uZLEZpfo7
List of the places we visited: https://goo.gl/maps/S8mr9x6gy64MCVQ46
I would like to thank all of you that participated in the meet-up, I had a very good time with you all and hope to organize another one soon.
Please feel free to comment or ask any questions!
