My first (real) time in Athens, I was visiting for a wedding of a dear friend. And I didn’t know anyone besides her. Which can be a bit daunting at first sight. The day after the bachelorette party, some of her friends and I went for lunch together to get to know each other better. They entrusted me with picking up the restaurant since all I was talking about the whole time was how I loved Greek food.
With a little research on Google Maps I found this well rated meze place called Karamanlidika (meze is like a Spanish tappa - translated literally, the word meze (meh-ZEH) means a taste or a bite - usually small plates of savory snacks that are served as a complement to drinks.). It was a bit out of our way, but it looked amazing, so we decided to give it a try.
Not only that it didn’t fail, but it exceeded all expectations. We followed the traditional way of sharing plates, so we ordered several plates for the table and took a bite of each, to try as many dishes as possible. We ordered a bottle of organic local wine (recommended by super kind server) and started chatting away.
The more we shared food and wine, the more we shared about ourselves and got to know each other. It was a casual location with tasty food and great atmosphere, that made us all fell comfortable and relaxed. We are still in contact with the ladies and planning a reunion soon.
After the visit, I shared my photos on Google Maps and they had over 97.000 views by today. My hope is, that at least 1% of those viewers decided for a meal in Karamanlidika, and if they had as wonderful experience as we had, then that is 1000 people more with happy tastebuds and new friendships.
And that’s what Local Guides program means to me. Connecting people with great experiences, building new friendships and sharing the World with everyone.