Smile Map of Athens

By Alexia Amvrazi

It’s true, despite all the noise, chaos, general bad manners, earth-shatteringly high prices and pollution, there are days – or rich, overflowingly bright moments – when Athens makes me profoundly smile, with my heart. And similarly there are certain places that I can guarantee will make my cells shimmy in sometimes an almost unbearably happy frenzy, a joy reminiscent of the sound of Edith Piaf’s expansive voice resonating ‘La Vie En Rose’ through every corner of my body, or like Julie Andrews on a hill throwing her arms up into the air and explosively singing The Sound of Music, or like the insane spiral of heightening speed in the Syrtaki dance fuelled by panygiri wine. Of course these ‘happy places’ are a very subjective experience - the place where I feel happy and alive may be the very same place where someone else might have broken their leg, or worse, their heart. And that’s the interesting thing about this section of smileathens, how much each contributor’s Smile Map can vary, or even how the same places might be chosen for very different reasons. When I moved to Athens in 1982 I lived in the northern suburb of Kifissia, which I still visit regularly since my parents live there, so I shall begin my map that-aways...


1. ☺ The “green patch” on the right hand side along the Kifissias Avenue, just before entering Kiffisia. This is the point where the air temperature drops by around two to three degrees Celsius. Regardless of the season this freshness always feels elating somehow.





2. ☺ Varsos in Kifissia. Varsos is a classic. Just the overwhelming smell of tsoureki and cream, the endless display of meringues, chocolates and tiny pink icing-covered sweets is enough to bring a smile to one’s face, not to mention the general feeling of chaos, the ancient décor (and waiting staff) that keep my teenage memories of skipping morning classes to smoke and drink frappe with fellow schoolmates firmly intact. Also, the famous Varsos stuffed croissant, filled with chocolate and nuts, which a few years ago was hilariously advertised on a piece of A4 paper with a felt pen scribbling that wrote: “these are the very croissants that Prince Charles and Camilla ordered whilst staying in their yacht in Greece recently”. I hope Varsos never changes!

3. ☺ Thisseio. After searching for a long time, and I mean a long time, (and creeping out the residents of the Apostolou Pavlou / Dyonissiou Aeropagitou walkway by perambulating through their neighbourhood looking haunted by my desire to find a home there) I finally moved to Thisseio. There’s a lot that makes me smile about that place: its old-worldliness, the way renovated neoclassical buildings blend with ancient structures, the excruciatingly slow-service organic grocery store on Eptahalkou St, the parks where dog walkers chat and children play til way past midnight, Paionia tea shop on Amfyktionis St, the golden orange resort-type atmosphere during summer twilight that transports you far, far from Athens. And of course the above-mentioned pedestrian, baby carriage, and cyclist-friendly walkways that embrace the Acropolis, as well as Philopappou hill with its lush greenery, various forms of wildlife and glorious views.


4. ☺ Kostas souvlaki on Adrianou St in Plaka. This hole in the wall joint has been serving souvlakia to Athenians and visitors since the late 1940s, and celebrates the fact that its style and standards have remained the same. Quality meat, non-greasy pitta bread, thick creamy yogurt, hot green pepper, lots of finely chopped parsley and a big pinch of loving care make this souvlaki the best I’ve ever had, the type that my grandfather was thinking of when telling me 10 years ago that “you can no longer find a real souvlaki in this city.” Kostas’ grandson has taken the reins, and continues with the same, slow style of preparation; a bit of chat with the regulars, who sit on stools and sip tsipouro, careful chopping, grilling and slicing, and as on my first visit I stood tapping my foot impatiently and looked up, I saw a smile-inducing sign that writes: “Oxi Anxos”, or “no stress” which explained it all. My sense of loyalty and respect for Kostas’ was set for life.

5. ☺ Café Boheme on 36 Omirou St. There is no doubt that if it weren’t for its owners Cassie Wagstaffe and Mimis Manolakis this would be just another trendy, high quality, bar/restaurant. Cassie is the ‘hostess with the mostest’, always organizing fun, creatively themed nights, making decorations and concocting quirky cocktails and decadent desserts alike with boundless enthusiasm, while truly being on a mission to introduce customers to each other, to create a big world of smiling friendship! After many years without a steady hangout (my previous two were margarita lunapark Toy Café in Karitsi Sq and people-watching paradise Morfes in Thisseio), Café Boheme feels like my friend’s house instead of a bar-restaurant, and there I have met wonderful foreigners and Greeks, danced on the table without morning-after shame, performed with a jazz band and dressed up in various laughable attires.

6. ☺ Panepistimiou St. From its first corner with Omonia, where the Loumidis coffee store is located, its pungent aroma filling my nostrils with the varieties of Elliniko, filtrou and espresso, to its very end at Syntagma Sq, I enjoy Panepistimiou St and it makes me feel happy. Unlike 98% of Athens, it has large and wide pavements, and is studded with beautiful buildings such as Athens Academy of Sciences (with its stunning statue of Athena in the sky), the Athens University and the National library, as well as the 6 storey Eleftheroudakis bookstore, perfect for cheering oneself up in on a dull day. It’s also the street where my grandmother’s family home once was (today it is the National Bank) so I also feel a sweet nostalgia for the days that were, imagining my grandmother strolling along there as a young girl in the 1930s, and hanging out at Zonars café with her friends, which apparently was the place to flirt.

7. ☺ Lycabettus’ St George church at sunset. Now I live near Lycabettus Hill, and although I have enjoyed lengthy walks there with my husband and our dog, the classic night drives to take in the glittery cityscapes and summer night uphill treks to the theatre, I had never walked up to St George church at sunset. Upon reaching the top one winter evening my heart sang, as I stood absolutely mesmerized by the engulfing colours of the sky – lavender, red, orange, pink, yellow, blue – in a sweet, wistful silence. We stood there for a long while, staring out at the city we think we know so well but manage to observe from afar so rarely, as it slowly lit up and the day turned gently into night. Pure bliss.


8.☺ The kafeneion down the road from my house. Just one of those basically furnished old coffee shops with strip lighting, a TV, yucky toilet and an old gas heater, overpopulated by men, yet having first gone there in good faith (gut instinct?) I feel appropriately rewarded: I discovered that not only are the owners extremely friendly and smiley and welcoming, not only can I spend hours playing my favourite sport (backgammon), but that they also serve the yummiest home-style food – from fresh whitebait to perfectly done eggs and homemade chips, pikilies not made up of foul fried stuff and bad meats but juicy olives, quality salamis and hams, crispy kalamari… The kind of place I happily go back to knowing that I’ll feel right at home.


9. ☺ My laiki. Every Tuesday we set off to buy fresh fish, vegetables, flowers and fruits from the market that sprawls noisily down the street from 7am to 3pm. Although we always set off determined to not buy too much because there are still those beetroots and lettuces and radishes and lemons on the verge of rotting in the fridge, we always return armed with a plethora of fresh produce that inspires so many recipes and visions of delicious, healthy, happy moments. There’s the fishmonger who knows us by now and won’t dare offer anything but the freshest (unfarmed) fish, which he also cleans for us, and then there’s my favourite, the gourmet laiki-seller man, who sells amazing varieties of Greek mushrooms, truffles and truffle pasta, offering wonderful recipe ideas for everything you pick up, such as the chestnutty red French potatoes “to be eaten steamed and salted with a pungent creamy cheese”.


10. ☺ Rafina port. It has to be said, that one of the greatest joys of Athens is being able to leave it and hop to lovely nearby places on the mainland and the islands. I smile when I think of Rafina port, not only because it reminds me of the few nerve-racking times we literally leapt super-hero like onto the boat to Andros because of tardiness, but also because unlike the horrendously polluted, noisy, grey and overpopulated Piraeus port, Rafina is almost quaint. You can arrive there earlier and enjoy some fresh fish mezedes with some ouzo right in front of the sea after picking up your tickets and then get onto the boat in a leisurely style; something like commencing your holiday way before arriving at your destination, and that can’t be a bad thing.