Mother of 2, blogger Celeste from Family Goes Out, has been living in Athens for more than 16 years. Here, she shares with us her tips for exploring Athens in 24 hours with kids!

As parents we all know that traveling and exploring with young children has it’s limitations. It is not possible to visit the ‘Top 5 Athens Favorites’ in just one day. If your baby is small enough for a carrier or your toddler sleeps in the stroller, you could actually spend a whole day and evening outside your accommodation. But even the most active child cannot walk all day long.

I suggest a walking tour that I have often done myself with my young children. It is a realistic and real itinerary that is flexible and suitable for the whole family. It can start around 9am and ends around 7pm.

Syntagma Square
Syntagma square is our starting point. Here your family can enjoy the Greek Parliament Building. They can also witness the amazing changing of the ‘evzones’ guards at the Tomb of the Unknown soldier right. This takes place every hour, your kids will be fascinated! They will also enjoy feeding the pigeons here.

The National Gardens
From Syntagma Square it takes about 5 minutes to enter the National Gardens at the entrance on Amalias Avenue. Here your family can enjoy the little zoo, the turtle pond or have a break at the playground. Older children will enjoy the children’s library or discover the amazing selection of trees and plants in the botanical gardens.

Coffee Break
It is time for a break at Aegli Zappiou restaurant inside the National Gardens. It is a good chance to see another Athenian monument: the Zappeion Megaron. If you sit outside at Aegli, you have a wonderful view on the Acropolis. There are no cars so kids can run around on the terrace and you will still be able to see them. Aegli is family friendly and offers lots of healthy choices in both food and drinks.

To read this itinerary in full and for more of Celeste's suggestions, please visit: Family Goes Out

The popular travel website AFAR released a travel guide listing the hidden gems of Europe. Only 29 gems made the list and not surprisingly, Athens took two top spots!

At number 18, the Central Market in Athens is described as ‘noisy, smelly, and chaotic, but it’s an experience no foodie or photographer should miss.’

An AFAR Local Expert writes, ‘the colours, shapes, and patterns are a compositional dream, but the market is not for the squeamish. You can find every conceivable creature from the sea on sale here. The floor is wet and the air smells salty. In the next building, animal parts you didn't even know were edible are hanging from hooks or stacked in baskets - Sheep's head anyone? Around the exterior of the market you can find spices, fresh fruit and vegetables.’

 

Coming in at number 20 is the Hellenic Parliament Building. The AFAR expert describes the Grand Change of the guards experience, ‘well worth watching and fascinating to watch and photograph.’

Every Sunday morning at 11:00 am, visitors can watch the elite unit of the Greek Military, known as the Athens’ Evzones, perform the Grand Change. They are guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier while they march from the barracks to the Parliament and perform maneuvers marching along with a band.

 

To read this article in full, please visit: AFAR

Video blogger, who is married to a  Greek, shares his expert tips for what NOT to do while you’re in Greece. From showing up empty-handed to a Greek’s house or not trying the local specialities, Wolter’s World gives us his suggestions for everything not to do in Greece, with of course some To Do’s!

For more videos, please visit: Wolter's World

Source: Greek Reporter 

Olive oil, fine cheese, cured meats and other delicacies — Where to find the best deli’s in Athens from Greece Is!

Brimming with delicacies from every corner of Greece, this deli is the perfect place to find rare meze – like salt-cured tuna from Alonnisos and pies from Kozani. It’s ideal for both lunch and dinner; your meal will be made with ingredients straight off the shelves around you.

Address: 26 Mitropoleos, Syntagma

Telephone: 210 331 5547

At this mecca of Greek cheese, you’ll find incredible products to take home and enjoy as well as plenty to eat right on the spot. Kostarelos, which is family-run, produces a variety of cheeses but it’s perhaps most noted for its feta, both soft and hard, which is exceptional – try some tucked into a sourdough sandwich.

Address: 30-32 Patriarchou Ioakeim, Kolonaki

Telephone: 210 725 9000

To read this article in full, please visit: Greece Is

In a village 200 kilometers west of Athens lies Galaxidi, a place of only about 1,700 inhabitants. Every year on Clean Monday, carnival celebrations ensue and residents and visitors "have a right to lose their civility."

They have what's known as a "flour war" — participants pelt each other with bags of dyed flour along the coastal road lining Galaxidi's old harbor.

"It's an explosion of color that takes place every Clean Monday, an Orthodox Christian holiday marking the start of Lent and the end of the carnival season which holds onto many of the country's pre-Christian traditions."

To read this article in full, please visit: NY Daily News

Making its way to Scotland for the first time is the award-winning exhibition, Museum Without A Home, made up of items donated to refugees.

According to BBC, the exhibition items were mainly donated by people in Greece to refugees and asylum seekers as the refugee crisis began to unfold in 2015/2016. First shown in Athens, it was put together by Amnesty International and Oxfam.

As the exhibition travels the world, it picks up items along the way. Scotland's contribution if welcome letters written by locals.

Eiman, who lives in Scotland and came from Sudan, said, "If you have nothing and you arrive in a new place, the simplest act of kindness can make a really big difference, whether that's in Athens or here in Glasgow. So with these items, it's the story that they tell, even if they seem like a strange thing to put in a display case."

To read this article in full, please visit: BBC

An energy boost in the morning is a perfect start to the day, especially if it contains a healthy Greek-inspired breakfast! Get some ideas about it in this week's newsletter and go get some excercise at the Athens Tennis Club, the oldest tennis club in Greece! You can also keep an eye out for the 3rd Messinia Pro-Am schedule if you're thinking of a quick getaway outside of Athens!

This July the SNFCC is hosting several sports and wellbeing classes for Athenians of any age. Get ready to and relax your mind and work your body with the free yoga in the park sessions that will be taking place until the end of the month.

Source: snfcc.org

The Washington Oxi Day Foundation is offering the following scholarships to five Greek-American students (Grades 6-12) who best describe “philotimo”

 

First Place: $2,000 scholarship and an invitation to the Foundation’s October 24 black tie gala in Washington, DC, where the winner will be recognized

Second Place: $1,000 scholarship (two)

Third Place: $500 scholarship (two)

1. Watch the Foundation’s video ‘The Greek Secret’ on the subject of philotimo here

2. In 500 words, or less, answer one of the following questions:

• What does philotimo mean to you?

• What are some extraordinary examples of philotimo that you have seen?

• What are some of the things you can do in your daily life to exhibit philotimo?

• How can philotimo improve your life?

3. Submit your answer to the Foundation via email by Friday, October 4