We’ve been to Athens, Greece three times. Sort of.

The First Time was Ugly

We had a 24 hour layover on our way to Cario. We arrived just as the sun was setting, quickly freshened up and were off in search of adventure.

As we explored the Plaka, we stopped off at a shop when we saw a teeshirt in the window with an interesting design. A cartoon of an older man wearing very short shorts with his, um, package hanging out. It read “the reason I don’t wear shorts.” We laughed and bought the shirt for my father-in-law…he’s hard to shop for and father’s day was coming up, okay?

We wander to the base of the Acropolis and decide to see if we can climb to the top (as you can see, we like to climb things). There are actually homes at the base of the hill and we keep going further up. We come to an older man watering his yard. He politely greets us and as we get closer we are shocked to see that he is wearing very short shorts and… you guessed it, his, um, package is hanging out. That’s all I’m going to say about that experience.

The Second Time Was Bad

Another layover. This time we are on our way to Santorini. Six hours in the Athens Airport. The longest six hours of our lives as we are suffering badly from food poisoning we picked up in Ephesus. We find a pharmacy in high hopes of buying some stomache medicine to put an end to our troubles. Try explaining that to a sales girl who barely speaks English. After some embarssing hand gestures, a light bulb goes off in her head. She disappears down an aisle and comes back with a box of medicine. We examine the box but the writing is in Greek.

“It’s pour Diary!” she exclaims.

The Third Time was Good

No, we weren’t on a layover. We finally experienced the true Athens. This city of 5 million is horribly over crowded, polluted, hot, sticky, smoggy, way too built up, and an overall sensory overload. Yet, it somehow maintains its old Greek charm if you are in the right place.

40 Percent of Greece's Population Lives in Athens

The Acropolis and Greece’s most famous temple, the Parthenon does not dissapoint. You’ve seen it a million times in photos and movies but to see it in person will leave you awestruck. This massive structure looks down at the city below and you can just imagine how different the view was for the people who lived here in 5,000 BC.

Ancient Agora, Temple of Athena Nike, Theater of Dionysos Odeion (Odeum) of Herodes Atticus will make you wish you paid for attention in history class. But as much ancient history this city has to offer, its extremely modern as well. Hip restaurants, night clubs, chic hotels and the hottest fashion are all over the streets here.

A few days in Athens is all you need to soak up the sights. Sure, the cab drivers are rude and won’t pick up visitors and there’s more tourist trap food than there is authentic cuisine, but find a way to make the city your own and it won’t be so Greek to you…or maybe it will.