Walking Food Tour Athens Greece

Kids want to eat; Adults want to eat: We all want to eat!

So seeing food is a major part of our lives, it is also a major part of our learning. And as we world-school and travel around the world, we try to learn all sorts of fun and interesting things.

And today – it is Greek food.

The tour is with Athens Walking Tours, and after we meet, we hop on the Metro for an underground ride. This is a bit of fun as we are two large groups, and it is a challenge to fit us all into the train carriage. I notice our guide hands us a map and shows us where we get off on the train. A good thing – Athens is a busy place.  The underground train system is brilliant.

Our the first stop is Koulouri Corner.  We learn about the staple diet of the Greeks.  And we try Koulouri.  A sesame seed round shaped bread. This is their daily start to the day.

On the way, we visit an old church. It is sunken down. We learn about the Greek Orthodox religion. We learn why they don’t have statues, and how they use little metal prayer requests. These are later melted down to be used in the church – very practical!

Explorason loves the fossils he finds in the stones. His camera is going crazy.

On we go to a street that used to be for the rich and famous.  The Greek tycoons would have shopped here in the years gone by. Now it makes way for modern British stores, but still, a traditional family business that has been here since 1923 is our next stop.  “Krinos” is famous for its round shaped doughnuts – Loukoumades.

It has a yummy sweet syrup and honey and walnuts are a big part of the taste. I really like them – but make no mistake, they do not taste like an American donut.  Explorason gave it a try, but he is not a fan of nuts, so I got his too – lucky for me!

Now came the fun part.  We visited the Central meat and fish market.

I have never taken Explorason to such a big enclosed carnivorous place.  He has his camera out and is madly taking movies.  Here he spies tongue.  The butcher makes fun of him and he screams. He is hilarious!

We learn about telling the difference between freshly caught fish and frozen fish.  They will show you the gills, so you can see they are red.  It is getting pretty stinky by now.  My open shoes are filled with fishy-water – which I find really gross and it is quite sticky!

We then go to a great store. It specializes in products from the region / Isle of Lesvos.  Explorason learns the origin of Lesbianism at this point. He finds this fascinating, and it is the key retaining information from the day – I find that funny!

We try all sorts of delights.  Olive Oils, Honey, Feta Cheese and much more.  I miss out on my Donkey Milk Soap.  I meant to go back for it and completely forgot.  Oh, I want my Donkey milk soap so much – if I get back to Athens I am definitely heading to this store at 27 Athenas Street, Athens.

My favorite as the honey and feta – it was so delightful!

Next stop was to a Bohemian area of Athens, and an area I fell in love with. Quirky coffee shops; bars; nightclubs and restaurants with customers spilling out into the streets and sidewalks with their Greek coffees on this day. This is at ‘1 Iron Square, Athens’.

Here we try traditional filo pies “Bougatsadiko” – filled with a variety of either custard, beef, chicken, feta or the like.

Explorason really liked the chicken ones. This was a great time to meet people on our tour too.  A really nice bunch of fun people.

We then headed to the famous meat delicatessen – Miran, with a garden wall if you look upward from the front of the store.

We were meant to try something here, but to be honest I didn’t get to try a thing. Explorason is too busy taking videos, and he didn’t want me in them, so I had to hide behind pillars and watch him as he crossed the street.

Oh, the joys of single parent travel!

I do know the man in this photo who worked there was super friendly though!  Located at ’45 Evripidou Street, Athens’

Moving on, we came to a couple of interesting Herb and Spices stores.

Fotsis at 39 Evripidou Street, Athens was the place.

I wish, wish, wish I had bought a dozen of these dried aromatic oranges filled with cloves. How good would they look and smell as a Christmas ornament?

We tried to an aromatic delight and tried a weird natural gum – sorry the name evades me – it was really odd, and it stuck to my fillings in my teeth.

I think I shall stick to smelling and not chewing in this store.

On we go. We pass so many baskets filled with colorful delights.  We then head to the fresh fruit and vegetable section of the Central Market.

This market is at Armodiou Street, Athens.

We are feeling full, but our lovely guide hands us some lovely grapes to eat as we depart.

Make no mistake: Explorason and I are both in love with Greece. We are in love with Athens and the culture and food. We are in love with the happy people who serve us with a smile.

We both say we could base ourselves in Greece.

This has been a great way to learn about Greece.

It has been a great way to meet new people and have some fun.

I really liked doing a food tour.  

I hope when we return to Athens this Spring / Summer we can share with you more of their fabulous tours.

It is my first, and I hope it is not my last on this world journey.

Thank you Athens Walking Tour – we had so much fun and learned a lot too.

Attraction Name: Athens Walking Tour

Office Location:  City Contact Ltd  2, Cheyden str.  GR 104 34, Athens  Greece

Telephone:  0030 6945 859 662  or  0030 210 884 7269  US TOLL FREE  (0800) 754 0657
or send us a fax at 0030 211 7405 832

email: info@athenswalkingtours.gr

Website: http://www.athenswalkingtours.gr

Date visited: October 2014

Child-friendly: Yes

Questions and Comments

• What fascinates you about Greece?
• Have you been to Athens in Greece?
• What do you make of their culture?
• What is your favourite Greece delicacy?
• Do share your comments with us below.