When I was single, my trips always included a stop in Athens to see friends and museums and drink in open-air bars under the illuminated Acropolis. But then I had children, and the city, with its cobbled walkways and hectic streets, proved challenging to navigate with strollers in tow. On top of that, it was hit hard by the international financial crisis of 2008, followed by a decade of austerity; restaurants I'd been visiting for 20 years shuttered, friends moved abroad, storefronts stood empty. I couldn't justify dragging the kids away from our family's village in the mountains to stand on baking marble, waiting to see the Acropolis.
Then, slowly, things changed again. My children grew up and became obsessed with Greek mythology. (Thank you, Percy Jackson.) During the pandemic, several Greek American friends moved to Athens, where life could be lived outdoors and strict controls kept the virus in check. By the time the world reopened, even people I knew who weren't Greek were hitching their fortunes to the city. Foreign investment and tourists are pouring in-with 30 million visitors, 2022 almost reached 2019's record of 33 million-and, after decades of financial instability, both are welcome. The hope is that the newcomers lead to an evolution of the city, not an erasure of it. In the summer of 2022, before things changed too much, I decided it was time to show the kids where Mama spent her preschool years.
This being Athens, it's not just my past that's everywhere, but also The Past. One evening, early on in our trip, I met a friend for a drink at the rooftop bar of a new hotel, the Foundry Urban Suites, and found the Parthenon staring down. I strolled from the Central Market, past coolers full of head-on fish, down Athinas Street, walking by the city's smallest convent, where one of the two resident nuns swept the courtyard with her cell phone tucked into her wimple, chatting away.
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Denne historien er fra January - February 2024-utgaven av Condé Nast Traveler US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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The Slow Road - Rather than rush from Tokyo to Kyoto by train, as most visitors to Japan do, Tom Vanderbilt chose to bike - coasting down country roads, spying snow monkeys, and refueling with hearty bowls of soba
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