For a long time, I had dreamed of renting an Airbnb in another country and living as though I belonged there. We finally did it in 2025, spending a week in our home in Varnava. With no particular aim and no fixed itinerary, we shopped at the market across the road, wandered through Plaka, went to the cinema and sometimes simply stayed at home. We were lucky: the weather was beautiful.
Visiting the Maria Callas Museum was one of the highlights of the trip. Afterwards, we went to see *Maria*, starring Angelina Jolie and Haluk Bilginer. We could not bear the film’s portrayal of Callas as such a diminished figure, so we spent the rest of the night at home watching documentaries about her. The woman we found there was very different: one of the greatest voices in the world, an accomplished artist, an intellectual who spoke four languages, and a confident woman of formidable character.
Soil, the Michelin-starred restaurant just down the street from our home, was a complete journey through flavour. At the chef’s table, we watched flowers and art become food, and food become an experience.
On a sunny winter day, we visited the Ancient Agora near Plaka. In the Stoa, we stood where democracy took shape and discovered the device once used to select jurors. We tried to understand a city founded in the Mycenaean age, then leapt forward through centuries of history and walked through Hadrian’s Arch. It did us good.
We went shopping at the Attica department store and repeatedly talked about how much Athenians resemble the people of İzmir.
At the Olympia “Maria Callas” Municipal Music Theatre, we watched *Sweeney Todd* in Greek and applauded its powerful performances and excellent production. Before the show, we explored the theatre district. Seeing theatres full on Friday and Saturday nights made us more than a little envious.
Near Psiri Square, we found the well-hidden Avli. Close by was the Athens Central Municipal Market, better known as Varvakios Market, where stalls selling fish, meat, poultry and vegetables all come together.
Glyfada felt like Athens’s answer to Bostancı. After breakfast and coffee at Blends Mix & Match, we went to ARK. With its chef, seaside view, service and food, it was an outstanding restaurant. Opposite the One&Only hotel, we walked on the sand and drank beer by the sea at Caretta, enjoying a taste of summer in the winter sunshine.
We took the funicular up Lycabettus Hill, opposite the Acropolis, and looked out over a magnificent view of Athens. Afterwards, we walked to the National Archaeological Museum. Seeing what remained there made us reflect sadly on how many objects had been taken to the British Museum and elsewhere.
We joined the demonstrations in Syntagma Square. On a side street leading to the square, we ate one of Greece’s finest souvlakis at Kostas. The meat tucked into pita at this tiny, inherited family shop was delicious and should not be missed.
We visited the First Cemetery of Athens and looked at sculptures that made it feel like an open-air art gallery, encountering several familiar names along the way. Back in Varnava Square, we joined the crowd at Gepetto, which seemed to be busy day and night.
At Okra, with the Acropolis in view, we enjoyed a fine-dining evening. Good food and good wine brought back memories of our honeymoon.
By walking eleven kilometres a day, we avoided the traffic. To improve my Greek, I searched the bookshops near the Academy for the book my teacher Despina had requested and finally managed to find it.