Gina from Athena’s daily life
At 6:45am the alarm goes off. I get up as quietly as possible so I can get myself read before anyone else has to use the bathroom, it’s a battle. We are a family of 5; I have three children who are 5, 3 and 18 months old. The kids slowly start to wake up, looking for some comfort and cuddles before we start preparing ourselves for school and the day.
8:00 by that time everyone has eaten breakfast, dressed, cleaned and ready to hit the road. For the number of kids , I am surprised how fast we are!
One of the things I like during this part of my day , is to walk the kids to school. Luckily, it’s within walking distance. I like it because I see them exploring, asking me questions about everything that attracts their attention. I see the different characters they have but also what a great team they are together.
I notice them as we walk down the road and can’t believe they are all mine. Whoever sees us on the street doesn’t believe it either. Many times people ,either on foot or even from the inside of their cars stop and ask me if they are all mine. If it’s an elderly woman she would give me her blessings for the family.
It’s not common anymore, nowadays in Greece, to have a big family. Mainly for economical reasons. My grandparents, all 4 of them, come from extended families. It was very common , especially, in the countryside, back in the 40s and 50s. I remember at weddings and baptisms, as a kid, we would meet all of them and I called everyone Aunt and Uncle. On some occasions , I would even meet a relative I had never met before.
By 8:20 am we are outside of the school door ringing the bell so that the 2 eldest can enter inside with their teachers. Then I have the little one all to myself. He’s 18months old. Another part of my everyday life that I love and I believe the same for every Greek, is coffee. It’s like a ritual. The seconds before I enter the bakery and give my order , to the moment I take the coffee to my hands and take the first sip. Such a pleasure!
The name of the barista is Achilles, his coffee is as legendary as his name. He remembers everyone by the coffee that they drink, especially if you are a regular. This is my favourite bakery, they have all kinds of things. From bread , which in Greece we eat a lot of, to traditional sweets , like ‘tsoureki’ and ‘bougatsa’ (filo with cream filling inside).
What I take joy in seeing is a group of older men sitting at the outside tables, talking about politics (the main discourse in Greece is always about politics) and also what their wives have prepared for lunch . There’s one specific gentleman who also brings his puppy and when it’s cold he’s putting it inside his jacket and you can see its white face sticking out.
Every neighbourhood, every corner in Greece has its own bakery ,butcher, grocer and fishmonger. You say you’ll be a minute , but you may stay longer than you think. Talking, greeting people from the neighbourhood, catching up, saying a good word to someone in need. It’s like a small community within the community.
Right next to the bakery is the shop that sells fruits and vegetables run by our friend Androniki (a beautiful Ancient Greek name) , she’s in love with our youngest. Every time she sees us or going to do some shopping she will always gift him some fruit.
10am and a mini marathon starts for me. As a working mum it’s not easy, but I am fortunate being able to combine both. I then begin preparing fresh food for lunch. I consider fresh food really important something I attributeI in part to the fact that I used to be a professional basketball player. My team played in the First Division of women’s basketball, a sport that I loved but unfortunately I had to chose between that and studying. For as long as it lasted, it was an extremely important experience in life for me.
In Greece it is very common for parents to urge their children from a very young age to start a sport , the most common ones being basketball, football, waterpolo, ballet and martial arts, like karate. And aside from sports, foreign languages are also deemed very important. We begin English at elementary school and we continue with it until the end of high school.
But it’s not just that. In every neighbourhood, around the country there are private schools teaching any foreign language, so it’s not that strange for a Greek speaks 2-3 languages.
Then again ,cooking something new, daily was part of my childhood, where I remember,my mom and grandmother would always have something fresh for us made. Personally, I try to include everything in our diet. Salads, meat, fish, legumes.
Some of my favourite dishes are stuffed peppers and tomatoes with minced meat, rice and herbs. Veil in tomato sauce, you have to cook it 2-3 hours so it can be tender and is served with Greek traditional pasta, called Hilopites. And I love soups, like chickpeas, lentils or having a Greek salad. Which strange as it may sound we don’t call Greek salad, but Horiatiki, which means Farmer’s salad.
Or another super food, Greek horta, wild herbs. Every time we had to go somewhere, especially out in the countryside, my grandmother always had a plastic bag and knife with her. If she saw those herbs , she’d made my grandpa stop to collect them. Even better if she spotted wild asparagus, as they go great with eggs.
At 1:30pm the older children return back from school with the school bus. I already see how eager my youngest is for them to get home as he points at the bus knowing that his favourite people are on it. I can see that he misses his brother and sister when they are at school; they don’t have a big age difference so they are growing up together.
2:00pm if the kids don’t want to eat something, then we go for a little rest and wait in the afternoon for my husband to arrive home from work. I take advantage also to rest my mind as they sleep or do some chores in the house.
5pm all wake and rested. Sometimes I feel bad for the kids that I have to wake them up so early for school in the morning, but I know school is good for them. They learn all sorts of things important for their future. In Greece children have to begin school at the age of 4. When I was their age that wasn’t the case. You could choose if you wanted a year or two years of kindergarten, before elementary, or you could go straight to elementary.
Afterwards we try with my husband to organise something with the kids. Since we live close to the sea, we like to go for walks at the seaside of Athens.
Something that is perhaps unfamiliar to foreigners is that Athens has a very long coastline. It’s called the Athenian Riviera. With plenty of beaches one after the other, this is the beating heart of fun and relaxation of Athens since tavernas and ouzo bars follow one after another. Ouzo is our national drink and it’s made from aniseed. You can drink it plain with ice cubes, but my favourite way is to add a splash of lemonade. You may find it a little bit strong if you haven’t tasted it before!
In the summer time or as soon as we start having sunny days and warm temperatures, this is the place to be. The easiest way to get here is by using the tram. The tram departs from Syntagma square in the heart of downtown town Athens , and winds its way along the Athenian Riviera. It takes you up until a point , then if you want to continue further south the coastline you need to have a car, or use a taxi/local bus. There’s one location out of the reach of the tram, meaning that you need to have a car or take the local bus , that is iconic and generations of generations of Athenians have swam there in the most iconic blue Athenian waters. The spot is called Limanakia, meaning little ports in Greek. It is not a beach , but cliffs. You lay your towel on a rock and that’s it. It attracts until everyone including all the young kids who after finishing the summer exams at school , take the bus out there a taste of paradise. They are squeezed onto the bus like sardines with their swimming trunks and a beach towel in their hands. There’s a wooden platform out there with a bar, playing reggae and chill out music on top of it!
What I like about my city is that you can still sense the greatness of it. The air is full of the greats that came before. Kleisthenis, Socrates , Periklis’s works are all around us. The Agora, the Acropolis, the Parthenon. This is a city filled with history and history has so many things to teach us.
A favourite spot of mine (and of many Athenians) in the city centre, is the pedestrian located below the Acropolis, the symbol of the city. The name of the pedestrian is Areopagitou, named after St Dennis, whose house was at the end of that pedestrian. I like it because by walking it one can see the most important monuments of the city, the Agora, the Roman Agora , Hadrians library and many more . If tired , it is filled with many cafes, tavernas and little museums, the most emblematic one being the Acropolis museum. It may take you hours to walk it, stopping to admire the view of the Acropolis which you can see from every corner of this city, to stop and think all the people who have walked the same steps that we are taking now and the ideas that were born on those walks.
There are two neighbourhoods below the Acropolis, one is called Plaka and the other Monastiraki, the neighbourhoods of the Gods. The historical part of Athens, the spot where the city started slowly to spread. From there one can reach another favourite spot of mine, the tomb of the unknown soldier, in front of the Parliament building.
Two guards, highly trained to guard the tomb, doing their service in the Greek military. Yes, we still have conscription. Ever since I was a little girl, these soldiers, always fascinated me. Their beautiful uniform, with their embroidered vest and their wooded shoes, with the nails underneath and the characteristic Pom Pom on top. How patiently, no matter the circumstances they stand there , for their sacred duty. I believe that every Athenian kid, has photos with these guards. It was a characteristic Sunday walk, talking photos with the Evzones (their official name which means the ‘well belted’ and then off for some Souvlaki .
Souvlaki is the most popular street food that you can find everywhere in Greece. Usually chicken or pork wrapped in a pita bread and tomatoes, tzatziki sauce inside and sometimes French fries.
One of the reasons why I feel so connected to my hometown ,Athens, is because here I met my husband. He’s not local, he’s Italian. It’s as if I am living the real my big fat Greek but also Italian wedding. He’s from southern Italy and we have many things in common.
We come from big, loud families, we like good food, we like spending time with each other, the warmth of the people. As a child I knew that if I ever met someone to start a family, he would be from another land. In Greece we are people who believe in fate, destiny . Pepromèno , as we call it. A strange mechanism, that interferes in the course of life of the people , in an unexpected way. As it happened with us and how we met. Unexpectedly. Later it came as a shock , finding out that we even have birthday on the same day and month. It’s funny when we have to do paperwork and fill in official documents, the surprise of everyone who checks them , when they see our birthday, they think we made a mistake.
By 8pm we are back home so we can prepare dinner. As you can imagine we like a lot pasta. In our kitchen cupboards we have it in every shape and design, and I have learned many traditional Italian recipes. One of my favourite ones is lasagna, but it takes time to make it.
Generally in Greece , we eat late lunch, late dinner. It’s not unusual even for little children, especially in the summer time where the sun sets late, to stay up even past their bedtime. I remember from my childhood that my parents would take me with them everywhere, even times when we would have to return late at home. If I felt sleepy, I went to my mother’s arms and slept against her chest.
9:30-10:00pm we put the kids to bed, listening some calm music and reading a book of their choice. After a while they are asleep and I think that if only the day had more hours, how we could enjoy more of our time together and do all the things we want to do.
If you would like to join Gina in Athens, where she will be tour guiding the group, then take a look at our Greek Islands and Athens tour running this September (there are only a few spaces left and it is a guaranteed departure): For the full itinerary click here
