Sense in the City - Athens: Recent Episodes
Sense in the City
Discover and explore Athens Greece with host Alexia Amvrazi. Whether you are a traveller, resident or just a fan of the city, Sense in the City Athens is a living guide to the Greek capital. Listen to the sounds, experience the tastes and smells through our guests and find new places to add to your Athens to-do list.
00:17 Ano Petralona is a short walk to the south of the Athens Acropolis, in the shadow of the area where Alexa explored Stoicism with Donald Robertson
00:47 Lemonanthos – Local, Family run, eatery…
06:07 ‘Dakos’ Salad Lemonanthos style. With spring onions and myzithra cheese fresh capers from Crete.
12:30 Tasty Cheese Pie with Sesame seeds and honey.
13:24 Home made Hummus with caramelised onion and caperberry style leaves.
19:06 Liver with mango dressing… shouldn’t work, but it does.
26:05 The Ano Petralona neighbourhood houses are traditional, quaint with original details and painted bright yellow and red..
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In this episode, Alexia Amvrazi talks to Pantelis Melissinos, son of Stavros – sandal maker to the stars. Pantelis talks about his life, vision and art from his shop in Athens.
00:45 Stavros Melissinos – The Poet Sandal maker.
1:11 Melissinos Art – the Store is an experience, containing works of art as well as the famous sandals.
5:00 Aristotle Onassis was one of the Sandalmaker’s customers, bringing his entourage to get traditional Greek sandals for strutting around Mykonos. Other clients included Isadora Duncan‘s brother and The Beatles.
8:10 Pantelis’ recent work can be found on his Facebook page.
Alexia first met Stavros & Pantelis Melissinos in 2004 when her filmmaker friend Angelike Contis made the documentary Olympic Diaries – a documentary about 3 people’s lives during the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Featuring volunteer Vasilios Contis, reporter Alexia Amvrazi and poet sandal-maker Stavros Melissinos.
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David Fuller and Christina Ioannidis discover a deli in Plaka that offers the chance to experience an Olive Oil tasting. Guided by Erikka and Maria from Malotira, the team learn about the different varieties and the health benefits of olive oil.
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Show Notes…
- The mythology of Athens and the story of Athena and the Olive Tree. A podcast by Stephen Fry (1:38)
- How to get to Malotira. (2:39)
- Olive oil is tasted with three properties in mind – Fruitiness, Spiciness and Bitterness (or pungency) (5:12)
- The first olive oil is a variety called Manaki – It is grown mainly in the on the Peloponnese in the region of Argolis. It is known for its sweetness, itsmilder taste and soft texture. (7:35)
- The second olive oil is made from a variety of olives called Koroneiki. A golden, green olive oil with an intense fruity aroma. Often described as soft, juicy and cool. The oil was produced in Crete – an island to the south of Greece (11:01)
- The third olive oil is also made from Koroneiki olives, but it is produced in the Peloponnese, an area to the west of Athens. (11:16)
- Next up, the ‘fancy’ olive oil in a bottle that looks like a Caribbean rum bottle from Corfu. The variety is Lianolia from a family grove. This oil has been awarded with a ‘Health Claim Certificate’ which means it has a high level of polyphenols that have health benefits. (11:50)
- The final olive oil from Crete is almost ‘medicinal’ in taste. It is a single variety oil made from Tsounati olives. This oil has a very high level of polyphenols. (12:35)
- Olive oils that have a high level of polyphenols can apply for a certificate to have a health claim. The EU study into the health effects of olive oil can be found here (19:43)
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Alexia Amvrazi ventures just outside of Athens to the Cycladic island of Andros. Here are some Show Notes and links...
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Show Notes
- (1:50) Andros was named as one of the ’52 Places to Love in 2021’ by The New York Times
- The trip starts with a swim and chat on the beach with author Diana Farr Louis - Diana is my co-author, together with Diane Shugart, of the globally-sold book ‘111 Places in Athens That You Shouldn’t Miss’
- (6:00) Heather honey
- (9:00) Andros cheeses and other local products
- (12:00) Andros Routes
- (17:00) Explore Andros
- (17:50) Traditional Lemon Tree House
- (18:34) Sariza Springs
- (18:40) Andros Life Project
- (20:05) Afoi Tridima Butcher’s
- (20: 55) Andriakon Bio Shop
- (21:10) Fouskothalassies Shop
Paradosiako Pandopoleio is in the Agora in the Chora. Traditional master cook Despina Karystinou can be reached on her mobile: (+30) 6973479284. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified when the recipe is posted.
- (24:44) DiDo Natural Products Shop / Massage Therapies
- (27:47) Andros Yacht Club
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In this episode, David Fuller and Alexia Amvrazi discuss the unique coffee and cafe culture of Athens. This episode was recorded at Da Capo in Kolonaki – one of Athens’ more upmarket suburbs.
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How to order a coffee in Greek… sugar, no sugar, milk, no milk. (3:38)
All about Frappe, the thick foamy coffee made from instant coffee that is a very Greek invention, but it is not as popular in Athens anymore (5:10). The secret to making a frappe is using a small amount of water – but there are many YouTube videos about how to make one.
All about Freddo (10:20) – not the chocolate frog! The Espresso based cold coffee that is also uniquely Greek.
All about traditional Greek Coffee (12:46) including health benefits and the experience of sitting and taking some time to enjoy. There is also a tradition of reading the left-over coffee grounds (14:12).
Whatever coffee you choose, the Athens café culture is part of life. (17:17). The cafes are changing with the times and it’s about being out and watching the world go by, helped by the climate… But it’s not as common to see people working in cafes – The Athens Digital Nomad culture is not fully developed (19:29).
Despite the changes, Athens remains a very locally inspired city (22:13). There are very few global coffee chains, instead there are home-grown coffee shops and independent retailers rather than the cloned high streets or malls that you might find elsewhere.
What about tea? Does tea feature in the drinking habits of Greeks? (27:26)
How much would you pay for a cup of coffee in Athens (29:04)
Single-use plastic – the dark side of Athens coffee culture (31:14). Even though Greece depends on tourism and the promise of unspoilt beaches in the summer, the Greeks don’t seem to be too worried about plastic. Takeaway cups, lids, straws are the default and some of the larger brands should be taking more of a leadership position in this area.
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Originally pubished at Sense in the City Athens
What can modern folks learn about dealing with trauma, getting a higher perspective of problems and Internet trolls from Greece’s ancient philosophers? In this episode Alexia Amvrazi takes a sunset walk on the ancient Athenian Pnyx hill near the Acropolis with Donald Robertson, an acclaimed world expert and author on the association between modern psychotherapy – particularly CBT - and Greek and Roman Stoic philosophy, to discover his own sensory experience of Athens and how he believes the Stoics would sense Athens today.
We started our meeting at the controversial (yet according to Donald “the fake”) ‘Prison of Socrates’ as it’s often called
We walked to Pnyx hill, where the democratic process in Athens began and evolved and where up to 16,000 men attended to hear talks.
For photos and videos taken during our walk, check out our Instagram page
Alexia Amvrazi first interviewed Donald three years ago during his first visit to Athens. Here is the video link.
Donald mentions the view of the Philoppapou Monument
We came upon a startling view of the Arios Pagos upon many people clamber and gather to play music, chat and observe the city views
From where we stood, we also looked upon Lycabettus Hilland the Acropolis, and Donald mentioned the Temple of Athena Nike.
Donald mentions that he asked people what they think Stoicism smells like. Read the stream of 280 intriguing answers on his page Stoicism Group.
Stoicism, combined with modern psychotherapy, can offer invaluable help for dealing with today’s stresses and anxiety. In this article, in the wellness blog I’m Very Well Thank You, Donald offers his most effective techniques.
Donald Robertson is the author of six books including ‘How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius’ and is currently working on the exciting graphic novel ‘Verissimus: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius’. More...
Since 2011 Donald joined a multi-disciplinary team of psychologists, therapists, academic philosophers and classicists who created Stoic Weekwhich has grown into an annual international event with thousands of participants. Stoic Week involves an online course that teaches how to apply ideas from ancient Stoic philosophy in combination with modern psychology techniques. Donald also runs a more intensive spin-off course online each year, for four weeks at a time, called Stoic Mindfulness and Resilience Training (SMRT)
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If you want to get an authentic feel of a city’s neighbourhoods and locals, visit it's local markets. In this opening episode of Sense in the City Athens, Alexia Amvrazi seeks out the ingredients for a recipe called Papoutsakia and along the way discovers honey from Evia and Greek Mountain Tea.
Full Show Notes Here
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Sense in the City Athens host, Alexia Amvrazi welcomes your to Athens to introduce the new living guide to the Greek capital. In this episode, you will learn about the Sense in the City project and what you can expect from the series.
- Show Notes & Links
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