My 3 Weeks in Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece

Athens is such a cool city, but the best part was definitely the Parthenon! It’s this huge ancient temple sitting way up on a giant rock called the Acropolis. We visited in the winter, which was perfect because there was a lot of walking to get to the top. I can’t imagine doing it in the summer heat!

The Parthenon was built a really long time ago—between 447 and 438 BCE—for Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom. People used it to give her offerings and sacrifices, and there was even a massive gold statue of her inside! No one really knows what happened to it, which makes it even more interesting. I also learned that the Parthenon wasn’t always just a temple, it was actually turned into a church for almost 1,000 years when the Byzantine Empire took over. Then, when the Ottoman Empire invaded, they made it into a mosque. It was so cool to walk around and imagine what it must have been like in all those different time periods!

Besides all the history, one of my favorite things about Greece was the food. Greek salads and gyros were everywhere, and I think I could eat gyros every day and never get tired of them. They’re pita wraps filled with meat, veggies, and tzatziki sauce, and they’re HUGE. The pita was always warm and soft, and every bite was amazing.

But the absolute best surprise in Greece? The cats! There were so many, and they were everywhere—even at the Parthenon! The stray cats in Greece look so well-fed because people leave food and water outside their houses for them. I loved spotting them all over the city, and sometimes I even got to pet them, which was really exciting.
Between the history, the food, and the adorable cats, Greece was definitely one of my favorite places we’ve visited so far. It’s 100% in my top three!

After spending time in the busy streets of Athens, we headed north to the city of Thessaloniki—and it felt like a completely different world! Thessaloniki was so much calmer, WAY smaller, and had some of the best shopping and food. But the best part? My grandma came with us!

Since we were there during Christmas, we got to keep up one of our favorite traditions—baking Christmas sugar cookies. It felt so special to be in a different country but still doing something that reminded me of home. When we weren’t busy making (and eating) cookies, we spent our days walking around the city, trying delicious food, and just enjoying the slower pace of Thessaloniki. It’s not as popular as Athens, but that made it even better.

It was such a fun and relaxing part of our trip, and I loved getting to experience a different side of Greece.