Night Life

The night life here in Athens is amazing. Not only is there something to do every night but there are always people out (not sure what they mean by effects of the economic crisis :p). There are many areas I've gone to go out and there are still a lot more that I have yet to see! One of my favorite areas is called Gazi, it is a place with many bars and clubs. You can find just about any type of place in this area: a chill taverna, upbeat bars with new music, bars with old music, clubs and more. The center (Syntagma area) is also a good place to go out, Arialena's godfather owns a bar here so we've gone many times, also visiting the surrounding bars. Glyfada is an area farther south from the center, it has great shopping and cafe's during the day but the night life is also really fun. There are a few streets lined with bars that play really good music.

The music that is played in the more upbeat/younger bars is American music (a few months delayed)....but if you wait until 3 am the new Greek music starts. Some of it is actually pretty good, its the older Greek music that I'm not a huge fan of...unless at Buzukia

Buzukia is a type of club here, a traditional Greek club. They have live singers and a band on stage and tables that fill the room. You have to reserve a table which means an automatic bottle (costing about 120 euros). They sing traditional Greek music that usually speaks about love, heartbreak, pain, and beauty. While they are singing you can get on stage and dance, Greek dances of course ;) Many involve getting into a circle and holding hands in the air while kicking out your feet in certain ways...hard to explain...another way is knealing on the ground and clapping while someone in the middle of the circle dances. It is an amazing experience and would suggest it to anyone visiting Greece.

One thing I've learned about going out in Greece is that they love their tequilla shots, almost everytime I go out with friends we either buy tequilla shots or they are given to us on the house. I used to really like tequilla back in the day but then one cinco de mayo a few years back put that relationship on hold for awhile (I'm sure my AZ friends remember this...) I've slowly been trying to become friends with tequilla again and since I've moved here it has been working pretty well...not sure what the brand we drink is but it is actually pretty good, oh and they serve it with an orange slice, not a lime...

The times to go out has definitely taken some getting used to...midnight is early according to most places here and staying out until 7 am is a common occurrence. I don't mind this once in awhile but the only thing is that I don't like wasting my entire next day so i try to be home by 4 am most of the time ;)