Athens is noted for its flea markets and at Monastiraki, you’ll find a huge one.  Dealers set out their wares very early on Sunday mornings along Adrianou and nearby streets and you’ll find all kinds of bric-a-brac here. 

The commercial tourist shops and antique sellers of Pandrosou and Ifaistou streets refer to themselves as the Monastiraki Flea Market.  The shops open everyday however the weekend mornings are best times to visit.  In front of the Monastiraki station there are stalls selling fruit and food as well.  I always enjoy walking around market places as it gives you an idea of what’s in supply and the types of food that people buy.   There is a Central Market each Friday at Xenokratous in Kolonaki, however this was out of the way for us, so we didn’t get there.

As in many European cities, you’ll als find these African vendors selling their fake designer goods.  The police frequently come around to chase them away, but one wonders how these guys manage to bring their goods into the country and why they’re allowed in the first place as the goods breach copyright laws.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

Yanni Souvatzoglou is another artist whom we’ve come to know well during our visits to Athens.  According to his profile, he first exhibited his work of art at the age of 12 and received favourable reviews.  He then experimented with a range of artform, including combining his graphic art talent with photography to produce a 3-dimentional imagery which then became his unique artistic style.

Today, Yanni works with clay, bronze, silver, gold, stone, marble and plexiglass, creating interesting sculptures and other artwork.  Our first purchase from him was the Marathonrunners.   The marathonrunners are bronze running men embedded in a marble platform and they can be swivelled around so that either the men are all running in the same direction, or one could be in a bad mood and decide to turn around.  We thought the sculpture should have been used in the Olympic games, but unfortunately, the games organizers did not have the vision to appreciate the artistic merit of the sculpture. 

Our latest acquisition from Yanni is a very nice sculpture of an olive tree and we are anxiously awaiting its arrival.  Yanni’s window display at his Voulis Street shop usually attracts the attention of tourists passing by.  Yanni will happily explain to you the creative concept behind any piece of work that you may be interested in.  He gets a lot of repeat customers and on one visit a group of American airline stewardesses had returned to buy more of his work. 

With leftover silver or bronze, Yanni manages to make them into pieces of jewellery.  On an earlier trip I bought 3 twisted silver rings and put them together to form one ring.  Yanni was quite impressed with my creation.  I notice he’s got a lot more jewellery these days and these individual pieces were selling well when we were in his shop.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

Athens is a shopping mecca that caters for all types of shoppers from the souvenir collectors and bargain hunters to the more serious buyers or artwork, jewellery or sculptures.  Since the Olympic Games, the city centre has been smartened up a lot and there is a bigger range of more upmarket shops.  Ermou Street, for example, has been converted into a pedestrian walkway lined with brand named clothing, shoes, cosmetic shops, etc.

If you wear comfortable walking shoes, it’s easy to cover the shopping triangle marked by Syntagma, Monastiraki and Omonoia.  Then there is the Plaka area where there are shops selling herbs and spices, icons, candlesticks, books, etc.  If you’re looking for jewellery, Mitropoleos Street has a great variety of fabulous shops offering copies of ancient Greek designs to more modern and elegant creations.  Even if you’re not on a shopping spree, it’s nice strolling along the streets and seeing what the latest touristy goods are for sale.

I bought a very functional black leather briefcase from a shop in Pandrossou Street many many years ago, and am still using it today.  Pandrossou Street is another pedestrian walkway jammed  with shops on both sides, including a few leather shops. It was in Pandrossou Street as well that we first met Stavros Melissinos many years ago and he and Tony got along like wild fire.  We went into his shop to admire (and buy) his Greek sandals and then discovered that Stavros was more than a sandal maker.  This very friendly old man was famous as a poet and his sandal clientele included Sophia Loren, the Beatles, Jacqueline Onassis, Gary Cooper, Rudolph Nureyev and many others.  For all his fame, his shop was very modest and it appears that Stavros was just as happy spending time discussing his works with Tony as he would spend time with any one of his celebrity clients.  So each time when we return to Athens, a visit to Stravros is one of our first stops.

This year, when we went in search Stavros’ shop, we were quite alarmed when we couldn’t find it, having walked up and down Pandrossou Street.  Tony asked one of the shopkeepers and she kindly informed us that he had moved to Aghias Theklas Street, so we went in search of this street. We were quite relieved when we saw his name displayed in front of this modern shopfront.  Unfortunately Stavros was not there.  According to his son Pantelis, Stavros had retired and is staying home with his mother who isn’t very well.  Pantelis has carried on the family tradition of sandalmaking and like his dad, he is also a talented playwright, composer and set and costume designer.  Pantelis is a spitting image of his father and like his dad, he too is such a gentle soul.  They had to vacate the Pandrossou Street shop as landlords had demanded higher rents as a result of the Olympics.  Coincidentally, the new shop at No. 2 Aghias Theklas Street is just a few doors away from where Lord Byron used to live at No. 11.

It was great catching up with Pantelis and as he was updating us on his plays and other works, we tried on more sandals.  With great skill, he quickly pulled apart a pair that Tony was interested in and personally fitted them to Tony’s feet and shaving off any rough edges – what great service.  Pantelis told us that the priestesses at the Olympia Flame Ceremony have been wearing Melissinos’ sandals for the past 40 years, something we weren’t aware of.

If you’re going to Athens, it would be worth making your way to Melissinos’ and getting an authentic pair of Greek sandals from this famous sandalmaker.  You can choose from about 28 different styles, each one named after an ancient Greek god, goddess or one of his celebrity clients.  They are very affordable too.  If we weren’t suffering from weight problems, we would have bought these as gifts for friends and relatives.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog