An Artists sits next to his drawings of famous people.
A Chinese street artist in Monastiraki square in the downtown district of Athens.
Street Artist
Street Photography
Strange Shops/Aσυνήθιστα Kαταστήματα
Meat galore. Not for the vegan types!
Go green! Can’t tell if it’s real or fake foliage. Interesting nonetheless.
Crowds gather outside a deli shop.
This shop caught me by surprise with its unusual decor.
Croissants, all kinds of bread, and Greek ‘halvas’.
The many brands of Greek honey.
In Athens, most of the merchandise is on the street so you don’t have to step into a shop to see what the store has to offer. It’s something you don’t see in many countries. Some of the items on display are really odd, like the wooden canes or the display case with the honey and alcohol on the wall of a shop. The shop with the sausages took me by surprise, that was a lot of meat! The shop attracted many people who were just walking by. Many were taking photos with their cell phones of the shops unique exterior.
View from Inside/Θέα Aπό Tο Eσωτερικό
My camera doesn’t get to rest very much. I couldn’t help but snap a few photographs of a street in Athens from inside of a restaurant. I just loved the lights and the reflections on the window.
The Bustling Monastiraki Square
People gather to watch a live musical act.
There is always a lot of action at the busy downtown Athens square called Monastiraki. The many tourists and natives, street artists and vendors all congregate at this square. I took this photographs only three weeks ago and it is still as vibrant as it was in the summer time.
Nostalgia/Νοσταλγία
Old Greek folks at a park bench in Nafplio.
“Nostalgia, the vice of the aged. We watch so many old movies our memories come in monochrome.” Angela Carter (Novelist)
Small Town Shops/Ta mικρά καταστήματα της πόλης
And the ever-present Greek frozen yogurt shop.
I love this windmill!
Plenty of handmade items in this shop.
Bracelets, sling shots and umm..no further comment.
No relation..
A couple walks by a charming little restaurant called ‘restaurant’ 🙂
Small towns like Nafplio have some of the prettiest store fronts that you’ll ever see. I loved the architecture of many of the buildings here, and there were so many things to shoot!
Μικρές πόλεις όπως το Ναύπλιο έχει μερικά από τα ομορφότερα προσόψεις καταστημάτων. Μου άρεσε πολύ η αρχιτεκτονική του Ναφπλιου, και είναι ένα εξαιρετικό μέρος για να βγάλετε φωτογραφίες!
The Narrow Streets of Nafplio
The small town of Nafplio is located on the eastern side of the Peloponnese. It is the capital of the prefecture of Argolida. The town is a photographers dream with so many things to take photographs of. The town has so much history, and it’s interesting to note that Nafplio was Greece’s capital from 1828-1833. It’s a great place to get away on the weekend especially for those of us who live in a concrete jungle like Athens.
The Evzones/Εύζωνες
The new guards enter.
The arrival of the tsoliades.
Waiting in front of the tomb of the unknown solider.
Changing of the guards
The soldier inspects the uniforms of the tsoliades.
Soldier waiting to inspect and taunt the Evzones.
Changing of the guards
Tourists in front of the guards.
And off they go.
They will be back later on.
Eery hour and on the hour the changing of the guard takes place in front of the Greek parliament building. The soldiers are called two names ‘Tsoliades’ and ‘Evzones’ meaning ‘well-belted’. The Evzones are selected for the height, eventhough when I was there the guy in the middle seemed kind of short for an Evzone (eh no offense). They are the presidential guards and it is an honour to be selected. It’s not an easy task as these soldiers have to endure a lot from the blinding sun and heat in the summer and cold and the rain in the winter. There are many people who try to grab their attention as they cannot sneeze or scratch their noses while on guard. The day that I went it was extremely hot and I felt really bad for them. But, it’s just an hour and their well-trained so it is probably not so bad for them.
Κάθε ώρα και ακριβως πανω στην ώρα η Προεδρικη φρουρά αλλαζει μπροστά από το Ελληνικού κοινοβουλίου. Οι στρατιώτες εχουν δύο ονόματα «Τσολιάδες» και «Ευζώνων» που σημαινει “εὖ”+”ζώνη“. Οι Εύζωνες επιλέγονται για το ύψος, αν και όταν ήμουν εκεί ο τύπος στη μέση φάνηκε λιγο κοντος για να ειναι Εύζωνας (ε χωρίς παρεξήγηση). Αυτοί είναι οι προεδρικοι φρουροι και είναι τιμή να επιλέγονται. Δεν είναι εύκολο καθήκον καθώς οι στρατιώτες πρέπει αντέξουν πολλά. Aπό το εκτυφλωτικό ήλιο και ζέστη του καλοκαιριού και το κρύο και βροχή του χειμώνα. Υπάρχουν πολλοί άνθρωποι που προσπαθούν να τους τραβήξουν την προσοχή, καθώς δεν μπορούν να κουνηθουνε η να αντιδρασουνε καπως . Η μέρα που πήγα στο Συνταγμα εκανε πολυ ζεστη και αισθάνθηκα πολύ άσχημα για αυτούς. Αλλά, ξερω οτι ειναι καλά εκπαιδευμένοι και γι ‘αυτό δεν πρεπει να είναι τόσο δυσκολο για αυτούς.
For more info. on this subject visit: http://www.athensinfoguide.com/wtsevzones.htm
At The Marina/ Στη Μαρίνα Φλοίσβου
Lovers at the Marina
Aww Young Love
A family at the waterfront
A small crowd hangs out at the marina
A few luxury yachts
The very historical battleship ‘Averoff’.
The retired battleship ‘Averoff”.
The sun is setting at the marina
This was the first time that I visited the sea port called ‘Flisvos’ at Palaio Faliro located southwest of Athens’ center. There were so many things to photograph from the people, to the boats and of course the sea. I felt a bit like a paparazzo at times, but I tried to be discreet so I didn’t have any problems with anyone 🙂
May Day!/Πρωτομαγιά!
A lady that I met on the street was kind enough to let me take a photograph of her dog, who was surrounded by a wreath full of poppies that his owner had made. Making flower wreaths on the 1st of May is a tradition in Greece. The roots of the flower wreaths lie in Northern Europe and it is a pagan tradition. May day coincides with labour day a national holiday that is observed in 80 countries. There were many demonstrations in downtown Athens today and most businesses were closed.
Μια Κυρια που γνώρισα στο δρόμο είχε την καλοσύνη να με αφήσει να τραβηξω μια φωτογραφία του σκύλου της, ο οποίος περιβάλλωταν από ένα στεφάνι γεμάτο παπαρούνες που ο ιδιοκτήτης του είχε φτιαξει. Τα στεφάνια λουλουδιών που φτιαχνουμε για την 1η Μαΐου εχει ρίζες στη Βόρεια Ευρώπη και είναι μια παγανιστικη παράδοση. Η Πρωτομαγιά συμπίπτει με την Παγκόσμια Μέρα των Εργατών, μια εθνική εορτή που παρατηρείται σε 80 χώρες. Υπήρχαν πολλές διαδηλώσεις στο κέντρο της Αθήνας σήμερα και τα περισσοτερα καταστήματα ήταν κλειστά.
My Creative Wayz 