This is a story about how me and two hostel mates ended up in a fancy rooftop bar in Athens.Typically, I would not condone lying. But if it means you get to sip a frilly little cocktail with a perfect view of the Acropolis…. go right ahead.
This day in Athens started with a booking for a walking food tour by myself. When I got back to the hostel, I was full and happy and ready for a nap. To the left of me on the bottom bunk was M, a pilot from Norway. Across the room on a top bunk was G, a student living in England from Australia.
As much as I just wanted to nap, I was drawn to their chatty personalities and excitement to explore. They invited me to meet up for happy hour, so I joined. We sat outside at some random pub and for hours drank beers and shared stories of our lives. There was not a single topic we left uncovered!
We moved our party to dinner where G had found the cheapest authentic Greek food. The bonus was the kitty that joined us for dinner and we may or may not have slipped a few bites of fish to. I cannot undermine how easily the conversation flowed, partially because G and I had about a million questions for M about being a pilot.
After our meal, we were not ready to be done with the night. We had big dreams: a rooftop bar and a fancy cocktail. The problem was that we looked exactly like 3 hostel-goers. Fancy attire did not quite make it into the backpack for any of us this time around.
The first challenge was making it TO the bar. There was a bouncer at the elevator at the bottom of the building who was our first barrier. G made the excellent observation that the rest of this building was apartments, not offices. We nonchalantly walked by the bouncer towards the stairs to the apartments, luckily unlocked.
Now I do not ever recommend going up 16 flights of stairs, but we were 3 people with a plan. We took MANY breaks along the way. Finally, we made it to the bar. A beautiful hostess in a gorgeous dress looked us up and down immediately.
G, as her Australian bubbly self, explained that we are living in the apartment building a few floors down and wanted to check out the rooftop just for a drink or two. The hostess was skeptical and asked which room we were in. G made a guess and it must have been good enough because the next thing I knew we had been sat at a table.
We looked out of place and got many glares, but we didn’t care! We ordered spritz after spritz and begged our server to let us go out onto the balcony for an even better view. Our conversation continued to flow. From G and I attempting to pronounce Norwegian words, to me trying to convince them to come to Mykonos with me tomorrow, to our plot to get a discount on our bill (unsuccessful, we think they actually made it higher after we asked… lol).
Once we closed out the place and got the dirtiest looks from staff ever on our way out, we giggled our way back to our hostel and settled in for the night. I was out early the next morning to head to my next destination, but I left them each a little note wishing them the best of luck on their next adventures.
I look back on this day with the biggest smile on my face. People often ask me if solo traveling gets lonely. Maybe if I was staying in a hotel by myself yes. But, I always feel like the luckiest girl with the people I end up meeting along the way. My luck continued into Mykonos, which is a story for a different day….
Anyhow, the moral of this story is to say yes to everything, lie when it won’t hurt anyone’s feelings, and you can never have too many aperol spritz’s when you’re in Europe.