Walking along Vassilissis Sofias Avenue (pt.2)

This is part 2 of my photo walk along Vassilissis Sofias Avenue, in central Athens. For part 1 go here.

After Evangelismos Metro Station, the first thing that stands out is the Athens Hilton to your right, behind a major triangular intersection of Vassilissis Sofias, Vassileos Konstantinou and Vassileos Alexandrou. In the middle of this intersection there's an iconic, modern Athens landmark: the statue of Dromeas (the Runner) that used to sit on Omonia Square (from 1988 to 2000) but was relocated here due to the Metro works. Coincidentally, its new location sits right on the path of the Classic Athens Marathon (the Marathon-Athens Marathon) about 1.5km before the finish line.

 

'The Runner', in front of the Athens Hilton hotel, Athens, Greece

'The Runner' sculpture, near the Athens Hilton hotel, Athens, Greece

After Hilton, Vassilissis Sofias makes a left turn and its buildings gradually take a less upscale character, but not before you come across some interesting architectural creations.

At 77Α Vassilissis Sofias, you come across this small memorial sculpture. It comemmorates a sad page in Greece's modern history; the assassination of Greek diplomat and conservative politician Ion Dragoumis, in 1920, by a group of political opponents, who suspected him of having orchestrated an assassination attempt against then prime-minister Eleftherios Venizelos. On the side looking at the street there's a short poem written for the memorial, by Dragoumis contemprary, poet Kostis Palamas.

 

Ion Dragoumis memorial, Leoforos Vassilissis Sofias, Athens, Greece

An apartment building of the 1950s, with a mermaid adorning its front wall, at 79 Vasilissis Sofias Ave., Athens, Greece. The building is c creation of architect Panagiotis Michelis and today houses the "Panagiotis & Efi Michelis Foundation".

Vassilissis Sofias Avenue, Athens, Greece

On the right hand side you have a typically dense urban area (Ilissia) with Parko Ilission (Illissia Park) reaching up to the foothills of Hymmetos Mountain.   

Iridanou St., to the right of Vassilissis Sofias, with the Agios Charalambos church and Ilissia Park in the background; Hymittos Mountain in the far back, Athens, Greece

 

Flats at Iridanou St., vertical to Vassilissis Sofias, and Hymittos Mountain in the background, Athens, Greece

The interesection of Michalakopoulou St. w/ Vassilissis Sofias, Athens, Greece

A block of flats with a most unusual division in two parts, forming something of a residential tunnel; Corner of Michalakopoulou St. & Vassilissis Sofias Ave., Athens, Greece

The major landmarks of this area come right after Megaro Moussikis Metro Station. But we'll get to those in the third and final part of our walk!

 

Entrance to the Megaro Moussikis Metro Station; Athens, Greece

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Vlassis: a 30-year old restaurant tradition that still delivers

Vlassis
Address – Area: 15 Maiandrou St., [Ilissia neighborhood] Athens,
Tel: 210-72.56.335
Last Visits: Sep. 2010, Apr. 2013, Sep. 2013
Cuisine: Greek; some hints of orient and various fish options, when available
Overall Opinion: Positive / room for improvement in service and prices.
Methods of payment: cash only
Working hours: Mon-Sat, 1:00pm - 00:30am. Sun: 1:00pm – 5:00pm
Website: http://www.vlassisrestaurant.gr/
Accessibility: 1-2 small stairs to the tables' level; WC is downstairs, non-accessible.

Vlassis is tucked in a pedestrian road parallel to Michalakopoulou St., and right across the Crowne Plaza Hotel, hidden behind a mini, narrow park. You can be seated in three separate areas: At the sidewalk in front of the park, at the patio right outside the restaurant’s window and indoors. The indoor hall has large window panels for an unobstructed view outside and two of the three walls have posters from older theater and film productions. There are about 30 tables overall. This is the 3rd different location of Vlassis in its more than 30 years (and two generations) of operation.

This obviously says something about the quality of food served here. You can't stay in business that long without doing something good. I've never had something I didn't like here and quite often I've been thrilled with the food.
Appetizers cost around 5-10 Euros while main courses start from 10-11Euros.  We've had a phenomenal stuffed squid (yemisto kalamari) here, full of fresh sea-smell, tenderness and juices. I've also made a note of the eggplant (and potato?) purée accompanying the tas-kebab, which had an exotic cinnamon-tomato flavor and was very tender. The beef in the pastitsada could have been a bit more tender. Every time I've had fish here it's been absolutely fresh, tasty and well-grilled. I've also very much liked the Athinaiki salad, which is of the "Macedonian/Russian" or "potato-salad" variety: White Grouper fish in a thick, mayonnaise based sauce and greens.
From past evenings, I remember a waiter coming out with a large platter full of mezedes (appetizers) so you can pick whatever suits your fancy and then order the main dishes, without feeling hungry during the waiting. I'm not sure if they still do that but I liked the concept.

Indicative orders (for 2 persons)

1 stuffed squid	1 fava beans purée
1 dolmades w/ vine leaves	1 Athinaiki salad w/ white grouper fish
1 tas-kebab [beef accompanied with eggplant (and potato?) purée]	1 White Grouper fish (sfyrida)
1 pastitsada (beef cooked in tomato sauce accompanied by penne pasta)	1 Seabream fish (sargos)
1 1 lt-bottle of water	1 bottled water
½ lt of red house wine	2 cans of Coke
2 bread	2 bread
Price: 52.95€ (9/2010)	Price: 61.20€ (9/2013)

Drink-wise, there's an interesting wine list of about 40 Greek wines and a house wine that is unusually decent. There's a limited selection of the usual mass lagers and a couple of ouzo / tsipouro offerings.

The service is fast but let’s just say that not everybody from the personnel seems to be aware of the concept of smiling… Also, make sure you ask for the menu and prices, especially of fish, because it's not always readily available and fish prices are per kilogram so you may be in for a surprise if you don't do that.

Location / Getting there: Right across the street from Crowne Plaza – Athens City Centre Hotel, which itself is located at 50 Michalakopoulou St. This is much easier to spot than the narrow Maiandrou St. where Vlassis is located.
The closest Metro Station is Megaro Mousikis on Line 3. Getting out of the station, from the side of Aiginitio / Alexandras Hospital take Dionysiou Aiginitou St. and turn right, after 3 blocks, on Meandrou St.
Buses 3, 7, 8, 13, 220, 608, 225 also reach nearby bus stops at either Vasilissis Sofias Ave. (Ilissia bus stop) or Michalakopoulou street (Ag. Haralambos bus stop).

See map of Athens restaurants at the bottom of this page. 

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"Parko Illission", aka "Illisia Park", aka "Illissia Wood"

The Wood of Illissia ('Alsos Illission') is one of the largest urban parks in Athens and, I would say, one of the least known as well, at least for those who don't live around this area. It is located in the eastern part of the City of Athens and continues further east to the municipalities of Kaisariani and Zografou. The "University of Athens" and the "National Technical University of Athens" have moved their campuses here, in the easternmost part of the park. The campuses are not open to the public for most of the day (not that there is really anything interesting to see there). Further east they connect with the Ymittos Mountain which enjoys a protected area status.

We decided to take a walk in the main part of Illissia Wood, the one closest to the center of Athens, a few Sundays back, in the midst of the July heat. The park has many entrances, one of which is at the NorthWest edge, right next to the church of Agios Charalambos and Agia Varvara, at the corner of Ionos Dragoumi & Iridanou Streets.

Agios Charalambos and Agia Varvara churches, Illissia Park, Athens, Greece

Illissia Park, Athens, Greece

This is clearly a wood, more than a typical urban park, although you will see some attempts at landscaping part of the area, with paved corridors, built benches or water faucets, most of which are functioning (although we chose not  to drink from there and instead had some bottled water with us). It is mostly pine, cypress and carob trees that you'll see; typical Mediterranean vegetation.

The wood seems to be frequented by many dog owners and their four-legged friends. I have noticed this both times I've been here: On a weekday morning and during this Sunday afternoon.

There are uphill paths that take you to several clearings in the wood, which provide interesting views to the hills of Athens and the mountains surrounding it.

View towards Ymittos Mountain, east of Athens,  Illissia Park, Athens, Greece

View towards Lykavittos Hill (Athens center)

A couple of playgrounds can be found on the northern border of the wood.

There is no cafeteria or other attraction here, other than the wood itself. It does provice a much welcome relief in the sweltering summer heat but you won't regret having a bottle of water with you in either case. There are two playgrounds at the northern edge: one at the border with Ymittou & Alkaiou Street and another one to the west, inside the park. Even if it looks kind of rough and unwelcoming, the wood seems to be safe and with at least a minimum level of upkeep by the city's services.

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People who stay at one of the nearby hotels (Athens Hilton, Divani Caravel, Best Western Illissia Hotel) might want to take a walk here, if they're longing for a touch of nature in the middle of metro Athens but shouldn't expect to be blown off by the beauty of the place (unless you feel inspired by the photos above!)

It took us about 1 hour to walk around the eastern part of the wood (the one circumscribed by Ionos Dragoumi, Diocharous, Efroniou and Ymittou streets).
Closest Metro Stations: Megaro Moussikis Station (Athens Concert Hall) and Evangelismos Metro Station.

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