Going out for coffee is a very popular pastime in Greece. It wasn’t foreign to me since I grew up in Seattle but many Americans are like “Coffee? What am I gonna do with coffee?” But here, the drink is hardly the point. Greek coffee actually is similar to Turkish coffee meaning it tastes like gasoline ground up. But no one really drinks it. Instead they drink cappuccinos cold with milk and sugar in fancy glasses. They are SO good. Or they drink these gross concoctions of instant coffee, milk, and sugar. I prefer the cappuccino. Greek people sit for hours, sipping rarely, mostly talking to each other, on their cell phones, or smoking cigarettes. They don’t go alone. It is all about socializing. Going out for coffee is an experience in Greece. The cafés here aren’t drive thru, no one gets lattes to go, they are meant to be enjoyed. And they are everywhere, right next to one another in squares all over the city, surrounding the bottom of the acropolis, lining the beaches, and at least on every block. And they are beautiful. The usually have a large deck or outdoor seating in the summer and huge windows that open up the whole café to the warm summer air. In the winter the windows might close or they might bring out large space heaters so you can sit outside and sip cappuccino.
The coffees are expensive here, between 3 and 4 euros usually. But the cafés are SO nice and you stay for hours so it is worth it. Plus, whether you are sitting in the middle of the square by the fountain on a sunny day or huddled up on the couch inside the café, you get served. No one gets their coffee themselves and picks a table. You walk in, sit down and wait for someone to take your order. And they might take awhile but it doesn’t really matter cause you don’t have any where to go right then and the ambience of the place is so wonderful that no one is in a hurry.
Going out for coffee is the first option when you want something to do. Its also the first option for any problem or concern. Pame gia café (Paw May Ya Café) means lets go out for coffee. Its all the Greek you ever really need to know. It can be used in many different circumstances. For instance, you can’t get in the gym because some little kids are goofing around in gym class? Pame Gia Café. You haven’t been paid for a month? Pame Gia Café. Its too cold outside to do anything? Pame Gia café. You are getting a divorce? Pame Gia Café. See? It can be used for any situation and surprisingly, the world does look better after going out for coffee.
Going out for café really is the most popular activity here in Greece. I guess it is the equivalent of meeting friends out for a drink except people do it everyday, multiple times a day. Young people pack in hip cafes with loud music. Older people sit in little cafes and talk politics or watch futbol on tv. Old men have special clubs where they drink coffee, play backgammon, talk, and watch sports. You don’t see any women around in these cafes. Men socialize together way more here I think. You see two young men out for coffee together all the time, it isn’t just women out gossiping together.
So the cafes are really beautiful and they all look different. I went out with two of my teammates and three other girls last week to a café called “Deep”. Inside was a hundred young Greek people sipping fancy drinks, usually coffee, talking and listening to 80s music. The place had white couches, track lighting, and a huge checkered glass wall. The problem being that everyone one of the people in there, except me and my two teammates, was smoking, chain smoking and the only ventilation was the door opening. After an hour I was feeling smoke in the back of my nose and throat and after two hours I was feeling sick. It was pouring outside and I couldn’t leave without my teammates insisting on driving me home so I stuck it out but it was so uncomfortable. And it sucks because I like going out for coffee and I really like all the girls I was with. But I simply can’t take it. I felt hungover the next day from the cigarettes and despite the good company and the ambience of the place, I will not be returning.
During the day it isn’t so bad though. People smoke but it is bearable. I meet Tracy and some other friends every week at the same café in Syntagma, the main square in the center of town. When its nice out, we sit on big couches outside and when it is cold we sit behind big glass windows with space heaters all around. We spend all afternoon catching up on our lives and then go back to our respective areas of the city, refreshed from girlfriend time.
But I also love my “me” time. Most days of the week I don’t feel like leaving my neck of the woods so I go for coffee by myself. I absolutely love it. I like going with friends of course, but not at the expense of going by myself. I’m becoming my dad, equally sociable and solitary. I go very often to Starbucks of all places. At first I fought it. I mean I don’t even go to Starbucks in Seattle (ewww, corporate!). I usually go to the smaller, more unique places. And here, I mean all the cafes are unique and beautiful. Starbucks is nice and well decorated but doesn’t look much different from any one in any place in America. But the coffee is SO good, its smoke free!!!!, and I have a friend who always gives me free coffee and a slice of something sweet. How can I resist? So now it is my favorite place to go with myself, a good book, and my laptop. Its so wonderful, I can sit there all day if I want to. When the weather gets nice I will be headed down to the cafes on the water but for now, Starbucks is my café of choice and where I am headed to right now. Pame Gia Café.
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