Summer means Mediterranean to me. This post-COVID summer I was lucky enough to go to the Peloponnese, and I absolutely loved it. One week-driving adventure filled with sun, blue skies, ancient cities and the thick air of Greek myths. I only spent a couple of nights in Athens, and unfortunately both turned out to be Saturday nights. How can one say “unfortunately” when it comes to Athens? Well, all the magic aside, what I mean is that all bookstores are closed in Athens on Sundays. I had great plans for a book haul, but they were ruined by this small cultural detail (sorry, but WHY would you close a bookshop on a weekend day?). However, I was lucky to find Little Tree Books and Coffee open, and this discovery absolutely sweetened the pill for me.
Situated within a stone’s throw of Acropolis (BTW, the fab new Acropolis museum has a nice bookshop of its own), this cafe and bookshop is the essence of lazy summer reading. With their Paris-like tables outside (under a shady tree, hence the name) and a range of tasty foods and refreshments (sandwiches, cakes, Greek yogurt, coffee and lemonade), this would already be a perfect summer reading spot. But! They also sell books, and loads of them, too. The shelves are stylish and very comfortable to use, there is a wide range of topics from classics to art. Unfortunately for me, this is a mostly Greek language bookstore. They do have a small section of English books, mostly on Greek cooking and travel. However, I also found and purchased some English translations of modern Greek poetry (by George Seferis) and prose (“Serenity” by Ilias Venezis), as well as a small jewel of a book called “Myths behind Words”, containing Greek words used internationally that originate from myths and legends, with the stories behind them and the explanations of their meanings! Most English books came from a Greek publishing house called Aiora Press (https://aiorabooks.com) and I felt lucky to find them as I don’t remember seeing modern Greek writers in English translation in large European bookstores.
It has to be noted that I really liked the people there, both the staff and the visitors were of this bohemian, free-spirited type that gets the inspiration flowing. The tree (I think it’s a mulberry tree, so be careful 🙂 ) offers shade, which makes this Athenian hidden gem a perfect place for an afternoon read if you find yourself in the sizzling Greek capital in the middle of summer, like I did. Some more info about the place can be found on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LittleTreeBooksandCoffee/?ref=page_internal
