The Museum of the City of Athens

The Museum of the City of Athens is on Klauthmonos Square. It's housed in two of the capital's oldest buildings. 

The Stamatios Dekozis-Vouros  mansion was home to Greece's first king, Otto, and his bride, Amalia, while a more spacious royal palace (now the Parliament) was being built. They lived here between 1836 and 1843.

 The second building, was built by Gerasimos Metaxas, the architect, in 1859

and is connected to the Old Palace via a covered bridge.

We were able to have a look at both houses which are kept as close to their former glory as possible. We also looked at a temporary exhibition on the top floor of the second building.

The dining room of the Metaxas building

the music room

the drawing room

figurines in a glass-fronted cupboard

another figurine

and candelabra

We then moved on to the Old Palace via the covered bridge

the breakfast room

the study

ornate clock and candelabra

the throne in the reception room

the games room

the music room

with the piano






another ornate clock on the landing

we took the stairs down

stopped to have a look at a copper engraving of the Tower of the Winds by Andrea Gasparini

On the ground floor we found a portrait of Lord Byron - the painter unknown. Lord Byron is a national hero in Greece due to the fact that he fought with the Greeks against the Turks during the War of Independence

Another portrait of Lord Byron by Sir Charles Lock Eastlake

The Temple of the Wingless Victory, Nikolas Cheimonas

The Black Duck, the Museum's bistrot, is a delightful place. The passageway between the two buildings is the entrance

It rained on and off on that day, so people were not sitting in the delightful garden, but we still had a look

do not be fooled by the atmosphere of neglect - this place is buzzing when the weather is good

We went in to have a look at the interior

but the place is so delightful that we decided to stay for a drink, which turned into lunch

lots of pictures and paintings

books





antiquities

and the best bit of all - the entrance to one of the buildings is part of the bistrot now - it's stunning. It got very busy later, but when we arrived it was almost empty 

so we were told we could sit at the large table at the end, which we did. The food was delicious

We had a last look at the décor on the way out

 aren't those hat lampshades wonderful?

Dexameni

Even though we walk past Dexameni very often as it's on the way to some of our favourite private galleries  as well as to Phillippou, one of our favourite tavernas, we had never actually gone in to have a closer look at the tiny park, small playground and old reservoir.

We did so last week on our way to Phillippou, with my cousin Tilda, who played there as a child. She gave us the grand tour.

This is the old water reservoir, which according to Tilda, provided water for a large proportion of Athens years ago. I have tried googling the area for more information, but could not find anything much.





The park is small but a welcome green shady spot in the middle of all the bustling city.

It leads to this café which is a very popular place to sit.

Lots of kids playing here - I can't remember the last time I saw kids climbing trees in a built-up area

This sign informed us that this is where Hadrian's Water Reservoir was located - a pity I could not get any information

We walked around for a bit

then walked to the edge of the elevation and could see the Acropolis in the distance

zooming in

and more

We then retraced our steps, past the summer cinema,

past the cafe

and then it was time for Phillippou, and lunch.

Floating Cubism

This Cubist-looking yacht has been moored in one of the marinas near us for the last few days.

Apparently it was designed by Jeff Koons and Ivana Porfiri and it's called Guilty. I have never seen anything like it.

Oceanis ...

Vouliagmeni Bay, on Easter Monday.

Matthew Krishanu - Childhood Now

Matthew Krishanu, Childhood Now,

at Compton Verney, Warwickshire.

Matthew Krishanu was born in Bradford but moved to Bangladesh with his family when he was one, only returning to England when he was twelve. Family photographs function as a starting point for Krishanu's paintings, but these are edited and reimaged through the prism of memory and a painter's intuition. The two boys in Krishanu's works are based on the artist and his elder brother, Richard.

'Most of all I want people to be excited by the possibilities of paint: what has not been painted before how individual paintings relate to a world of paintings throughout history and the particularities of what paint can do that no other medium can - even in terms as a fortuitous drip or an oily lump of colour'.

Skeleton, 2014, (oil on canvas)

Bows and Arrows, 2018, (oil on canvas)

Kashmir, 2014, (oil on canvas)

Boys on a Rock, 2018, (oil on canvas)

Swimming Pool, 2018, (oil on canvas)

Two Boys, 2012, (oil on board)

Safari, 2013, (oil and acrylic on linen)