As a child growing up in America, my family took many road trips. It wasn’t easy packing 3 kids into the car and expecting them to be entertained by hundreds of miles of cornfields as we traveled pretty much anywhere from our Midwestern home.
So my parents, who back then did not have the option of purchasing us each a Game Boy (which I doubt they would have done if it had been an option, though we did have travel Bingo) came up with the Blue Silo game. For each Blue Silo a child spotted, a tick mark was recorded in their name. When we reached our destination we were each compensated a nickel for each Blue Silo we had spotted. It was a clever game which not only kept us quietly occupied, but it also left us with some spending money when we arrived at our destination.
Parents bringing children to Athens won’t be able to quiet their kids with the Blue Silo game, but if you take the kids to Herodou Atticou Street, home of the President’s Mansion and the quieter changing of the guard ceremony, the kids can spend their time between the initial change and the second march searching the sidewalks for authentic Tsoliades shoe studs – those nails which adorn the soles of the shoes and help create that sharp click click we hear as they march along often fall out, and it would certainly be very un-Evzone like for them to stop marching in order to claim them. Instead, since each soldier inspects his uniform daily and shoes that are missing nails are taken to the base shoemake for replacement, your kids are free to collect those lost shoe studs – a fantastic, authentic and free souvenir of their trip to Greece.
By Athensguide
How does a little girl from Skokie, Illinois find herself in historical Athens, leading curious explorers through the winding streets of Plaka, down "pezodromos" to hidden ouzeries for tempting mezedhes and homemade barrel wine? The journey began more than twenty years ago, and regardless of whether the wanderlust comes from the spiritual and culture DNA flowing through my veins, or the alignment of the stars on that cold mid-December day this Sagitterian came into the world, I never seem to tire of exploring my adopted homeland of Greece. Here you'll join me as I explore Athens: be it the back streets of Psirri and Gazi, or through the National Gardens and Zappeio where a family of turtles makes their home, or down wide, treelined Imittou Street in Pagrati, which pulses with Athenian life 24 hours a day. And while Athens has stolen my heart, the rest of Greece vies for my curiousity and wanderlust. My two guys (that'd be the Greek God, Vasilis and our Greek dog, Scruffy) and I can often be found settling in for a long weekend in some charming mountain village, or a quaint fishing port on a nearby island, or learning how Greek vitners are producing wines that rival some of Napa Valley's finests productions, or celebrating a panayeri in Epirus or sharing in the festivities as a family of Cretan sheepherders come together to sheer their 1500 sheep in the spring ... And if you happen to find yourself heading to Athens, consider finding yourself a real home for your stay. Living amongst the locals, be it for 3 nights or 3 weeks, will offer you the chance to experience true Athens, beyond the Acropolis. Choose from one of our 5 beautiful penthouse and historical homes, and who knows, I may be leading you down that winding "pezodromo" to our favorite hidden ouzerie!
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2 thoughts on “Greek Studs – An interesting Greek souvenir”
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When I was a child, I used to just get stones shells, or leaves from around an area – that’s kinda my concept of free souvenirs. I did not know that you can just get those studs for free. Maybe on my next vacation to Greece with my Aunt, I can get those free shoe studs too!
I’m just thinking what will I do with those Greek shoe studs, perhaps make a bracelet or necklace out of it.