Members of the West Ham United squad discuss their main hobbies away from the football pitch. Today, Greece international centre-back Dinos Mavropanos talks us through his ideal day off in London...
When we are given a day off, because we have the whole day to do what we want, I like to start the day by having breakfast outside at a nice café, if the weather is good enough!
I’ll always try to have something healthy, so my breakfast is usually something with egg and avocado and a good smoothie and, of course, coffee!
After that, I spend some time with my dogs, my two golden retrievers, so we go to the park and they can run and play together.
Once the dogs have had their exercise, I take them home and I like to head into the city for a coffee and because I like to explore new areas, try new things and maybe go for a nice dinner in the evening as well as I like to try new foods.
I prefer Greek or Italian food, I can say, because they are both tasty and healthy. I have many restaurants that I could recommend and the one I would say to you to go to is Meraki, which is a Greek restaurant which I have been to many times in Great Titchfield Street in the West End.
Meraki is really good and I have been there many times, both since I came to West Ham and before, five years ago, when I was at Arsenal.
In particular, I like to see many people, so I enjoy going into the city to see some of the big stores or to do some sightseeing. If there is something new I can see, I like to do it. I’m a people watcher and I like when a city is busy, but not too busy!
I grew up in Athens and now I live in London, so I have a lot of experience of busy cities!
London is so big and there are so many things to see and do, and everything is special. For example, I’ve been to see Buckingham Palace and to Westminster to see Big Ben and go for a ride on the London Eye.
I like to go to other areas, too. For example, in Kensington there are so many good streets to walk around and sit and have a coffee, and so many nice stores.
I like to be in good areas and see something specific if I can. I live in Hampstead, so it’s also nice to walk around there, too.
If the weather is not so good, I like to go to the cinema and my favourite ones are in Leicester Square, close to Chinatown, and there is also a nice cinema close to my home in Hampstead.
After the film has finished, or I have had my dinner, I like to get home and sleep as my rest is very important to ensure I’m ready to be at my best when I go back to training.
