Temperature: 33 degrees
Weather: Sunny
We started off the day on a mission to get a sim card for Desley and Cameron’s mobile phone. This came with a few hiccups as a passport (which was back at the hotel) was needed and after a second visit found that the instructions were in Greek. Our friendly receptionist was obviously used to assisting the tourists as he had Cameron sorted in no time when we returned to the hotel later in the day.
Mid-morning we headed down to the port city of Piraeus on the Athens City Tour bus. This trip was such an eye opener in more ways than one. I’ve been to a lot of European cities but Athens would have to be the capital of graffiti…..it is everywhere in all its ugliness of multi-coloured tagging. We were trying to come up with a percentage of the city that is defaced and seemed to agree on at least 60 per cent. There were many shops that had closed down and many areas showing signs of appalling degradation.
We arrived at Pasalimani a harbour of wealthy boats and decided it was time for a quick bite to eat, a rest and time to savour the luxurious backdrop of the marina. Greek salads, club sandwiches, beers and white wine were the order of the day. We are comparing Greek salads as we go and most importantly have noticed that the essence of a good salad is the quality of the feta!
Back on the bus we endeavoured to visit the National Archaeological Museum. Unfortunately, the stars were not aligned and we had no end of trouble catching the correct bus in the right direction. We eventually arrived to find that the entrance times had changed and we had only 45 minutes to take in a huge collection – we decided to forgo this extensive exhibition. It was disappointing but a great excuse to revisit Athens!
The consolation prize was a visit to a superb coffee shop with the most amazing Greek pastries and cakes. We all chose a different cake each then divided them up so we could all have a taste. Yum! Following this we made our way through another part of the Plaka which is a lovely area of cafes, taverns and shops - particularly of souvenirs.
A quick visit back to the hotel and we set off to Lykavittos Hill for a sunset meal overlooking the Acropolis and Athens. What a special treat this was climbing quite a few sets of stairs and taking the funicular to the top. A small chapel of Ayios Yiryios (St George) sits on the top and houses quite a few old icons. There were many visitors taking in the spectacular views.
After waiting some time to take the funicular down David decided to walk down. Fortunately, we followed as we ended up on the wrong side of the hill and needed assistance to find our way to the National Library area to catch a taxi back to the hotel. Another adventure….and we saw another part of Athens we hadn’t planned on.
While at dinner we voted on the top five attractions. I was outvoted badly as I was the only one to vote for the Agora and the Byzantine Museum. See what you think:
1. The Acropolis; 2. The Acropolis Museum; 3. Lykavittos Hill; 4. Dinner at the Strofi Tavern on the rooftop; 5. The Panathenaic Stadium.
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