1st Day in Athens

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We slept in late, but then we hadn’t gone to bed until 2 am having just spent 32 hours in route. We had to wake Zaya up at 10:30 am since we wanted to go out and about.

As we had no food in the apartment, we thought that a breakfast out would likely be the best way to start the day. We noticed a little restaurant across the street so went there, sitting in the open front.

I asked the waiter if they had anything gluten free and we decided that I could order eggs. I looked at the menu but didn’t see anything else so told him that I would like eggs with something Greek. Dale and Zaya agreed that something Greek sounded good. What we got was the waiter’s favorite egg dish; eggs with mushrooms and feta cheese and a little salad drizzled with olive oil. It was perfect. I still need to write a review for this.

My idea for our trip was to mostly follow the Rick Steves guide books. He gives info on walks; lays out where to walk and what to see, complete with information on the points of interest. You just follow his map and read the guidebook. He also has podcasts that can be downloaded but we haven’t done that as my husband forgot his phone at home and it is just easier to read the info from the guidebook.

As per Rick Steves advice and what we wanted, was to do the Athens City Walk first. This walk is a loop that starts 2 short blocks from our apartment and ends not far away. This would a good introduction to everything we want to see while here.

Some of the sights along our walk: Church of Kapnikarea, built in about the year 1,000; Cathedral Mitropolis, the Greek Vatican; Arch of Hadrian and Temple of Olympian Zeus; Up and around Acropolis Hill; by the Roman Forum and Tower of the Winds, by the Library of Hadrian and then work our way back to the apartment.

We walked most the City Walk before having to turn back. My feet were swollen up from the plane ride and then blisters formed because of the swelling but we did go most of the way. The walk took much of our afternoon having also stopped for a drink and rest at one point. The walk was up hills and down slick marble steps and I was so afraid of slipping. Zaya did slip once and sat down hard. Next time I will wear my trail running shoes as they have a better grip.

We stopped at a grocery store to get stuff for dinner and there found a huge number of chesses from Greece. The lady behind the counter started recommending one and then another. Finally, she just started cutting pieces off of her favorites for us to buy. We found another, upscale, grocery store that we will come back to as well.

Back at home we were hot, sweaty and so tired. Greek cheese and cold white wine were just what we needed after a long walk.

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Photos

Something Greek Breakfast
Omelet with mushrooms and feta cheese

Church of Kapinikarea
Lady is sitting in front of the 1000-year-old church, talking on her cell phone.

Arch of Hadrian
Zaya is walking thru the arch as the Greeks would have in 132 AD

The Tower of the Winds
This was built in the 1st century BC. It was a clock using rods for a sundial and a weather station with a weather vane on top.

Roman Forum
The ditch is what was the public restroom