Athens

---

Athens completely surprised me. In my mind I had conjured up images of a busy and dirty city drowning in disorder; however, this ancient city was nothing of the sort! Maybe the Olympics last decade necessitated a massive overhaul of infrastructure and so on, or maybe it has always exuded the same charm and I should never again form such an unfounded opinion. Whatever the case or cause, I found Athens to be an efficient and clean city that is easily navigated and enjoyed.

Arriving at the port after an overnight ferry from Santorini (who knew how well one can sleep when curled up on the floor of a ship?), we caught the metro to Syntagma Square and hunted out our accommodation. Due to the early morning arrival, this meant that we could sneak in a free breakfast that the hotel guests who had stayed the previous night were entitled to eat - cheeky! With the sun deciding to make a welcome appearance in Athens after the cold and wet weather experienced in Santorini, there was no hesitation in deciding to do some exploring on foot. Without a cloud in the sky, it was decided to head up to the top of the highest hill in Athens (Lykavittos Hill) and take in the view. It was from this vantage point that I first saw the Parthenon in all its imperious glory, standing like a sentinel above the surrounding city. Despite the spectacular view of the city hemmed in by the surrounding mountains and the sea, the winds gusting atop the hill rattled my bones and so we headed back down to the city centre to eat some lunch. The rest of the day was divided between snoozing, wandering into shops, eating moussaka and drinking cheap Ouzo (oh, that was also followed by some red wine - gotta love holidays!).

The following morning we headed to the Parthenon along with, as we soon discovered, every other tourist in Athens! Being Good Friday, we learned upon arrival that it was free entry to the site. Obviously, this was a well known fact as it was hard to believe how little room one had in such a vast expanse of land. Still, I was happy to finally have the chance to see this renowned structure with my own eyes. I also gazed down at a 2,500 year old theatre where the works of Sophocles were once performed. Remembering seeing 'Oedipus' performed in London a few years ago, this was an unexpected bonus of the visit.

Not wanting to pass up the luxury of another sunny day, we found a rooftop restaurant to while away a couple of hours in by eating saganaki and moussaka, accompanied by some cold beer. This restaurant was in my favourite part of the city, as it consists of narrow stone streets, local folk pottering around, restaurants under vine leaves and no sense at all that you are in a populous city. To add to the setting, if you gaze up at the nearby hill, your eyes take in some of the ruins of the Acropolis. Athens had well and truly won me over by this point.

The final two nights vanished into a blur that was the result of drinking Metaxa, a Greek spirit for which we developed a rapid liking! Drinking straight from the bottle, it was a classy affair that resulted in some slow mornings, but what's the rush when you're on holiday?

---