Rhodes to Pireaus then Athens

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Friday 1st July, 2011

Another day another chance to pack. We went down to breakfast and then back to the room. Moved our bags to reception, again as previously arranged to leave them for a little while.

Pat had suggested that we have a look on the internet and see if there were any British war cemeteries on Rhodes that we might look at. Having searched the CWGC website we found that actually there was and that it wasn't too far from us.

We left the hotel at 11 o'clock and basically headed along the coast. The new harbour/marina works that are going on here are very extensive. It has what looks like lots of individual berths, so maybe a marina.

We found the cemetery area of town, the Greeks are very good at clumping things together. There was a massive Greek cemetery with big marble stone works. A Catholic cemetery, presumably mainly from the Italian era and also a large Jewish cemetery which was incredibly regimental in appearance and not something I have seen before. Just rows of uniform rectangles with inscriptions on the top all the same.

Across the road was the Commonwealth War cemetery from the second world war. I wrote in the register showing my respects. There were 122 British graves and a few other nationalities.

We then started back, stopping along the way in a new funky coffee shop called Viamare. Pat wasn't hungry at this time - she always does better at breakfast than me - but I had a burger. The coffees were in a cafetiere and the burger came nicely presented and with a good pile of chips. Lots of fun and games watching the traffic as we sat there. The usual Greek chaos

Next door to the cafe was a Multirama PC shop - like a Dixons in the UK - and we have been talking about a new camara for me, we had plenty of time on our hands so popped in to have a look. They had the model we have been looking at on the internet and after a little haggling reached a price we liked. So, I have a new camera to play with.

Then we walked further back towards were our ferry should have been and we couldn't see it. Pat went to the hotel and I quickly popped to the ticket office to see if there was any drastic news. The ticket office said the ferry was due in at 1430. So it was on it's way which was the good news. It was 2 o'clock now so not really time to do anything else, so we met back at the hotel to kill some time.

When we had bought the ticket - which included a cabin we were told we could board from 1500 and that it sailed at 1700.

After passing some time at the hotel we made a move just after 3 o'clock. The Blue Star ferry berth in Rhodes is the ar** end of nowhere and has no facilities. It's a long walk from the town but fortunately for us not too far from our hotel. The ferry still wasn't in but lots of other people and traffic were all heading in that direction. The quayside gradually filled up with all the usual lorries, vans, coaches, taxis, cars, motorbikes, scooters and people. With the ever present blowing of whistles by the Port Police trying to keep everything under tight control - haha.

Pat then spotted a ship on the horizon, sadly not ours. Then about 4 o'clock our ferry came into view. She berthed and everyone tried to get on before the off-going passengers had got off and so on. Because we had a cabin we were in no rush, so waited patiently and eventually embarked. Then up to reception and got our cabin key and directions. We found our cabin and it was still being cleaned so we left our bags and found the outside deck overlooking the stern ramp and watched the continuing chaos.

We got chatting with an Australian chap who was on his way to Santorini and talked until the boat sailed at 1805 hours.

Then back to the cabin which was ready for us now.

We had a quick look round the ship and decided on dinner in the a la carte restaurant. The restaurant, meal and service turned out to be a pleasant surprise. We sat a window table watching the sea go by and the sun gradually setting, it was wonderful.

We had a green salad, tomato soup, seafood pasta and a chicken fillet. With tapenard, bread, drinks and a coffee it came to ₤55.50, but was well worth it.

We went back to the cabin and that was us.

Saturday 2nd July, 2011

The ferry had two scheduled ports during the night, Kos and Santorini. The actual in and out of the ferry was hardly noticeable. There was increased human activity but it all settled down.

Vodaphone GR decided to send a text a two o'clock in the morning to say that roaming was cheap in Europe, which we could have done without.

However all in all we got more sleep than I expected. The vessel had caught up on it's delay as there was a tannoy at 0710 hrs saying we were due in in half an hour and to be ready to debark.

After we had left the cabin and while waiting to debark we got talking to a Canadian lady and her husband about various things.

The Blue Star ferry berth in Piraeus is nearly the furthest from the metro station and all the usual chaos was occurring on the quayside. We were fairly relaxed about it all as we had loads of time.

The nearest passenger terminal which used to have a Starbucks in it was shut down and we had discussed having a coffee before moving on, so we walked round to the next terminal with a Starbucks. A very seedy place with lots of dubious characters.

Then along to the Athens Metro. This was another new experience for us, but having done a little research, it all fell into place. We purchased a 7 day ticket at €14 each and headed towards our hotel.

We negotiated a change of line and reached our objective station of Metaxourghio.

The hotel Katerina was easy to find and we approached reception. Our plan was to speak nicely to them and see if they would look after our bags until later, because it was still only 10 o'clock and way before our check in time. We made the request but the guy said our room was available and let us have the key straight away. This was a bonus for us and we did a small amount of settling in before making a move on Athens.

We went back to the metro and got off at the Akropolis stop. In our research Pat had found out that if you buy an admission ticket here you get free access to some of the other museums and stuff.

The signposting for the Acropolis is absolutely awful and it was more by luck than judgement that we found it. You can see it, of course, hovering over the whole area but you don't get told which way to go to get to it.

We passed the New Archaeological museum and the Dionysus theatre on the way, but those are for another day. Finally we found the ticket office for the Acropolis and purchased our combined tickets at €12 each.

The Special Olympics seems to be going on at the moment and a large number of groups were visiting. There are of course a significant number of tourists and the place was mobbed.

Having purchased our tickets we continued up - it's always up! The buildings are magnificent and I thought they had finished work on the Parthenon, but it is still being renovated.

There are also outstanding views of Athens all around various other ancient things you can see dotted around.

We came down from the mountain and I was flagging a little, but very conscious of trying to use our time as best as possible. At a little kiosk they wanted €3.50 for a small bottle of water, so we didn't bother. Then as we walked down we were approached by the lady at the City sightseeing bus tour and she gave us all the information. We told her we would probably do it some other time.

We walked on and bought a big bottle of water at a little cafe for €2.00 which was much better, then sat and thought about what to do. After discussion we decided that actually the city sightseeing bus was a good idea, because if we were on the bus it was doing all the work for us and we would have a better knowledge of Athens and all the possible bits and pieces that we may wish to visit.

So back to the lady and paid our €18 each. The tickets are valid for two days and you can get on and off as many times as you want at the 15 stops.

A short while later our bus came - there are various tours - and off we went. There is an audio guide through headphones and the open topped bus had a sun shade so Pat was happy.

The tour lasted a good hour and a half and was worthwhile for us. We went through Syntagma square which is were the rioting was a few days ago. All is now quiet but there are protesters camping out. But certainly no feelings of hostility or tension in the air. The police are evident, but not in large numbers and in ordinary uniform. People are just going about their usual Saturday business. Including the Nigerians selling all the fake handbags laid out on the pavement.

Then back on the metro to our stop and something to eat. We stopped at a little restaurant a short way from the hotel and had a Greek salad, two souvlaki meals and the usual drinks and the bill was €30.50.

The back to the hotel and both kn...ed very weary. Four ish.

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Photos

Rhodes
Commonwealth War graves

Rhodes
Pat waiting for the ferry in the shade

Rhodes
Blue star 1 coming into Rhodes

Rhodes
Rhodes as we are leaving

Athens
The Acropolis

Athens
The Parthenon under renovation

Athens
The Parthenon

Athens
The Parthenon

Athens
Syntagma Square