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Published: November 19th 2013
Acropolis at night...
...as seen from our balcony...while sipping vino...haha...October 16, 2013
After a fantastic time in Jordan it was now on to our next adventure: Greece...plan here was to hit Athens, grab an overnight tour up to see the monasteries at Meteora, hang a bit more in Athens and then hit the island of Santorini for a few days and just relax...
I didn't have any expectations for Greece, never really had much of a desire to go to be honest, it just seemed like a logical choice to twin up with Jordan so figured "what the hell?!"...and I'm really glad we went, the country, scenery, history and especially the people were awesome, was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the whole hang...
First things first, we arrived in Athens to a bit of rain (the only rain we saw in three weeks!) and hopped the metro down to Syntagma which was close to where our hotel, the Metropolis, was located...great way to get downtown, dead simple and after getting our bearings when we came out of the metro it was only a five minute walk to the hotel...excellent! Friendly folks at the hotel greeted us, and after piling into the smallest elevator
I have ever seen we made it to our room, which turned out to be really small as well (I understand this is fairly common in the downtown/Plaka area), but what it lacked in size it more than made up for in the view: Acropolis in all its splendor! It's pretty much the focal point of Athens, and viewable from most places but still really cool to be lying in bed and being able to see it...especially when lit up at night, beautiful...
Armed with the local map and suggestions from the hotel we decided to grab a bite and pint next door...again friendly folks, and patient with us as we tried to figure out the odd Greek word...seemed impressed when we nailed "efharisto"...haha...think we spent the rest of the day just wandering around Plaka, fantastic maze of streets with shops and restaurants...had an early start to Meteora the following morning so didn't get up to too much...
When we got back from Meteora we had two evenings and a full day to check stuff out...first night was K's b-day so headed into Plaka to grab a bite to eat and celebrate a little...found this great wine shop,
picked up a bottle of Greek wine on a recommendation from the gal working there and then it was off to eat...wandered back to the area where we were our first night and found the guy who tried to usher us into his restaurant that night, told him we'd back and here we were! Quick dins and then made our way back to the hotel where we spent the rest of the evening admiring the Acropolis and sipping wine on our balcony...
Slow start the next day, had breaky on the roof of our hotel and then it was off to the main event: Acropolis! Despite the fact I never really had a desire to come here I always thought it would be cool to see the Acropolis, so after getting some directions from the hotel away we went...
Bit of a hike, but managed to find the entrance (we came around from the opposite side that most folks arrive from) and braced ourselves for the hordes of people...there were tons of folks there, but after the log jam at the entrance the rest of the site wasn't too bad, and actually we were able to get a
Funky Bar in Plaka..
...made their own Ouzo, very good...fun folks too! (KC) few pics without a bunch of tourists in them...haha...Beautiful spot, with amazing views of Athens and the surrounding mountains...have to admit that the site was much smaller than I had imagined, think we strolled around the whole place in about an hour and did so at our own pace without being rushed in the slightest...
The ticket for Acropolis also included entrance to a handful of sites in the area so decided to head out towards the Temple of Zeus...found the Promenade; this wide, pedestrian only street that runs along the south side of the Acropolis, really cool...buskers and artists lined the promenade, and it was a nice relaxing way to get back to the Plaka area...
Relaxed with a pint of Mythos before heading to check out the Temple of Zeus (very cool) and then a wander through the National Gardens...after getting lost in Plaka again (I just could not get my bearings!) we decided to hit the Flea Market near Monastiraki Square (basically just a bunch of clothes shops, although did manage to find a cool t-shirt shop and yes, a few purchases were made!). Poked around and then found a pub with a Guinness sign
Our New T-Shirts...
...and crazy new friend, artist Dimitris Tsouanatos of Remember Fashion...cool spot! (KC) so of course we had to go in! Good laughs with the staff, but it was getting late so found a sidewalk gyro stall and split one on the way back, yummy...
Early morning the following day as we were taking the 7am ferry to Santorini...we made it back to Athens at the end of the week for another full day before heading home and made our way to Ancient Agora, the original heart of Athens which was cool...another stroll down the Promenade, some last minute souvenir hunting, dinner at this amazing restaurant south of Monastiraki and at the base of the Acropolis with stunning views of Athens, great last meal! We had picked up another bottle of wine from the same shop as before and again wound up the day and trip admiring Acropolis and sipping vino on our balcony...
We had heard all sorts of horror stories about Athens, people saying it's dirty, congested, people aren't friendly etc., basically get out of there as soon as you can...man, I didn't see any of that; the city was clean and quite beautiful, folks were really friendly, I absolutely loved it...I have since learned that it can be
View from the Roof of Metropolis...
...providing directions in case it wasn't obvious enough...haha... (KC) really smoggy in the Summer months, and the amount of tourists during the high season can be stifling, which I think would account for some of the opinions and dire warnings...mid-September to the end of October seems to be the time to come; the restaurants aren't jammed, it isn't wall-to-wall people in the Plaka, hotel rooms are available and it would seem to be a more laid back vibe to the whole thing...again, loved Athens, would go back in a heartbeat...
(Some photos copyright of Karen C., denoted by (KC)...used with kind permission)
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