Ancient Wonders of Athens

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Saturday 1 August:



After an excellent night’s sleep we got to Ankara airport in plenty of time and it wasn’t busy so we got our boarding passes printed and went through security quickly. It seems to be a very large, very nice airport with not a lot of air traffic. There was no place to leave our trolley though. We got it from outside and you have to go through a security check to get into the airport and didn’t want to go out then in again, so we found a couple of other abandoned trolleys and added it to them.



We started boarding at 9:40 for a 10:30 flight which I thought was a bit odd. We were on a Boeing 777-300, a very large plane for such a short flight, and it wasn’t very full. The entertainment system was not switched on but we did get a drink and a light lunch – I have never seen cabin service so fast! We got away on time and were advised of a 45 minute flight time. This was great as we had a 1255 flight from Istanbul and that gave us heaps of time to change terminals, have some food etc. The estimated arrival time was then changed to 11:22, however that was optimistic. The flight actually went a long way south-west of Istanbul before turning around. I’m not sure what the reason for this was as surely they would not have given us that estimated time if that was the normal flight path. No announcements were made so we were none the wiser. By the time we landed and parked (not at a gate, so we had to get a bus to the terminal) it was 11:55 – so we had been sitting on the plane for over 2 hours for a 400 km flight. Zachary kept us entertained towards the end – he enjoys making up role-play games and he decided that Mummy was the pilot, Daddy the passenger, and he was the person handing out food and drink. I ordered my drink which he didn’t have so I started to complain. I demanded he go see the pilot and sort it out. When she was unhelpful I protested more about the terrible service and airline and demanded my money back. Zachary promptly handed over some “money” which immediately disqualifies him from that job!



The good news on arrival was that the signposting in at Atatürk Airport is superb and we quickly walked to the International terminal and got to security. We went through and walked to the gate (which of course was at the other end) and arrived there about 12:15. I unsuccessfully tried to spend my last 25 lira on something useful and got back to Heather and Zachary at 12:30. Boarding had theoretically started but there was a big mass of people not going anywhere. Finally about 12:45 they started letting people on so a 12:55 take-off was out of the question.



We got on the A321-200 and found our seats near the back. This time the entertainment system was on so that was good. We ended up leaving just over half an hour late. Another lot of food and drink was served and we managed to catch up a bit of time landing at 2:40, rather than the scheduled 2:20.



We were pleased to see that our packs and suitcase had made it onto the same plane as us as we had some doubts. We got them, got a trolley (which we had to pay for, as we did at Ankara), and headed for the Metro. This got us to the central city in about 35 minutes and then we had to change to another line for a couple of stops. We got out of the Metro station and followed the directions I had received. After checking we were on the right track we got to the hotel. It isn’t the flashest part of town and the street it is on is full of people selling stuff but it seems okay. The hotel manager was extremely nice and we went to our room on the 3^rd floor. It is rather tiny but it has a tv, air-con and it seems reasonably quiet. Breakfast is also included so that’s always useful.



We went a few doors down to get some groceries and while Heather headed for a pharmacy I organised tickets for a three island cruise on Tuesday. Normal price is €110 for adults (including pick up, lunch, and drop off) and there is a charge for children aged 3+. However, buying it at the hotel meant it was only €85 for adults and the manager “confirmed” that Zachary was 2 so no charge for him! Pick up is at 6:50am so he will organise an early breakfast for us and we will be dropped off again at 8pm. Heather got back and we soon headed into town for dinner. On the way out we stopped to pay for the tickets. I went to give him cash and wryly commented that he I supposed he would like cash, to which he smilingly replied that “we prefer cash in Greece”. Nice man, and a sense of humour too!



We got the Metro one stop as advised and we were at the edge of the Plaka - a place full of restaurants and shops. We spotted a Hard Rock Café and checked it out. They had a “small bites” menu and we went there. It wasn’t entirely a success but we ate. Then back to the hotel and an early night for all.



Sunday 2 August:



A bit noisy with a few guests during the night and Zachary got a bit cold (we left the air-con on 18 and he had short pyjamas on) so he snuggled in with Heather. However we slept until about 8:15 which was nice. We headed down for breakfast after morning jobs. The room is a bit small and the hotel is well occupied so we couldn’t get a table at that time. So we headed back up, had some juice and watched a bit of tv, and tried again half an hour later. We got a table this time and had some toast and cereal (we had also bought some yoghurt). By the time we had done all that and got ready to go it was after 10. It was already pretty warm outside (about 31) but there was a breeze to keep the heat under control a bit. We headed out to visit some ancient sites and caught the Metro three stops to “Akropoli” and quickly found a ticket selling point at the Theatre of Dionysus / South Slope of the Acropolis. There are seven sites that are controlled by the government. A ticket to enter all 7 is €12 for adults and lasts four days (you don’t have to go to all 7, you can go to one more than once, but you have 7 visits in total). It is free for under 18s, over 65s, students, and some others. The Greek government is desperately short of income – easy solution to raise some money is to charge €25 which would still be a reasonable price. They could also consider increasing their take on businesses on / near the sites and regulating prices. Anyway, we did the Theatre and South Slope first and then went up the hill, via the very impressive Odeon of Herodes Atticus, towards the Acropolis proper, which is home to several famous structures, the most famous of course, being the Parthenon. It wasn’t especially busy and, although hot, the wind was nice and there were plenty of shaded areas to walk or rest. It was fantastic to finally be able to view these structures in person. It is amazing that they have survived so long. While some restoration work has been carried out, you are seeing, in large part, the original structures. We stopped for frozen lemonades (expensive but very nice – see above comment re the government’s finances though). There was a nice book (in English) about the Greek Gods explaining who was who so we bought 3 copies of that – 1 for us and 2 for school. From there we went to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, or Olympieion (really impressive I thought) and decided that that was enough of ancient structures for the day. No point getting over-heated and over-tired.



We headed back on the Metro for the hotel for a rest. We had a beer (Heineken) and chips while Zachary watched one of the new movies we downloaded for him on itunes. Next on the list was to catch the Metro to the port of Piraeus. I had thought / hoped that when we got there that there would be some good dining options available on or near the water’s edge. Sadly, this proved not to be the case. We wandered around fruitlessly for a while, and also waited some time for a bus to go into the centre of the town, before giving up. The whole area is rather shabby and run-down. Hopefully we’ll get a better impression of the port and harbour when we take our cruise on Tuesday. So we headed back to the area we were in last night, this time determined to go a bit further and actually make it to the Plaka – an area known for its shops and restaurants. On the way though we walked past a restaurant, just by the Ancient Agora (another place to visit), which looked pretty good. The staff member who spoke to us was most courteous and he had a table in the corner, under a shady tree, with a cool breeze. So we had dinner there and it proved an excellent choice. We ordered two tasty, tender souvlaki dishes which came with some delicious rice and fries, plus a magnificent Greek Salad. Heather got an extra slab of feta cheese for good measure! Zachary enjoyed his meat and rice and we had a most satisfying meal indeed, washed down with some decent Greek beer. A little pricey perhaps at €50 but it was Greek and it was delicious!



We then carried on walking through the Plaka and spotted some shops we may wish to re-visit so that could be on the agenda tomorrow or Wednesday. That took us back to the base of the Acropolis and we got a Metro back to the hotel. Zachary did really well to last the day as it was pretty hot and tiring, but he was beginning to lose the plot a bit towards the end so we quickly got him showered and to bed.



We have a few more ancient sites to visit. I would like to go to the world famous National Archaeological Museum, and we may also look at trying to get to a beach. A really enjoyable day and I am loving Athens. The downside of the city is the very large amount of beggars and many of the streets and buildings need a lot of work. But overall, a compelling and fascinating place.

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