Athens
17thAugust 2018
Sadly, our cruise of the Cyclades Islands is over, and this morning we must be disembarked by 9am. We have booked an apartment in Athens for the next two days to fill in time before we join our Passage to India cruise on Viking on Sunday.
We can’t get access to the apartment until 12.30pm, so arrange to leave our bags on the Galileo till 12 noon, and they have organized a minibus for us to take us to our apartment, meeting us at the vessel. We walked into Pireas, had a cup of coffee, and I took the opportunity to have a haircut., and were back at the Galileo by 12noon. Sakis, the Cruise Director was waiting for us, and had a large Mercedes van there waiting to take us to our destination.
It only took 20 minutes to get to Athens and our apartment is very close to the Acropolis, with great views from our balcony. Access was by getting a key from a key safe (the agent had sent ne the code), and we were able to drop off our luggage, as it was still being cleaned. The official check in time was 2pm, so they did us a bit of a favour by giving us access to drop our baggage off.
Lunch is next on our agenda, as it is around 1pm. We walked not very far down the street before we found the El Greco Café. The owner was very affable , and spoke no English, but before we knew it , we were seated, having a cold beer and considering what we would have for lunch. We have become very accustomed to the Greek style of eating, sharing a number of small dishes rather than ordering individual meals.
El Greco Restaurant
As usual, the food was great, and as we were getting ready to leave, an Australian on a nearby table obviously heard our accents and came over to talk. They are also heading off on a cruise, but around the Mediterranean. Before we had paid our bill and left another Australian couple were just entering the restaurant and obviously knew the other couple, Having heard we were doing the Viking Cruise, they came over to introduce themselves as they are coming on the same cruise.
It is well past 2pm, so we headed back to our apartment to settle, now that the cleaners have done their job. The apartment is very nice, quite recently refurbished. There are two large bedrooms with ensuites, a very nice kitchen and large lounge area. However, the highlight is the view of the Acropolis.
The View from our balcony
Ready for a bit of a rest, we are in no hurry to rush back out into the now very hot afternoon temperatures. The plan is to relax until around 5.30pm, then walk to the Acropolis, and have a good look around. The temperature will have dropped and hopefully also the crowds.
It is a short 15 minute walk there and we are confronted by a very long queue at the ticket office to get in. It moves very slowly and it takes 40 minutes to get a ticket. A couple of the sales windows were closed and the others worked at Public Service speed. I guess we expected a little better, given the parlous state of the Greek economy and their strong dependence on tourism. It was a bit of an eye opener coming from the Islands where the service focus was a lot sharper.
The ticket queue
Once into the Acropolis, it is impressive, and there is some good work going on to preserve and repair many of the amazing structures. There is still a fair crowd here, but it is such a big site that it can accommodate large numbers.
The Odeion of Herodes Atticus AD 160-169
The Parthenon
Various Temples below
Heading back down to the exit
We spent about 1.5 hours there before walking back down this hill in search of something for dinner. It is now around 7.45pm, and after a short walk we found a small family run restaurant cooking Greek home cooking. It was a recommendation from a local.
The food and service and value was very good, with the whole family involved, with Grandma keeping a close eye on everything. And doing a fair bit of the cooking.
On the way back to our apartment we stopped at a convenience store to get some milk and a few snacks before heading back to our apartment, where we enjoyed the complimentary bottle of red wine with a few snacks.
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