Traveling To Greece and First Day

Our trip to Athens started in San Diego on a Saturday morning, and we arrived in Athens Sunday evening after flying through Chicago and London. Upon arrival, we decided to take the Metro instead of a taxi so we could learn how to use the mass-transit system. There was a Metro stop within a block of our hotel, but since we arrived at night, and we were all very tired, it took a look at a map to realize we had just walked past the hotel. After checking in, we turned in for the night to get some rest for our first full day.

Our hotel included a free breakfast buffet, which was actually quite good. After eating, we set out for our first stop, the Acropolis, which was just a ten minute walk from the hotel. We bought our tickets, which included access to five other sites. Luckily we beat the tour-bus crowds, and treated ourselves to a leisurely self-guided tour of the ancient Greek ruins. It was interesting to see the restoration work going on, which seems to be non-stop. They are actually repairing previous restorations that were not done correctly.

We wandered next to the Theatre Of Dionysos, which sits just below the Acropolis. You can walk down the steps, but there are still areas that are off-limits, blocked by ropes. We found out that there are people watching the tourists, and if anyone ventures beyond the ropes they'll blow a whistle. We heard a few people get the whistle warning during the week.

Back up to the entrance we passed the Odeum of Herodes. This area can only be viewed from outside. After checking out some sites on the north side, we headed to the Ancient Agora. There was a museum there that was included with the price.

By this time we were getting hungry for lunch. All the restaurants in the area had the same basic menus. So when a man invited us to eat at his restaurant, we obliged. That became the theme of eating in Athens. The most aggressive hosts got our business. I ate a plate of mixed grilled meat which was very good and very filling.

Our next stop was Keramikos, but we got there too late, so we decided to head back towards the hotel, which we realized was a long walk. Along the way, we stopped at the Tower Of the Winds, which doesn't have the impressive buildings of the other sites, but was still interesting enough. A few more photos here and we were done for the afternoon.


After a short break at the hotel, we headed back out to see the city at night. All the ancient ruins are quite impressively lit up at night. However, it is difficult capturing that scene using a small digital camera.

We wandered up to Syntagma Square, which was quite crowded, partly because it is near a major Metro station. Then we walked down a busy pedestrian street looking at various shops along the way. For dinner we found a place where I had fresh sea bass that was not ill-tempered (Austin Powers joke). I also drank my first been in Greece.

We also found out that some restaurants give you some food "on the house". This place gave us a desert and a "small" glass of Ouzo, the traditional Greek drink. I ended up drinking most of it, as I'd had it before and liked the taste. However, dinner was not a cheap as you might think, since a 60 Euro meal costs almost 120 dollars these days.


After dinner, we continued to explore the back streets of Athens, and somehow ended up walking straight to the hotel by shear luck. Enough walking for one day. We were all tired and ready for bed, for there were three more days left in this city. Speeking of bed, the beds in hour hotel were very hard, which seems to be common in Greece. They were alow barly long enough for someone like me. However, if you're tired enough it makes no difference.