Athens

The last city on the big trip! Whew, how it is already the last city?!

Stepping off the plane the air was warmer and a bit salty. I was already happy to be there! Athens was otherworldy from the very beginning. First off you could smoke virtually anywhere. There were smoking pods in the middle of the airport so that was new. A lot of the older restaurant everyone was smoking inside. It was just a free for all. That’s beside the point but I thought worth mentioning.

Day 1 in Athens was supposed to be very rainy and awful weather so the big walking tour was pushed to day two. (I left England to get away from the rain for a bit- It rained at least once EVERY SINGLE day of the trip.) So the first stop in Athens was, of course, the Acropolis. It was more unbelievable in person then I could have ever imagined. The view of Athens forms the top was so beautiful. It was just breathtaking. This was somehow the first stop on all of the places that I thought “Hey maybe I should have been getting photos of myself in front of things…..” “Well, no time like the present!”…… whoops….. a majority of the morning was spent walking up the hill to get to the Acropolis then just taking in the view. As you could probably guess it was then lunch time. It was an AMAZING lunch. Athens took the award for best food city. I am wanting to go back right now just to eat for three days. So good. Following lunch, a trip to the Acropolis Museum was in order. It was great to see it. But odd to me that I saw the real marbles in London. But none the less it was an amazing sight that and I am very glad I have been able to experience seeing it. After that there was some rain in the forecast so another museum was the move, the National Archeological Museum to be exact. It was a neat museum but I do have to say was on the to-do list mostly because of the rain. After an hour or so it didn’t appear that the rain was going to stop anytime soon so braving the rain, it was a literal run to somewhere to eat dinner. It was a little local mom and pop shop and it was a good choice! It was authentic and the food was so good and very cheap. It doesn’t get much better than that. I can’t say it enough- the food in Athens was unbelievable. What a wonderful way to end a great day.

The next day was filled just a full with activities and sightseeing. It started out with of course a walking tour of the city and it was a long one. It was supposed to last 2.5 hours and lasted almost 4. Seeing so many sights and learning a ton about the history and the city. Seeing- The Temple of Olympian Zeus, Aegli Zappiou which was significant for the first-ever Olympic Games, Panathenaic Stadium, the changing of the guards in front of the Presidents house, The President, the National Gardens, Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, Metropolitan, Roman Agora, and a beautiful view of the city to finish the tour. Following the tour drink on a rooftop bar overlooking the Acropolis was the thing to do. It was a pretty amazing place to have a  drink. It was a great day filled with a ton of sightseeing, learning and exploring.

The following day was a travel day with a very early flight. It was the end of this wonderful trip. I saw so many things and experienced so much in 17 days. 6 countries, 8 major cities, and a lifetime of memories. I will never be able to put in words how great those 17 days were!

On to the next!

Cheers!