Day 1:
|
|
Exploring Athens.
My trip started off with a relaxing Day 1. After a quick breakfast in my first hotel. I checked out and walked a few blocks to our tour hotel, Hotel Hera. I had emailed ahead to ask if they could store my luggage before check-in hours started, but the fantastic staff had already cleaned my room by the time I arrived. As one of only a handful of singles on this trip, I got my own single room, which was a nice surprise!
|
I loved the artwork in many of our rooms on this trip so much that I got some of my own to take home!
|
|
After checking in, I spent most of my day exploring Athens. Our tour meet-up was not scheduled until 6pm, so I had plenty of time to roam the city and get a little lost! Following Rick's Athens City Walk a bit haphazardly (why walk halfway across Athens just to start at the beginning?), most of Athens' ancient sites were viewable in an afternoon. But you certainly want to plan more time for an in-depth look at the different sites!
From Hotel Hera on Failrou Street, I started at the mid-way point of the walk with a quick detour walk to the Temple of Olympian Zeus. The remains of Zeus' temple are absolutely massive and it was hard to imagine the rest of the temple to-scale from just the few remaining columns. I think I would feel like a gnat in the completed temple! Catching a glimpse of the Athens tram system, I took a peek at Lysicrates Monument before diving into the Plaka neighborhood with a walk down Adrianou Street. I fondly remember (mostly window) shopping in the Plaka on my first trip to Greece as a teenager (especially my favorite ice cream shop for those sweltering afternoons), but I found that age, time, or commercialization made the shopping a bit less tempting here this time around. However, the Plaka is full of neat little alcoves and intriguing sites which still made it a fun - if crowded! - experience. |
|
Insider Info: Many of the smaller ancient sites in Athens are visible through gates, so if you don't want to explore up close, you can skip the entry fee!
Aside from lunch and a bottle of water, Day 1 was a no-spend day for me! Any of the sites for this day that you see I took pictures of from outside the gates. The one important site I missed in Athens was the Ancient Agora, which my fellow tour members said was worth the entry fee to explore.
At the end of Adrianou Street stands several interesting sites. The Athens Cathedral with its modern look sure sticks out among the old-world Plaka and ancient ruins, but next door stands the "old cathedral," the Church of Agios Eleftherios. This little church has a lot of character, including a hodgepodge recycled facade that includes scavenged stones from old monuments! (I always get a kick out of seeing that event ancient peoples recycled.) From this holy square, I made my way through the more modern Monastiraki neighborhood to another old church, Panagia Kapnikarea, plopped right in the middle of a busy intersection!
|
Walking east, I stopped for a necessary water break in Syntagma Square (Athens is boiling even in May! Almost every hotel we stayed in provided a free bottle or two of water, which was sincerely appreciated when you were out in the sun for more than a few minutes). I missed the changing of the guards by a matter of a few minutes, but I did catch a soldier wiping sweat off a guard's face at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider. Even Athenians found the weather a bit hot!
|
Even guards sweat!
|
|
Doubling back on Ermou Street, it was time for lunch. Following Rick's suggestion for quick bite, I headed to "Souvlaki Row" off Monastiraki Square.
Since I was in the area and still had plenty of time, I took a detour off the Athens City Walk to explore Rick's Psyrri & Central Market Walk. Psyrri was a much funkier part of Athens. I was still full from lunch, so I didn't make any snack stops, but the artwork and creativity in this area were fun to see. I really enjoyed seeing some of the more interesting shops and their creative ways to display goods. |
Yum! All this for under $5. Free sunny seating anywhere on the square.
|
|
|
|
Drawn back to the more ancient roots of Athens, I explored the edges of the Roman Forum (the Romans loved Greece and built on top of and around ancient Greek sites, in addition to borrowing & exporting a lot of elements of Greek society to Italy). In the shadow of the Acropolis I explored the tiny, hilly Anafiotika neighborhood before heading back to the hotel to freshen up and take my COVID test before our first tour meeting.
Meeting Our Guides!
At 6pm in the hotel's conference room, everyone on the tour met up for some drinks, snacks, and a quick review of tour rules. (This is also where we had to show our very important negative COVID test and vaccinations.) Our fearless and fun-loving guide, Dafni, led us through introductions - sharing with us that this was her first tour as the lead guide! Earlier that year Dafni had worked in training on this tour with another guide, but we were her first group. We also had the pleasure of a second guide, Etelka, who usually works on several the eastern Europe tours. With the cancellation of the Russia tours, Etelka had several free weeks and offered to help guides on different tours instead. We were very lucky to have her (me especially for day 6 activities, but more on that later!). Dafni and Etelka were great fun and loved to laugh and make us laugh throughout the trip!
After our meet up, we headed out for our first group dinner at Mikri Venetia. I was really hungry after all that exploring and walking, so I forgot to take pictures of our delicious meal. This was one of my favorites on the trip! But I soon learned that you will eat very well everywhere in Greece, so it was hard to choose just one favorite.
After our meet up, we headed out for our first group dinner at Mikri Venetia. I was really hungry after all that exploring and walking, so I forgot to take pictures of our delicious meal. This was one of my favorites on the trip! But I soon learned that you will eat very well everywhere in Greece, so it was hard to choose just one favorite.
Dafni & Christos (we'll meet him later)
|
|
