An Afternoon In Athens
This is day two of our recent trip and, before I go on, perhaps I should explain two things. One, I am posting about our holiday/honeymoon because many friends were generous enough to contribute to our honeymoon (rather than give wedding gifts) and so sent us on it, and we said we would let you know what it was like when we got back. Two, why Paddington? He was given to us when we went to Peru in 2007 and now comes on most holidays with us, for fun. He’s been to Lima, Machu Picchu, Quito, Galapagos, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Belgrade (and all stops in between), and now Athens and Split. He is currently in Athens again, acting as a tour guide to Jenine and the godboys on their holiday.
So, here we are in Athens on a Tuesday afternoon, with hours to kill until our next flight at seven on Wednesday morning. What do you do? Well, we landed just before midday, checked into the hotel and then checked into our flight for the next day. We wanted to see the Acropolis Museum and the easiest way to get there was by train. The entrance to the train station is just over the road from the airport arrivals where a long-ish walkway (with travellator) takes you to the booking hall. Helpful staff and machines see to tickets and route maps, and we had a three-minute wait for our train. The train (overground/underground (Wombling free)) was clean, on time, looked after and comfortable, and we were at Syntagma Square in about 40 minutes.
We decided to walk from there, wanting to have lunch in the Plaka beneath the Acropolis before seeing the museum. So, after a walk following the map, we soon found ourselves slightly off the beaten track and having a decently priced lunch at a street café in Plaka. Thus fortified, it was a short walk to the museum. This is just below the Acropolis and is definitely worth a visit if you have time. We were there for over two hours and could have spent longer. There is a lot to read, see and learn, a café for a coffee break and plenty of places to sit and view and ponder. You also have great views of the city through the glass walls.
Afterwards, we walked back to Syntagma Square for a beer in the last of the afternoon sun before heading back to the hotel on the train. The train cost us €10.00 each, each way, but you can save €2.00 if you buy a return. (There are no trains after 23.35 at night.)
The Acropolis museum is open every day apart from five days per year, stays open late on some nights and stays open until midnight on the August full moon and the European Night of Museums. Click the link, and you can get to the opening hours and tickets page from the museum’s website for all the details. Admission is €5.00 with reduced-price tickets also available in some circumstances.
Back at the airport, we suffered that dire meal I told you about yesterday and then cheered ourselves up with a €22.00 bottle of wine at the airport hotel. (That was the cheapest bottle on the list; it’s a hotel that caters for people with expense accounts, I fancy.) The next day, there was an early start involved but, as our room was ten feet from the baggage drop-off – or so it felt – that was no hassle. Awake, shower, re-pack your rucksack because last night you wanted to find something that was right at the bottom and now the room looks like an explosion in an Oxfam shop, check you’ve not left anything, check-out, cross the road, drop your bags and get on a plane. It’s the convenience you pay for at this hotel, and it is worth it in the end.
