Athens and back
Hello again, we’re back! I thought I’d just let you know, put up a few photos over the next couple of days and then get back to the regular routine from Monday. We arrived back on the Blue Star Patmos at 5.30 on Wednesday morning after a pleasant journey. I had to admit though, it wasn’t the best night’s sleep for me. I forgot to put my earplugs in. The cabins are comfortable enough, though small if you’re going ‘internal’, but they have everything you need. It’s the vibration of the boat as it turns corners and docks, and the announcements out in the corridors (you can have them in your room as well if you want) that disturbed me. I am a light sleeper, Neil had no trouble, so it’s an individual thing.
We got up to all kinds of shopping in Athens, a fair amount of walking around Monastiraki and Ermou Street and some exploration of Thissio where we were staying. I’d booked a hotel for three nights, but there was a problem with the first night. I suspect an overbooking as I booked through Booking.com and have heard stories where the hotel doesn’t get the correct info from that site. It happened to us in Romania once and there we were upgraded for the full three nights to the Presidential Suite. Last week, though, I was taxied to a sister hotel one kilometre away. What a difference that short distance made. Thissio is a lovely area with a wide, open pedestrian street lined with craft stalls, the view is directly across the ancient Agora to the Acropolis, and the main street is lined with cafes. Where I ended up for the first night was closer to Omonia, and although the hotel had a great view of the Acropolis from the roof, it was on a busy street with a few unsavoury characters milling about.
One of them tried to distract me while I was having a drink right outside the hotel front (on the street but against the glass wall). After ‘spilling’ something on the back of my new jacket he was hoping I’d be so confused that I’d take my mind off my phone or my bag so he could spirit them away while pretending to help me sort out the mess he’d just squirted on me. He didn’t get what he was after and almost got himself punched on the nose, but luckily the waitress from the hotel had seen and stopped me while sending him away. Anyway… the hotel itself was fine, but I did rename it from the Crystal City Hotel to the Chrystal Meth Hotel – don’t tell them, it wasn’t their fault.
The next morning, they taxied us back to the right place which was fantastic and only one of two hotels on the main street of Apastolou Pavlou. We stayed at the Hotel Phidias (recommended) which was lovely and, when we left, they gave us a bottle of wine to say thank you for staying.
I’m sure there will be more tales to tell over the next few posts unless I get distracted by something else, which is possible. Meanwhile, there will be a few more random shots from my most recent trip. These photos were taken on my phone, so the quality isn’t always wonderful.
