We managed to get on the right shuttle bus and then flight to Athens and arrived on 21/9 1.30pm. Greece is 1 hr ahead of Italy.WE caught a metro into the city which was quite expensive .Should have got the bus - cheaper but longer. We found our way to our room in a hostel in one of the main streets of the Plaka district. A main tourist area full of souvenir shops,eatings places,travel agencies with most of it a pedestrian area. Very busy with tourists of again and all the eating spots are trying to charm you in as you walk by. Our immediate priority here was to see a travel agent as we had no forward plans from 23/9 and the greek islands were our next destination. So we ventured into one which advertised island hopping and 2 hours later came out with an itinerary that seemed more expensive than we bargained on. However in the cold light of the next day when we thought about it, it may be more than we were thinking about paying but as Sept is still the high season (low not til Oct) and we will not be passing this way again we'll do it. So we are island hopping - 10 days and 9 nights. More later on that. So we only had 2 days here in Athens. After an early night we decided to join a free walking tour (again) to get an overview of the "tourist" Athens.So off to Hadrian's arch for the start.Next to the Arch is the temple of Zues,and so forward to visit sights such as Panathenaic Stadium (built for the first modern olympic games),Roman areas such as the agora,Tower of the Winds,modern areas such as Plaka and Monastiraki with their vibrancy,and ending up at the base of the Acropolis with its many structures on top. Once again this is a city with history never far away. We are told the greeks don't dig down to build because only a couple of metres down there could be ruins and then the whole project would stop. In fact we saw places where a public works program has stopped fro that reason. On the tour we also got to the "evzones".These are the special military police (who wear the pleated skirts) that guard the presidential palace and the tomb of the unknown soldier. They have special "routines "they do as part of their job.They also can't react to anything or have any expression on their face.Like their counterparts guarding Buckingham palaces it's a job for someone with discipline. They also wear shoes that make a noise - horseshoes on the bottom with studs in them.The tour took about 4 hours with a lot information imparted and also had time allotted for a coffee stop. Whilst the coffee was not the best it was only 1E. Bargain. At the end of the tour and with our bearings we strolled the streets a bit more before a rest and dinner. Acropolis itself was tomorrows agenda.On our second night here more greek food to try. After already delving into souvlaki it was time for stuffed tomatoes,moussaka and a greek salad.All yummy. However I'm not finding the greek sweet treats as exciting as italian ones for me. After dinner we strolled around to get a better view of the Acropolis lit up at night .It was picture postcard. The next morning we rushed to get b/fast and were buying our entrance ticket into the Acropolis site by 9am. No queues but still plenty of people on site.As with historical sites the vastness of it is almost overwhelming and there is lots to see not only the Parthenon,Temple of Athena Nike,and others but also the ruins such as the Theatre of Dionysus around the base. Also on top of the Acropolis the 360 view of a sprawling Athens and the surrounding hills is a sight to see.Lucky it was a clear sunny day and we could see all the sights pointed out to us the previous day below the Acropolis and in the surrounding areas.We didn't realise how close Athens was to the coast and so we could see the waters of the mediterranean upon which we would sail into 24hrs time. Unfortunately our last dinner in Athens was not as good a choice as the last two but here's hoping the islands will provide. I found that Athens seemed a more closed in city,than Rome, in some of the parts we explored with tall buildings and narrow streets.But having said that there is a big national garden in the city which the locals flock to on the weekends.Athens also has most of the spots tourists visit in a smaller area whereas in Rome it seems much more spread out.Even though we didn't further afield than the main city centre that is not the end of our Greek odessey.Tomorrow,early, we off to the port and a boat to our first Greek island - Paros,followed by Naxos,Mykonos and lastly Rhodes.
