Athens

Ancient theatre below Acropolis
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We arrived in Athens in the late afternoon after making some tight connections in London and Frankfurt. As we were traveling standby and didn't know which day we would be arriving, we didn't book a hotel in advance in Athens. When we arrived, we grabbed a hotel listing from the tourism bureau at the airport and a phone card and started making calls. The man at the tourist bureau had a laugh at our expense when he told us we arrived in the middle of Eurovision 2006, the biggest song contest in the world, and he warned us everything would be full. You can imagine how relieved we were to find space at the first hotel we called, which was the one we had spotted on the net before leaving, Hotel Attalos, and got it at a better price than listed on their website.

The Parthenon
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The subway system connecting the airport to downtown Athens was a smooth 40 minute ride to Monastiraki station, and our hotel was one block north. We showered and relaxed and went out to get our bearings, and had an amazing dinner at a little hidden restaurant a few streets behind the hotel.

the tired tourists around you spring to life

The next morning after switching to Hotel Central due to the Attalos being full, we headed toward the Plaka area and found it to be very close by. From there we were right next to the entrance of the Acropolis park filled with ruins, temples and the path leading up to the Parthenon. We bought a ticket giving us access to all the historic sites around Athens, costing 12 euros and valid for 72 hours...very good value. We visited the ruins at the foot of the Acropolis including the ancient agora, temple of Hephaestus, and the Stoa of Attalos.

Elgin statues, Acropolis
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We then took the path leading up the Acropolis to the Parthenon. We were apprehensive at first as we were not yet used to the Athens climate, but the path is easier and shorter than it looks from the bottom. The emotion and thrill of fulfilling a lifelong dream as you step through the ancient gateway and see the Parthenon appear before you cannot be described. You feel all the tired tourists around you spring to life as they see the same thing, and feel a surge as the small crowd carries itself forward with renewed vigour and excitement. Many people might look at it as just another ruin, but it is truly a marvel.

Changing of the guard at the Parliament
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From the top of the Acropolis we also enjoyed the great view of the city sprawling around us in every direction. Following that we made our way down the south face of the hill and visited the theater of Dionysus. After a day like this what else can you do but break for an early dinner and have the best greek salad you've ever had...perfect ending to a perfect day.

Day 2 (sunday) started with a bit of luck. We decided to go see the changing of the guard at the parliament and arrived there for the 11 o'clock change. We didn't realize that once a week, on sundays at 11 o'clock, they have a massive changing of the guard with the whole regiment and a big parade, whereas the rest of the time it is just 6 soldiers performing the change. We got to see a magnificent display by the whole regiment and it was quite impressive. We then strolled through the national gardens, saw the presidential palace, the Athens stadium (original stadium from 1896 olympics) and the temple of Olympian Zeus. We continued towards Plaka and enjoyed the rest of the day just soaking in the neighborhood and its pedestrian streets.

Temple of Olympian Zeus seen from the Acropolis
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Athens as a city is not particularly pretty, but not ugly either. It's well laid out, seems relatively organized, there are little pleasant surprises everywhere and great food. But is is also very typically European in the sense that I wouldn't want to drive a car or try to find parking(!), and the buildings look solid but uncared for. Athens has incredible things to see, but 48 hours is enough to cover everything.  We were in Athens a total of 3 nights, two upon arrival in Greece and one before flying back home.  We learned before arriving that Athens does not have the best reputation as a city, and that most people go there simply beause they have to to get to the islands, but we were overall pleased with our visit there.  The Acropolis makes it well worth your while!  The only bad thing about Athens was its street vendors selling these maddening magnetic beads which when thrown in the air bounce off each other and make a loud and annoying noise!!!