Day 1: Athens

We're in Greece! After picking up our bags, we took the bus to the city center. There's supposed to be a stop for our hotel, but since there were no signs (well, in English anyway) or announcements, we missed it. We ended up about a mile or so from our hotel. Normally, I wouldn't complain about walking such a short distance, but with two 50 lb suitcases, it was a bit of a challenge (surprisingly, Kathy didn't bitch about it). We arrived at the Hilton Athens around noon.

After napping for about 2 hours (we were both still exhausted from the crazy week), we set out to explore the ancient city. We started by walking through Syntagma Square and then to the Plaka, the historic heart of Athens. We strolled through narrow streets lined with countless shops and restaurants.





Kathy wanted to buy a dress, but couldn't find one in her size. We bought hats, though! We were getting a bit hungry so we searched for a restaurant called Platanos Taverna (no, it's not a place that specializes in plantains!). When we finally found it, they were closed for siesta (it was about 4pm). So we used the opportunity to have our first gyro in Greece! Very tasty.



Afterwards, we made our way to the Acropolis, the home of the Parthenon and other structures built by the Greeks more than 2,500 years ago. The Acropolis (which translates as "high city") sits above the rest of Athens.







It was simply an amazing experience. We've all seen pics of the Parthenon, but it's another thing to see it in person. Obviously, we took many, many photos and took some time to take it all in.













We then walked through ancient Agora (kinda like the Times Square of ancient Greece), the spot where Socrates and Plato once lectured. Very cool. We also quickly strolled through the Museum of Agora Excavations, but unfortunately, it was about to close so we only had 10 minutes to see everything.











We walked through the Plaka a bit more and then headed back to our hotel to shower and get ready for dinner. I had a highly recommended restaurant called Vlassis picked out, but it was closed (apparently, this is the most popular vacation time for Greeks). The concierge at our hotel recommended a place nearby, but we didn't like the look of the menu so we headed back to the Plaka. We made another attempt to visit Platanos Taverna, but the kitchen was closed (after being told by another waiter to sit down anywhere). 0-for-2 at Platanos! There are so many restaurants in the Plaka that we just picked one that looked appealing and had dinner. We ate a baked eggplant, tomato, and 3 cheese dish (I can't recall the name) that was delicious and a mixed plate of grilled pork and chicken, meatballs, potato croquettes, cheese balls, sausage and french fries. And of course, we had our first beers in Greece!



More soon..