Greece with the Gals
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| Hello from Ancient Greece! |
Back in 2019, I had some dreams, y'all. My travel squad and I had planned a fantastic trip to Greece that was to take place in May 2020. We'd booked the perfect AirBnbs and all of our flights, and I was putting the screws to our itinerary when March 2020 happened. The pandemic roared across the world, everything shut down, and we tearfully cancelled all of our arrangements. (That summer, my friend Susan and I did take a short jaunt to north Georgia to hike and console ourselves. It was lovely, but it wasn't Greece!)
Some members of our group have high risk factors, and the international travel scene was in serious flux for an extended period of time. However, we vowed to try again when the time was right. And this May, three years later, it finally happened!
Days 1 and 2
Our Athens apartment
was nearly adjacent to
the National Garden
The four of us - Shawn, Caron, Susan, and I - left the Jackson, Mississippi, airport around noonish in high spirits. We got to Dallas, where we successfully made our connecting flight from London. After a 9-hour flight, it was re-checking bags, going through security again, etc., in a dash to make our final flight from London to Athens.
At some point during this process, Caron accessed the airport Wifi and turned on her phone. She learned some horrible news. While we were in the air somewhere between Dallas and London, her mother had died. Awful, awful, awful. Of course, she immediately wanted to return home. We had a connection in two hours, so we didn't have much time to make decisions.
The lovely gate agents were so sweet and helpful. They let us know that American Airlines, who we booked our initial tickets with, could just re-route Caron back home. They even had a manager escort her to the proper desk so the arrangements could be made. However, it meant another exhausting international flight, and just after she'd gotten off the last plane. And it also meant that we all had limited time together in the airport to console Caron and let her know how much we loved her and how sorry we were.
So, in the end, poor Caron both had to deal with the loss of her mother and miss Greece once more. Sometimes, life is terribly unfair. Shawn, Susan and I joylessly trudged to our connecting flight to Athens and spent the next two hours fretting in the air.
When we landed, we were about to drop from exhaustion, but we claimed our baggage, caught a cab, and made it to our first Athens AirBnb. This rental was ideal. It's located just on the edge of the Plaka, practically across the street from the National Gardens. It's very roomy, completely renovated, and has some lovely balcony space. The host met us at check-in to walk us through the unit, which she'd thoughtfully stocked with fruit, bread, jam, coffee, tea and other breakfast items. This place was simply a joy to stay in, and I'd highly recommend it if you are looking for multiple bedrooms in the city.
We had been set to arrive in Athens at 2:30 p.m. on Day 2 of our trip. I'd initially planned for us to visit the Acropolis Museum on our first afternoon in town before dinner and bed. However, our final flight had been delayed an hour or two, and our experience earlier in the day had cast a bit of a pall over our group. Instead, we decided to have dinner close to the rental and hit the hay.
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| You can see Athens spread out beneath you from Lycabettus Hill. |
We found a lovely meal and comforting staff at The Grande Dame, just down the street from our apartment. Flower-festooned tables (lilies everywhere!), antique Greek china, and delicious (and affordable) food. We ordered liberally: sea bass with risotto, shrimp with saganaki, tzatziki, greek salads, French fries, bread with olives, Greek wine, just all kinds of goodness.
Plates kept coming to the table and we ate until we were veryvery full. (In general, we found the food in Athens to be both very good and very affordable, including cocktails and wine. Ditto with our AirBnb rentals. A thrifty traveler can live very well here.) Then, it was a few steps back to the rental, where we showered and fell into a deep, deep sleep.
Day 3
We spotted Hadrian's Arch on our
first full day in Athens.
We awoke on our first morning refreshed. The day was cloudy and slightly cool, and it was May 1 - Labour Day in Greece. This meant that many attractions were closed for the day. We'd learned of this ahead of time, however, and planned accordingly.
After a pleasant breakfast at the rental (We loved opening the big balcony doors in the morning to let the fresh air in and listen to the city slowly wake up.), we donned our walking attire and headed for Lycebettus Hill. It was a beautiful 20-minute walk from our rental to the foot of the hill, and we passed views of the acropolis, tons of orange and fig trees (growing right by the side of the road), lots of sweet kitties (We found street cats all over Greece.), and intriguing shop windows.
Then, we arrived at the Teleferik. According to its website, the Teleferik (which takes visitors up to the top of Lycabettus) runs 365 days a year, and we were not disappointed! We bought tickets for three (something like 7 Euros per person) and headed up! Worth noting - there are no views from the Teleferik, as it goes up *through* the mountain. We'd decided to ride it up and then walk down the hill for the views in order to get the best of both worlds.
It was a quick ride up, and then we were treated to a panoramic view of Athens spread out beneath us. Even in the cloud cover, it was beautiful. From above, you could make out the National Garden (and thus, our rental) and its location in relation to the Acropolis (which is high on a hill and viewable all over the city). I find that getting a bird's-eye view of any location early in the trip is quite helpful for navigating and orienting yourself later on, especially when you're often traveling on foot.
According to mythology, the hill appeared when Athena threw/dropped a rock she was carrying. She was initially using the rock to help build her temple at the Acropolis, but a raven brought her some bad news, and she tossed the rock in anger or frustration. (Testy ones, those ancient gods.)
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| Dinner with a view! The Athens Gate Hotel offers stunning views of the Acropolis from their rooftop restaurant. |
At the top of the hill, you can find the church of Agios Georgios, which dates back to 1870. There's also a little cafe with wonderful views from the highest point in Athens. We found tons of wildflowers on our way up, as well as tons of cats! We found cats everywhere in Greece. They are street cats, but the community is obviously taking care of them. (You'd often find food and water dishes, as well as sleeping boxes, stowed discreetly behind bushes or structures. And people were obviously replenishing the water and food.) The cats ranged from well-kept to a bit mangy, but nearly all of them weren't too shy for the occasional stroke.
We enjoyed the views and made our way down the hill on foot. We'd over-ordered at dinner the night before, so we headed back to our rental for a bit to eat leftovers for lunch and cool our heels. Then, it was a short hop to the National Garden, which was also open and quite lively. The garden covers some 60 acres and was completed in 1840 for Queen Amalia, wife of King Otto. We loved exploring its tree-lined paths, examining some of the blooms more closely (We used the Seek app often to identify varieties, many of which also grow in our own area.), and stumbling upon statuary and water attractions. As it was spring, tons of flowers were in bloom, including wisteria, poppies, and jasmine.
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| The Evzones wear traditional uniforms and must follow strict behavioral protocols. |
We ended our exploring in this area by walking a couple of additional blocks to admire Hadrian's Arch. The marble arch lies on an ancient street that led from the old city of Athens to the new section (which was built by Hadrian). Built in A.D. 132 of marble, the arch features two inscriptions, one on each side. The first, on the side towards the Acropolis, reads "This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus." The second, on the side facing the new city, reads "This is the city of Hadrian and not of Theseus."
After looking and learning here, it was back to the rental to freshen up for dinner. I'd made us a reservations at Athens Gate Restaurant. Their rooftop location offers fantastic views of the Acropolis, and I wanted to treat our group to a view of the sunset over the monument and then a vantage point for watching the ruins as they were lit up for the evening.
We were not disappointed! We were seated immediately, and then we enjoyed a leisurely dinner and gorgeous views. We started with breads, dips and drinks, and then I moved on to a dish of lamb. I capped it off with the restaurant's non-traditional take on baklava and a decaf coffee. Our table happened to be facing the ruins, so we could observe the sunset and the transition to evening. It was glorious! So pretty and hard to tear your eyes away from.
Sated, we walked back to the rental and went to bed!
Day 4
This was a big, big day! We had skip-the-line tickets for the Acropolis! We awoke fairly early and had breakfast at the rental. Everything we'd read about visiting the Acropolis advised visitors to get there right when the attraction opened at 8 a.m., so we showered, ate, and got moving early. We walked through a lovely section of the Plaka and arrived at the Acropolis entrance at about 8:05 a.m. We had a skip-the-line ticket that I'd bought in advance from Get Your Guide online. This ticket gets you into the Acropolis as well as several nearby Agora sites, and I'd highly recommend it.
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| The Acropolis is overwhelming. |
We went through the quick line to get in and headed for the top of the hill. (Even in early May, and at 8 a.m., visitors should be prepared for a trek. The hill is steep, and the sun is hot. Dress for movement, wear sunscreen and a hat, put your hair up, etc. It's a bit of a hoof.) When we got there, the blue sky cupped over the most striking and complete Ancient Greek monumental complex that still exists.
The site is large, and it can be overwhelming. Before our trip, we'd downloaded some free audio guides of the site from the Rick Steves Travel Europe app. These short guides, which allow you to explore at your own pace, were very helpful for navigating the site and understanding what you were looking at.
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| Dramatic views from Acropolis Hill |
The scale and age of this site is mind-boggling. There has been human activity on this hill since the Neolithic Period (4000 B.C.), and it has by turns been the home of fortresses, temples, churches, and governments. Sweeping views fan out on all sides of the site, and, even during our visit, preservation crews were hard at work to maintain this UNESCO Heritage Site for future generations.
After getting our fill of the Acropolis, we started to head back down the hill. Along the way, we saw Areopagus Hill, an outcropping of dark rock. Like most places in Athens, Areopagus Hill has been many things and served many purposes. Homicide trials are thought to have been held here as early as the 7th century B.C., and the outcropping later became a residential area.
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| Sometimes, a girl needs a glass of lemonade. |
Next up, we stopped by Hadrian's Library, and then we ended at the Ancient Agora, where we climbed up to the Temple of Hephaestus and petted all of the stray cats. We also loved the reproduction of the Stoa Attalos, where we accessed the second floor to view exhibits, catch breezes, and see the site from a different vantage point.
By this time, our feet were aching for a break. We walked about a block off the main drag and found a perfect little cafe for lunch. (Throughout our trip, Susan was an absolute sucker for a restaurant with a young, handsome busker out front. Luckily, we found that it doesn't matter too much where you eat in Greece. The food we had was uniformly good.) We feasted on fried calamari, Greek salad, and bread.
We'd already stayed too long and eaten too much when we decided to ask for the check. I ran to the ladies room while we waited for it to arrive. When I returned to the table, not only did I find no check, but I found complimentary wine and honey cake! Over and over during our trip to Greece, this happened. We'd order, have a lovely meal, linger just a bit, and then tell our waiter that we were ready to leave. Then, our waiter would look very sad. He would tell us that we should consider getting another drink or a dessert or some coffee. Then, if we refused, these items would often arrive at our table for free. Perhaps a glass of wine or a shot of ouzo or a dessert. This happened several times during our vacation. The hospitality of this country is completely charming.
After lunch, we wandered the shops and antique stalls of the Monastiraki area, stopping in the square to rest our legs and people watch a bit. Then, it was time for our next activity - steam baths and massages at the Hammam Bathing House. We'd all booked the Ali Mama package, which included a 30-minute stint in the hammam and a 30-minute massage.
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| The Tower of the Winds |
After 30 minutes in the hammam, it was time for our service. We started with exfoliation, then a massage with foam from olive oil soap. They even washed your hair. At the end of the treatment, they doused you with progressively cooler water. When your service was finished, you were bundled up in clean towels and led to a lounge, where they presented you with Turkish delight and hot tea. After relaxing a bit, you could use their facilities to dry your hair, moisturize, and otherwise get ready to go back out into the world.
This was a very unique experience and unlike any other spa treatment I'd ever received. (And, at 55 Euros, a complete deal.) I would highly recommend it!
We caught a cab back to our rental, ate a few snacks, and hit the hay!
More to come . . .
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| The Temple of Hephaestus at the Agora |
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