So, we’re starting our Greece travels here in Athens. We’re only here for a couple of days to organize our island hoping. That, and we couldn’t come to Greece and not come to Athens.

First thoughts: it was cheaper than I thought it was going to be. We managed to eat for around 15 euros a night on average. I was so excited for Greek food, you have no idea; Will on the other hand had never really had true Greek food, but quickly grew to love it just as much. You can eat so fresh in Greece, and OMG the tzatziki! So far Athens has actually been the cheapest in Greece for food (we’ve currently already hit 3 islands by the time you’re reading this.)

We were in Athens 3 full days, the first day we arrived we were absolutely knackered from our 25 hour journey the day before, so we just took it easy, had a nap/siesta and then wandered the area we were staying in. The rest of the time we spent planning which islands we are going to visit and just exploring the city.

Oh yeah, and it was HOT in athens, like high 30’s almost 40. The day we went to the acropolis, was the hottest.

We went to the acropolis on our third day in Athens. Naturally we woke up late (of course) so by the time we started walking up to it it was around 12pm and starting to hit the hottest part of the day. When we reach the ticket office the que was long but we waited anyway, about 30 minutes, which really wasn’t that bad. But when we got to the ticket desk the lady kindly informed us that the acropolis would be closing at 1 because of the heat wave (it was 12:30) and would reopen at 5. It was already 37 degrees! So after walking up there and all that sweating we returned to the hostel to wait until 5.

Of course we ‘siesta’ed’ – we could really get used to this Greek time. What’s Greek time? For us it means having the morning to do stuff until about 2pm when a lot of places shut close for the afternoon (a lot of Europe calls this a Siesta, which is Spanish for taking a short nap), having lunch, retiring to the room or the pool or the beach depending on where we are, until about 6, then heading back out to see or do some more stuff and then having a late dinner while watching the sunset. Why the rest of the world hasn’t adopted Greek time, I have no idea but I have a feeling parts of the world might be a bit happier if they got to nap in the afternoons every day.

Anyway around 5:30 we wandered back up to the acropolis. The damn thing was full of scaffolding! And according to my parents who were there in the 80’s and again a couple years ago, it had scaffolding in/around it every time/ has always had it. Luckily if you head to the opposites side of where you enter, there isn’t much and you can manage to get some good photos.

We tried hanging around when it started to close, to get some good photos with no body in them. But once the clock turned 8pm they really usher you out of there, we really had no chance.

We went over to Areopagus Hill (Mars Hill), about 2 minutes from the Acropolis; where we and plenty of others, sat and watched the sun go down over Athens.

Around 6 seems to be a good time to visit the acropolis, it’s not crowded and you won’t wait in line long to get in.
Athens is a great teaser of what the rest of Greece is going to be like; hot, busy, a lot of old ruins and history, great food and wonderful views. But now we can’t wait to get to the islands and spend some much needed time on the beach.

Once again, don’t forget to go watch our videos on YouTube for more on what we’ve gotten up to.

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