Our arrival into Athens' International Airport was on time, and although the long flight time was beginning to weigh heavily on our bodies and minds, we navigated the immigration and luggage collection formalities easily before heading into the arrival hall. We had two orders of business before we left the airport, the first, to see if we could book air tickets from Mykonos to Santorini on the budget airline Sky Express since the timetables were not updated online. As we discovered, making the booking the old fashioned was was also not possible. The second was to visit the counter of Amphitron Travel Agency to pick up the ferry tickets that we had booked online using www.danae.gr
We walked out into what was to become the norm - a sunny day with blue skies and gorgeous weather. We hailed a cab to get to our hotel, the Central Hotel in the Plaka neighborhood of Athens. The ride took about an hour due to the traffic that we encountered in the latter half of the journey once we got off the highways and into the city. And of course, true to form, the cab driver did quote us a rubbish amount that was double the fare, having jiggled the meter somehow. All par for the course, but we did not feel like taking a bus from the airport and then switching to a cab from Syntagma Square, where the bus would have dropped us off.
After checking into our room, we grabbed our day pack and made our way out around 2.30 pm. The only thing that we had fixed to see this day was the New Acropolis Museum at around 6 pm. We now had to choose between two options - make our way to the Acropolis and the Fora, or walk around Plaka. We had just this day and the day we returned at the end of our trip to dedicate to Athens, so logic dictated that we get the big sights out of the way first. However, given our somewhat jet lagged state, we decided in favour of the latter.
Plaka is a good location to be based in, as its close to nearly all the main sights, and shops and eating options abound. We walked down our street - Apollonas and meandered around Pandrossou street near Monastiraki.
We made our way alongside the Ancient Forum, and decided to take a mid afternoon break at one of the many cafes lining the street. We stopped at one called Vega, and enjoyed one of the most delicious chocolate souffles I have ever had, which coupled with the wonderful sunshine and the interesting people milling around, made for a memorable experience. This set the tone for the rest of the holiday - taking it slow and easy.
We retraced our steps back from Monastiraki into Plaka, making our way towards the other end of the neighborhood, stopping to browse the touristy shops along the way. Most were jewellery shops, or souvenir shops, with a few leather and shoe shops thrown in as well. We got to the museum in time for our entry at 6 pm. At the entrance of the New Acropolis Museum, the first glimpse of the Parthenon ! The actual visit would have to wait till we returned to Athens at the end of the trip.
The new museum is currently charging admission of just E 1, which is likely to continue only till the end of this first year. It has been built with the hope, that now there is a suitable place for them, the Elgin marbles will be returned to Greece by the British Museum.
The museum itself is built on ancient foundations which have been preserved under glass walkways. Photography is not permitted inside. It houses an impressive collection of artefacts that all specifically pertain to the Acropolis, unlike the National Archaeological Museum which houses artefacts from all over Greece. Looking at the amazing pottery from 4000 years ago on the ground floor, moving on to the kore and kouros statues, among other finds, on the second floor, and then finally the Parthenon friezese and casts framing the view of the Acropolis on the top floor, it is truly a labour of love and hope. There is a museum shop, cafe, as well as informative videos and write ups.
After a couple of hours at the museum, jet lag was seriously setting in, so we decided to call it quits and head for dinner. We walked back towards the Plaka area, passing this famous ouzeria, Bretto's Liquor Shop, which stocks ouzo from all over Greece in beautifully lit up coloured glass bottles.
We ended up at the main square in Plaka which was bordered on all sides by tavernas and bars. The atmosphere in the square was lively and colourful, with touts trying to get people to sit down at tables of their restaurants. In a corner, one establishment had a group of women dancing to traditional Greek music. We opted for a pizzeria taverna which did both the usual pasta and pizza as well as some greek specialities.
After dinner, we trudged back to the hotel, about a 5 minute walk, and tumbled into bed. We had an early start for our flight to Rhodes the next morning.
