We had a very leisurely start the next morning, waking up late, walking around the property, having breakfast and packing up to leave. We checked out, checked emails and then headed down to the restaurant for a quick lunch.
After a great meal, it was time to say goodbye to Perivolas and t0 Oia. We were dropped off at the airport in Fira for our flight to Athens, which was a little late, but all things considered, that was nothing to fret about. We landed in Athens and walked out confidently to the taxi rank to hail a cab back to the Central Hotel. By the time we checked in, retrieved our left luggage and freshened up, it was early evening, which meant all the monuments would have to wait till tomorrow. We decided simply to walk to Ermou street and follow it to the Monastiraki area, picking up any last minute souvenirs before heading for dinner.
We looked up to see the Parthenon all lit up, along with other monuments as well, such as Hadrian's library. We debated taking the little tourist train, but decided against it, saving our curiosity for the next day.
A completely unscheduled stop was the jewellery store Byzantine, which came highly recommended, and after much perusal, I bought a beautiful Athena and Alexander medallion, which I know I will cherish forever.
Dinner was the same trattoria that we ate at the first night we were in Athens. Midway during the meal, we stopped to think about how far away Oia already felt, although it had been mere hours since we had left. Truly the sign of a magical place - when you're there, everything seems larger than life and more vivid, but once you leave, its difficult to believe you were ever there.
We walked back to the hotel for an early night as the next day was going to be very intense, what with all the monuments as well as departing on time for the flight home.
