Being in the birthplace of democracy

One of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning around 3,400 years, and the earliest human presence around the 11th–7th millennium BC, Athens was an interesting place for us to explore last week when we stopped there on day 10 of our cruise programme. The birthplace of democracy, Athens is a large cosmopolitan metropolis, and we cruised into Piraeus on Wednesday morning with plans for another big day of exploration. We got off the ship and walked around to the bus area where we purchased "Hop on, hop off" passes for the day. Our first stop - The Acropolis.

Sitting high on the rocky hill above the city, the Parthenon is the most famous monument up here. Constructed between 447 and 438 BC it was dedicated to Athena Parthenos, the patron goddess of the city of Athens and goddess of wisdom.







On the north side of the Erechtheum is the porch of the Caryatids, which was what we saw from the direction we came.







The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is a stone theatre structure located on the southwest slope.







The Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus is a major open-air theatre and one of the earliest preserved in Athens. The theatre was dedicated to Dionysus, the god of wine and the patron of drama.







Every piece lying around in this area is numbered so the conservation team can track and try to fit the pieces. Its like a huge work in progress jigsaw puzzle.



We walked the perimeter, admiring the view as we wandered through the hill of the Nymphs.













After being fully satisfied with being here we were back on the bus and on the hunt for souvlaki.







We got off in a nice central area, and walked around until we found a place we liked. The souvlaki, wow, they were so tasty.





We wandered around a bit more, and Kien chased pigeons in the square with the Parthenon on the hill is the distance.







We stopped for some further refreshments since we had about a couple of hours left before the all aboard deadline. We found a really comfortable restaurant where they had good wifi and hung out there for an hour. Whilst there a little gipsy girl came up to us and played a few bars on a small accordion. She puts her hand out and says, "give me money!". We were so shocked by her directness we did give her some change.



We stayed there for a while, and then realised it was only 1 hour until the cutoff time for all aboard. We quickly ran and waited for our bus, and after getting on we realised that there is no way we will be able to get back to the ship on time. I confirmed the timing with the bus driver, and when we were at the next stop I asked him to talk to a taxi driver for me about timings for a ride to port and cost. Taxi driver said he could get us there in 10 minutes for 20 euro, so we went for the deal. Weaving around traffic jams and belting down the highway at a somewhat hair-raising speeds, the driver did get us to port on time. Phew!

In the heart of the Cyclades

(Edit: this was supposed to have been posted a number of days ago When we were in Athens but the wifi on our open air bus cut out just as I was about to hit the publish button, and since then we've had no wifi.)

Sitting on a couch with our feet in the sand as we listen to the small waves lapping up on the beach just 20 meters from where we lounge. Yes, we were in the Greek Islands on Sunday - day 7 of our cruise, and this is a little beach on Mykonos.

We disembarked the ship early was we were not staying in port for as long as any of the other days. Ours was the only ship in port that early, and the shops were only just setting up. We got a chance to see the local fish market, where the fish were so fresh they were still flipping around whilst lined up waiting to be sold.











We wandered around the main touristy area of Mykonos, and then wandered further and further up to the highway. We stopped at the first stretch of beach we came across for a little bit. Again I could imagine how busy this beach would have been last month, but now there were hardly anyone here. The water was chilly, especially with the strong breeze blowing in from the sea.









Jef could see on the map that there was a township further around, so we decided to continue walking. We came across a donkey that was really happy to see us and came running down the hill to greet us.



We made it to the little township of Korfos. It was so quiet with just the locals getting their morning supplies from the corner store and bakery. A sign pointed us in the direction of the beach.

The beach is in a harbour, so it was calm and warm. We picked a spot at a restaurant on the beach and ordered cafe lattes and beers. The season is almost over and our waiter said that they were actually closing up shop the following day, so we came at just the right time. If you are looking for luxury then this is the place to come to. The owners of this establishment certainly knows how to make people want to hang out and lounge here. That's exactly what we did.










A few hours later and we had to say goodbye and head back to our ship.









It was another unexpectedly awesome day. I would definitely consider vacationing in the Greek islands somewhere for a longer stretch. It's everything I imagined it to be.