Greece Day 2

It is hot in Athens. The temperature is in the high 80’s low 90’s. For Pam and I that is hot. In Heidelberg it has been in the mid 70’s, maybe 80 for the past couple weeks and we have enjoyed that. We expected Athens to be hot and we expect that it will be warmer here than on the islands.

We had no plan today. We slept in and headed out later than yesterday. We walked around the old town, perusing the shops. The shopping area here is large and very tourist oriented, much more so than any other city I have been too. Lots of jewelry stores and junk stores (I mean attic type junk) as well as bad souvenir stores. If the Greeks made it, the souvenir stores sell bad imitations. The shopping area is a cross between the souks of Jerusalem and the shopping area we found in Hanoi.

We stopped for lunch at a place that had a nice looking combination fish tray…it was a lot of food and we did not even try to finish it. The Calamari was excellent and the Octopus was also excellent, the shrimp was ok and the fried anchovy was good (not something that Pam would ever eat, but I had a bunch of them).

While sitting at lunch we saw this guy going back and forth...it was the most god-awful noise!

We headed back to the hotel around 3ish and took a short nap during the heat of the day (I love that part, siestas are GOOD). Then at around 5 we headed out exploring in parts of the city we had not been before. We wound up walking around a very residential area and eventually the cars changed from old VWs to new BMWs. We found a nice place along the street and sat and had a nice drink and people watched. This seemed more of a local area than a tourist area, but it was probably a mix. It turns out we were about a 15 minute walk from the main tourist area. For dinner, we found a nice little restaurant, I had a Kepab and Pam had a Souvlaki which we both enjoyed.

Tomorrow is an early day, the Ferry leave at 7:25 and we need to be out of the hotel and in the taxi at 6:45. We need to be packed and ready to go.

Athens is a very nice city. Two days is good for a tourist visit, the third day and you are wondering what to do. Although, I could imagine living here, it seems like a very livable city (except for the heat in summer). The people are nice and the food is good and not so expensive.

I am looking forward to the ferry trip tomorrow and finding myself on the Island of Paros tomorrow afternoon. I am imagining a quieter place with a view of the Mediterranean.