Athens

Cafe in the Plaka

Temple of Olympian Zeus

At the Ancient Agora

Acropolis

Parthenon

So I flew into Athens to meet Hector after he wrapped up a week-long work trip to Dubai. I had upgrades all the way but I’ve come to the conclusion that all that pampering (relatively speaking) isn’t really that satisfying when you fly alone. One leg was Chicago to Brussels-- which we also took in September on the way to Berlin--and it’s a great airport. Minimal immigration, no Customs. American Airlines has joined up with Brussels Air so it’s a much better alternative than Heathrow when passing through Europe.

Our Marriott was nice but a bit faded, but had a well-equipped Executive Lounge. It was about a mile walk to the tourist area and the Acropolis but entertaining; it was our daily obstacle course through life-threatening intersections, sizzling electrical wires sticking up through the sidewalk, abandoned cars parked bumper to bumper along the street and the endless stray dogs, any of which might choose to adopt you, following you for several blocks, only to abandon you later.

There were very few tourists in town this time of year, so we had the run of the place, basically. We walked miles each day, explored all the historical sights, visited the wonderful Archeological Museum, made a number of hikes up to the Parthenon (undergoing huge restoration), and endlessly wandered the narrow streets of the Plaka and Monastiriki neighborhoods. It would have been ideal to have a hotel in that old charming section, but we enjoyed all the walking and of course the history is just unbelievable.

I’ve heard lots of people say that Athens is really not that great a destination, other than the Temples and such, but we had a very enjoyable and relaxing week, traveling the way we do (leisurely, to say the least). The trip home was okay, except that Hector was developing pneumonia and got really sick with a high temperature on the plane. He’s recovering just fine now.

The Athens riots began the day after we left so we really can’t be held accountable.