| Family Travels Athens |
| Athens is doable in a day...in a crunch We have visited Athens twice....Once for day in 1985 during our honeymoon and again in 2008, during our Mediterranean cruise as a port of call. We enjoy Athens. We visited the Acropolis, had some bakalava, walked down into the Plaka, had an excellent lunch of Mousaka, kebabs, feta, tatziki (YUM), shopped our little hearts out, had gyro from a street vendor, visited the Ancient Agora, took the metro to Syntagma, ate some spanikopita, shopped a little, stopped for a glass of Greek beer and olive break. That is how to enjoy Athens. |
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| Athens |
| Date Last Visited -- 2008 |
| Below Left: Mom in 1985 Below Right: Amanda in 2008 The crowds are a little bigger |
| Go early in the morning or very late in the afternoon. As we were leaving, the crowds of tour buses and shore excursions were pouring in. |
| We took the metro green line to Monastiraki Switched to the Blue line to Syntagma Switched to the red line to Akropoli.... then follow the crowds... but we made a quick stop for Bakalava |
| The girls enjoy shopping in the Plaka |
| O'Thanasis We went looking for this Rick Steve's recommended eatery and found a true treasure. Everything was excellent. It was the kid's first taste of "real Greek food" We ordered everything A Feta Plate, a Tatziki Plate, A chicken kebab, a souvlaki, Mousaka, and house wine. The waiters had a great time with us but they probably thought the crazy Americas were a little obsessed by the food...they enjoyed a good laugh as we took pictures and ate, and ate and ate. Mitropoleos 69 (in the plaka...near the Monastriaki metro) tel. 210 3244705 |
| The Ancient Agora and the Temple of Hephaestus |
| TRANSPORTATION NOTE: We did not do Athens as a shore excursion booked from the ship. We felt comfortable enough to do it on our own. The Metro (recently updated for the 2004 Olympics) makes Athens major sights easy to reach. Unfortunately, the Metro stop at Pireaus port is a misnomer....it is a very far and challenging walk along the waterfront...with little signage. Most travelers might not feel comfortable.... Mom was a little uneasy..."Are we there yet? Are we lost?" It took us about 45 minutes just to get to the metro. I would recommend taking the bus to the metro (#843) or probably taking a taxi into Athens or hiring a private driver for the day. |
| TRANSPORTATION NOTE: We were so tired coming back to the ship....from the Metro stop....we grabbed bus #843 from the Piraeus metro to Piraeus Port |
| OK...don't laugh. But I assigned "vacation homework". I gave each kid a copy of the Greek alphabet to learn. If they even tried to learn some, they got spending money for the day.. Believe me....knowing the Greek alphabet really helps in walking the streets and reading the signs everywhere. --Mom of Erica, age 19 Brent, age 17 and Amanda, age 14 |
| From the Syntagma metro stop, You step out in front of the Parliament Building overlooking Syntagma Square. From here, you can stroll down Ermou, a pedestrian zone shopping street. Two blocks down at Voulis, turn right. Ariston (open since 1910) is one of the best places for spanakopita (spinach pie), tiropita (cheese pie), meletzanitopita (eggplant pie). We tried them all. Voulis 10 |
| End of the day, after miles of walking...we were a little punchy. So we stopped at a little cafe to the right of the square and enjoyed a beer and some olives |
