Athens, Greece

From Santorini, we took a short flight back to the Greek capital of Athens. Athens is rich in history and culture, and I was excited to explore the city. I couldn’t wait to visit the Akropolis, as I have read story books in my younger days about the Greek gods and goddesses, the temples, the heroes and the heroines.

 We got in pretty late, and wandered around looking for our hostel. We stayed at a place called Neos Olympos. It was a comfy place and we enjoyed our stay, except for the receptionist that is on night shift. He was just plain rude.

Here’s some photos from our two days in Athens.

Monastiraki 

A good place to shop. No trip to Greece is complete without buying a pair of gladiator sandals, no?

We spent a good few hours at the Akropolis. My favourite temple has to be the Parthenon, a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena.

 The view of the city from the top of the hill is spectacular too. Here’s a good photo of DJ and I. The wind was so strong, it took many shots to take a decent photo of me, without hair flying everywhere.

As the sun began to set, we made our way to Filopappos Hill to watch the sunset. Although not as great as Santorini sunsets, it was beautiful nonetheless. A really warm, red and orange sunset behind the hills.

When in Greece, try Baklava and Kataifi. Diabetes-inducing, artery-clogging goodness.

The best gyros we had in Athens, from Smile Cafe Restaurant.

Address: Syngrou Avenue 24, Athens, 117 42, Greece

Panathenaic Stadium (Panathinaiko) – Venue of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

Changing of guards at the Parliament Building, Syntagma Square

This has to be the most entertaining changing of guards I have ever seen. Over 6 feet tall men, dressed in pleated kilts, stockings and oversized, cutesy flats. Be sure to catch it. The ceremony takes place on the hour (apparently 24 hours) every day, and the grandest one every Sunday at 11am.

Saying goodbye to my beautiful sandals. Fortunately, I did buy a pair of sandals at Monastiraki. Unfortunately, it is no longer sandal-weather in Graz!

Next stop, Barcelona!