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Day 1 - Transit and arrival in Athens, Acropolis, other sites I like to travel light. As a result of some of my experiments over the last 3-4 years, most of my wardrobe is now Merino wool, right down to underwear and socks. It is comfortable in wide range of temperatures, breathes well, wicks away moisture, and can be worn for many days without excessive odor. So my entire luggage is one laptop and one over-the-shoulder pouch that holds passport, wallet, sunblock, cash, and a couple Zone bars.
This being a 12 day trip I pack 60 bars in the backpack, 5 a day being the minimum to live on without any external food input. Of course I plan on having several meals sampling a variety of Greek food, but those are for experience not sustenance. I normally pack half hour before walking out the door, even for international trips, but this time I was actually ready to go the night before. Gotta change it up sometimes. Flights are pleasantly uneventful. This is a miles trip, and these days even my gold status with United doesn't get me upgrades too often. But it does get me economy plus, which will have to do. At least I get legroom.
The flight from IAD to Athens is on a 787. I normally don't take pictures of random sleeping strangers, but the colors were too unique to resist.
As an experiment, I fed one of the above pictures to GPT to see if it can identify which aircraft I'm on.
Yes it can. Cool. It is fun to talk to and seems to enjoy it when I share my experiences with it. I certainly enjoy the interactions. Interesting world we live in. I land in Athens mid-day, easily walk through customs, and take the M3 metro line directly to the hotel. The hotel, Royalty Hotel Athens, is directly across the street from Monasteriaki metro stop. Very reasonably priced, has a rooftop deck with a view of the Acropolis (only a 15 minute walk away), is clean and comfortable. Very highly recommended. But the checkin is not till 3 PM so I have a couple hours to spend. I leave the backpack with the reception desk and head out to see what's there. The plan is to explore a bit, come back to check in, catch a nap, and visit Acropolis around 6:30 PM to stay until the 8 PM closing time and sunset. It is hot, roughly 100F.
The area around the hotel is full of shops, restaurants, and ancient ruins - 2,500 years kind of ancient. It's a fun thing to contemplate. And to see what they were able to build back then, well enough to last two dozen centuries.
There are lots of cats everywhere. They are quite small but somehow elegant. Most tend to keep their distance. They do get fed and watered by the locals, I've seen dishes set out at random places.
The Roman Forum is on a hillside below the Acropolis and is cool to check out, as is the museum on the same grounds.
Before returning to the hotel I sit down at one of the many restaurants for my first 'experience meals' - lamb chops and some house wine. Tasty.
Checked into the hotel, a shower, alarm set for 6 PM, then a much needed nap. Walking up the hill to Acropolis it is still quite hot but not unbearable. There is a bit of a breeze at least.
The Partheon is undergoing some maintenance so there's scaffolding, but it isn't too obtrusive. For a structure roughly 50 times as old as I am it is in amazingly good shape. There are quite a few people around but not what I'd call crowded, so I manage a number of unobstructed shots.
And some of te tourists are picture-worthy :)
As the sun begins to set I try to picture all the generations that walked these grounds before me, and of course the ones who built the structures in the first place. What motivated them to put in the incredible effort, the design work, the engineering. It wasn't for shelter or comfort.
At 8 PM the staff herd us towards the exit, very politely but firmly. I try to be the last (to at least mild annoyance on their part, they just want to go home). I do manage a few good shots.
In Croatia I really enoyed roaming around at 4 AM when nobody is around. I've been advised that trying to sneak into the Acropolis at night is a very bad idea. Watching armed soldiers march in as we are leaving validates the advice.
Some wildlife on the way out.
Back at the hotel I catch up on some emails, then walk down to a nearby wine store to stock up on prosecco and couple reds. All of it good and reasonably priced. I check out the rooftop bar. Mostly for the view.
I sit down at an empty table, even though it is marked 'reserved'. The waitress, in a very polite and friendly way, says that when the party shows up I'll need to leave but I can use the table until then. I order a shot of vodka. When the drink is delivered I'm told I need to move on, with apologies, and that the drink is on the house. Excellent service. I leave a tip and stand around a different part of the bar to see the light change as night falls.
That is a lot to pack into a day. A day that started on the other side of the planet.
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