We woke up around 8:20 and after getting ready for the day we met some friends to go in search of either a supermarket or some other breakfast option. We had no luck whatsoever locating the supermarket we were intending to find (we had visited it the last time we were in Athens but apparently forgot where it was), but instead found a great little place that served to-go Greek food (we had tiropita) and frappes. After breakfast, we decided to use our one free day in Athens to walk around and visit some of our old haunts, as well as see some new things that we didn't manage to visit last time around. We first took a bit of a wander through the Plaka neighborhood in the direction of Syntagma Square and the Greek Parliament, the scene of some pretty vicious protests of late, though not today. However, it was pretty intense just being there, as days earlier the pictures and video images would have made one stay away. The area directly in the vicinity of Parliament was fairly cleaned-up and showed little sign of unrest, but as you moved along the main road away from the Square (back in the direction of our hotel ironically) smashed windows became commonplace and we also came across a burnt out building (the location of the bank that was burned by protesters) and a burnt out car. So, though the city was relatively calm while we were there, signs of unrest were still present. We did feel safe, though, something that I think was helped by having previous experience in the city. We eventually made our way off the main road and back into the Plaka neighborhood, where we did some souvenir shopping and perused the shops.
We also visited the cathedral and the Little Mitropolis church next door during our wanders around, as well as encountering the ubiquitous cats and dogs that were everywhere on the streets. We also saw a number of strange tourist 'trains' that we did not remember from last time--it seemed more Disneyworld than Athens, but whatever. We made it back to the hotel around 1:00 for some lunch, which consisted of yogurt and honey (a delicious Greek specialty) we had picked up at a supermarket and some cookies. After lunch, we sat up on our hotel's roof terrace overlooking the city and worked on our presentations (we DID have to do work for this trip, despite the fun associated with it) which we were to give tomorrow. Eventually we got sick of working and decided to wander around the Acropolis in a direction we hadn't taken the last time we were in Athens. It turned into a long and very very warm walk, with lots of breaks to rest in the shade. It was fun to see a different side of the Acropolis, though we later discovered that this route was the one we were taking tomorrow...I guess there's no problem with a sneak preview. We got a little bit lost at one point, though it was easy to find our way as all we had to do was keep the Acropolis on our right. We eventually made it back and had a nice late afternoon siesta before meeting some friends for dinner. Dinner was at the Byzantino once again, as we have a great affection for that place, and consisted of Pastitsio for me and a mixed vegetable dish for Allison (I give so much detail about what we eat every night because for us food really is part of the experience in Greece!). Then it was back to the hotel for some late night Acropolis viewing from the roof terrace.
Parliament and a small church
Views from our hotel's roof...
Our afternoon walk
Early evening on the roof
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