Today we flew from Rome to Athens, which took most of the day. On arriving in Athens, we navigated track work and buses, and got to the Athenstyle Hostel late in the afternoon. Our room had a private balcony, with a view of the Acropolis, which was amazing. I think Athenstyle is my favourite place we’ve stayed so far. We headed to the rooftop bar for some drinks (3 Euro for a 500ml beer, woohoo!) and more views of Athens from above. After dinner went out to a local restaurant out of the tourist district, recommended by the hostel staff. It was our first taste of Greek food, and probably the best meal I have had so far. The food is ridiculously good here. After dinner we had a wander around the streets of Monastiraki, through the ‘Flea Market’ streets. There are all sorts of things on sale, from army surplus gear to homewares.

August 12 – Day 31

As we only had a short time in Athens, we had a pretty busy day to see the His son (The Artist Sandalmaker) was in the shop at the time.big sights. We started by walking through the Ancient Agora, which contains the Temple of Hephaistos – still in good condition after 2500 years. We kept walking up Acropolis Hill to the viewing area for the Acropolis, which was good for photos of both the Acropolis, and views over Athens. Next we made our way up to the Acropolis and the Pathenon, which is covered in scafolding (for restoration), but still very impressive. We were a little bit disappointed about the lack of information, all of the signs are about the phases of the restoration projects, and how long it is taking. After exploring, we headed down the other side of Acropolis Hill to the new Acropolis Museum (Opened in July 09). It is a modern new building, and contains many old statues. Also, it only costs 1 Euro to get in :) I wanted to pick up the ferry tickets so we didn’t need to worry about them in the morning, so we made our way to the ticket office, but were told that they had been sent to the port, and had to be picked up there. We were told to expect a wait of up to an hour, which meant being at the port by 6:20. After more excellent Greek food (and more cheap beer) we headed to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, which is in a pretty advanced state of decay, but is still impressive – it is huge. After a look at Hadrian’s Arch, we continued walking to the Roman Agora and Hadrian’s Library, both of which are looking a bit unloved. The fact that you can see anything after so many years shows how well built they must have been though. We headed back towards our hostel through the streets of shops, and I got some sandals from Melissinos – The Poet Sandalmaker. He made sandals for John Lennon, Jackie O, and a few other stars. He has also been featured in the press around the world, for both the sandals and his poetry. They are really comfy, but they charge by the amount of leather used, so my pair cost a bit more than Simone’s (30 Euro). We had more delicious Greek food for dinner, then headed back for drinks on the roof at the hostel and to pack for the Ferry to Santorini. I felt like we rushed through Athens, and would have liked to stay longer – I can see how people stay there so long, it is a great city. We are here for one more night after Santorini.

August 13 – Day 32

This morning we woke up at 5:15, which was horrible. We got the train to Pireaus, the port, which took about 15 minutes. We didn’t know how long we would wait for it, so had allowed 45 minutes to get to the port. The ticket office, where we needed to pick up our tickets, was about ten minutes from the train, and had no queue at all. We were on the ferry about an hour and a half before it left. Better safe than sorry I guess.. Because it is a long trip, we paid a bit more and got reserved seats. It is worth it, unless you are on the very tightest of budgets – the ferry is packed. After arriving in Santorini, we were greeted at the port by Stelio. We were soon at Stelio’s Place, our accommodation. After checking in we went for a walk along the beach (Perissa), before dinner of more excellent Greek food.

August 14 – Day 33

Today we hired a quad bike to explore some of the island. First, we went to a lighthouse which had a good view over the caldera. After that, we kept riding and visited Fira, the main town, which was very busy, and made us glad we were staying at Perissa. We spent the afternoon lying on the beach, with full bar service – many Mythos beers were enjoyed (and a strawberry daiquiri for Simone, with a fruit salad on the rim of the glass). It was nice to spend an afternoon doing nothing. For dinner we had takeaway gyros, for 2 Euro each. I think I could eat gyros every day quite easily :)

August 15 – Day 34

Today we went on a boat tour to see some more of Santorini. We were picked up at 10:30 and taken to the port, where we boarded the boat. The first stop was the volcano, which was interesting, but different to what I expected. The highest point is 127m above sea level I think, and there are multiple craters. We saw a little bit of steam and some sulphur, and good views of the rest of Santorini. We got back on the ferry and continued on to the hot springs, which are actually connected to the water. There were hundreds of people queued to walk through the brown water, which didn’t really appeal to us. If it was cold I might have been a bit more keen. The next stop was Thirasia, where we had lunch. After lunch, I decided to climb up the path to the village on the top of the island, dodging donkey poo the whole way. It took me a while, and I only had a few minutes at the top, but the view was worth it. We got back on the boat, and were taken to the Oia port. Simone convinced me to ride a donkey to the top, which is marginally better than walking. At the top, we had some time to walk around Oia, which is beautiful, before finding a spot for the sunset. We found a great place on the castle and settled in for a few hours wait. The sunset was postcard worthy, I took heaps of photos. Afterwards, we found the bus stop and got a bus back to Perissa for a late dinner, and to pack for the ferry back to Athens. I would recommend staying in Perissa (near the beach) or Oia if you go to Santorini, staying for a bit longer than we did, and spending time exploring on a quad bike or scooter. And eating a lot of gyros :)

August 16 – Day 35

We had an early start this morning to get to our 7:40 ferry back to Athens. Thankfully, the hotel owner (Stelio) offered to pick us up and drop us back to the port, so we didn’t need to organise that. We got to the port at around 7, had some food, then boarded. 6 hours later, we were back in Athens, on the metro back to Monastiraki and Athenstyle hostel. On checking in, we realised we had two nights in Athens – we thought we were only there for one. I wish we had realised earlier – we could have had another night in Santorini, or at least spread out our sightseeing in Athens when we first arrived. We spent the afternoon exploring backstreets, drinking and eating – a perfect afternoon in Athens :)

August 17 – Day 35

After a huge sleep in, we headed out to get a late breakfast/lunch – my first portion of gyros for the day. Then we headed to Syntagma Square, saw the parliament building, and watched the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which I really enjoyed. After catching up on some washing, we headed out for a snack (gyros #2), and some drinks. We went back to the hostel for cheap drinks and the view from the rooftop bar, which is excellent, and finally headed out to dinner at about 9, feeling very European. All the restaurants were completely packed, and we were there until about 11:30, when people are still arriving for dinner. I had a huge gyros (#3), my last one. A little bit different to going out to dinner at home! After packing, we went to sleep for a few hours before the alarm went off to go to the airport, and on to Istanbul. I loved Greece, the people are very friendly, and both Athens and Santorini have a really nice feel. Also, the food is incredible. Through our trip, we have had a few bad meals along the way. In Greece, every single meal was delicious, and usually cost us ~5 Euro each (including half a litre of beer for me!).