Nice to see you Acropolis, good friend.

Back to Athens. Back to Pella Inn Hotel.

G and I are taking the ferry back to Athens a day before Morgan and Helen as G has to fly out on Saturday and wants to see the sites. I have made a booking at Pella Inn Hotel where Kevin and I stayed when we were here last but it is a bit questionable as the woman told me to mail in my credit card information. I sent an email and hope that we have a room waiting.

Our (thankfully large and non-seasick making) ferry gets into Athens at 9pm and I am immediately amazed by how much I remember. I know exactly where to go to get to the metro and get us to the hotel with no problems. I like this familiar feeling.

We have a room at the hotel (woot!) and she sets up a room for Morgan and Helen and for me to move in with them after G leaves. Thankfully easy. We get to our room on the 4^th floor and get right back into the amazing view from this hotel. We are looking right at the beautifully lit Acropolis. And the view from the roof is even better with views of the whole city at night. I am glad to be back at this simple hotel.

Friday is full to the brim. We have things to do! We have our boring but free hotel breakfast and start things off with the Acropolis. I remember how to get to everything! The Parthenon is still covered in scaffolding as it seems they will never be done restoring it. Even so, it is lovely (although crowded).

We meet a couple of guys from Vancouver who are on their way to Mykonos and Santorini and we get to give them some tips on places to go and things to see. It always feels nice to me to pass on info to other travelers. I love it when it happens to me!

We check out the Theatre of Dionysus. I have been here before but being here with G, who I studied Greek Theatre with, feels different. We sit in the seats for a while just taking in the stage.

Then to the New Acropolis Museum which just opened in June and is still only 1 Euro to enter. It is built over ruins with glass floors to see through to the ruins below. It is such an amazing museum both for content and design.

We hit the Temple for Zeus before heading to the market. It’s hard to understand all of these old ruins as there are hardly any signs telling what they are. I have been here before and I still don’t know well. Sometimes you have to just make up your own story.

We do a bunch of souvenir shopping for G in the Plaka (old market). I love the market in Athens even if it is touristy. Its lovely with all its shops crammed into narrow streets. G finds everything she needs.

Then to the Ancient Agora for one last bit of temple time before dinner.

For dinner we go into the small streets above the market trying to find a restaurant that Kevin and I had really enjoyed. We can’t find it but we find a nice roof top restaurant and have a great meal of salad, fried zucchini, fish and then some of the best cake I have ever had. Plus our waited brings us some free wine (after we had already had a liter) so we walk back through the streets of Athens a little tipsy.

That night Morgan and Helen arrive but we miss them at the hotel as they are out wandering.

The next morning, after some quick sleepy goodbyes, I take G to the airport. I am so sad to see her leave but so glad that she had a good time. I am so grateful to have had her join us and to have had our day in Athens. It was nice to share some one on one time with her. She is one of my favorite people on this planet and I am so glad to know her!

Back at the hotel we are now in a room for 3 with the best view I can imagine. And I get a so so wifi signal by sitting on our little terrace. So over the next two days, while Morgan and Helen explore the city, I take some time to write and read and be by myself. I needed that!

We do have nightly dinner though. And on Saturday night, we find the restaurant G and I had been looking for that Kevin and I had gone to. And it was still so good. Beef cooked in a ceramic pot. Yum! And now I have the address for future ease.

On Sunday I take a couple hours to go to the National Gardens with Helen. They are beautiful and we end up walking all over the place seeing this view and that ruin. We tried to find an old theatre but couldn’t. That night we have goat for dinner. It is not as good as I remember.

On Monday we were going to go to Delphi but the bus was too expensive so we opt for the beach instead. We start at the food market (meat, fish and vegetables) looking at all of the stuff and getting a happy picnic for the beach. Then we take the tram and bus to a beach just outside of Athens. It is lovely. We have lunch and take a swim in the clear water. This is when Helen and I revert to 12 year olds and spend half an hour making a water routine with handstands and flips (video coming soon). It was a great day.

In the evening we sat on the roof and Morgan and I stayed up way to late talking to our new friends from Holland, Marco and Georges. It is really nice to make a connection with some other travelers as we haven’t had that for a while. I wish we had met them sooner.

On Tuesday Helen is off to the airport at 3am. Morgan and I pack up, have lunch with the Dutch boys and are off to the airport as well. Istanbul, here we come.