So far you have seen the first two days in Athens. The stunning Panoramas, the Ancient World, Monuments and more.

Now it was Thursday and again we had another full day ahead of us.

We hit the breakfast room and I ate my body weight in fantastic apricot jam, rolls and mini croissants. Ok, well I had 4!

Boo had been scoping things out and we had decided to walk to the Acropolis museum which was around 15 minutes away where would could join a bus tour which would show us even more of the City.

Modern Day Repro

There are several companies that offer the tours and they usually have a deal or two on. Boo worked out that the best one for us would be the Greyline.

Tiny but Terrific

We arrived at the bus stops by the Acropolis Museum and it wasn’t too long before the bus arrived and we got our tickets. Choosing to sit at the top of the bus, we wanted to try and get some good views and photographs.

Street Art in Athens

I have to say, we really were not disappointed!

Open topped tour bus

All of the most popular sites including the Parliament, Hadrians Arch, Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Monument to Fallen Aviators and more.

Monument to Fallen Aviators – Icarus

After we did a full circuit, we got back off at Hadrians Arch to have a longer walk around and to make our way to the Panathenaic Stadium before lunch.

Hadrians Arch

Getting off the bus we took a fair few photographs before deciding if we wanted to go inside the area of the Temple and for a couple of euros we decided that it was well worth the cost to get to walk around the grounds.

The Temple of Zeus

I have to admit I was pretty fascinated by the toppled column which showed that this style of column wasn’t one whole piece, but rings of marble stacked on top of each other and matched up.

Like Lego!

The sun was gloriously shining and we wandered round the ruins and up to Hadrians Arch for a better look. Taking pictures of the sites and our outfits took a little time before we decided to move on.

Beauty in decay

We knew it was only a 10 minute walk to the Panathenaic Stadium so set off on a slow walk to go there. It was a really lovely day and we were chatting amongst ourselves.

The Acropolis from Hadrians Arch

Now, Boo is a much faster walker than I am and usually ends up walking 10 – 15 paces ahead of me. turning and checking on me and that my knee is doing ok.

Olymian Zeus

In this case she absolutely saved my skin!

We had to walk through a garden area which had a walk way through some bushes. Boo walked through and there was a couple walking towards me. I let them through and then carried on myself.

The Panethenaic Stadium

Ahead of Boo was a man who was gesticulating and whistling trying to get someones attention across the road ahead. He kept doing this and I commented to Boo about what he was doing.

The Scene of the almost catastrophe

Luckily at that point Boo turned around and shouted.

The couple had snuck up behind me and my rucksack was wide open. Now given that this was ‘sold’ as an anti-theft rucksack, it clearly wasn’t very successful.

Selfie time

Looking back, the man ahead was clearly there to distract our attention to what was going on in my bag. Thankfully Boo had turned around at precisely the right time (or wrong time for them) and spotted what they were doing.

As she shouted, they turned around and walked off briskly. The man ahead seemed to just disappear too.

Orange Season

I was so very lucky that they were disturbed. They hadn’t managed to get anything from my bag and I had around €100 in there as I was planning on getting some souvenirs etc and having meals whilst we were out.

Thankfully my phone was in my pocket and my passport in the safe at the hotel. But it would have been a massive loss, had they been successful.

Ancient Stones

I couldn’t thank Boo enough for stopping such a catastrophe, but I also have to admit that it shook me up for the rest of the holiday.

I even took a padlock off the suitcase and used it to lock the zippers together constantly. This was a total pain in the backside as I had to put in the combination every time I wanted to get into the bag, but I wasn’t going to get a second chance if thieves tried it again.

Facts and Figures

Better safe than sorry! (As an aside, the rucksack has now gone in the bin!)

Anyway, we walked along the stadium in the direction of the Government buildings at Syntagma. We managed to pick up an Uber there and headed over to another tourist favourite, Mount Lycabettas.

From Mount Lycabettas

This is the highest point in Athens and means you get some amazing sights and photographs at the top. You can walk it, but with my knee I wasn’t going to chance it. Instead we took the funicular up to the top.

The Sprawling City

When you get to the top there is a lovely little restaurant/cafe and a very small, perfectly formed Greek Orthodox Church dedicated to St George.

So crowded

On the day we went, it was exceedingly windy at the top so we didn’t actually stay very long; just long enough for to have a look inside the church and get a quick coffee.

The Church of St George

Boo and I had a chat about what we were going to do and decided to get down the mountain, have something to eat and go back to the hotel.

Athens. As far as the eye can see

There was a place not too far from our hotel called Kalamaki that had some very good reviews and so we got a cab there. It was a lovely clean cafe, and very busy. This was a good sign.

Mount Lycabettas from the seat of Democracy

I decided to go for 3 different meat skewers; veal, pork and lamb. Every single one was delicious and I really could have eaten several more!

We walked back to the hotel. Athena’s Cook. They had been given some great reviews for their vegetarian food and so this was perfect for Boo and I like vegetarian food too, so off we set.

Boo. In her element!

The menu was very comprehensive, however there was so much to choose from that I really didn’t know where to start!

Cheese is LIFE

Boo made the suggestion that we ordered several plates and shared them out. Perfect!

Freshly Baked

Stuffed Vine leaves, mozzarella sticks, garlic mushrooms, stuffed courgette flowers, fresh bread, hummus and more. It really was a feast for the eyes and the tummy!

Vine Leaves and Courgette Flowers

We lingered over the meal before deciding to try and walk it off. As we were already in the Syntagma area, we headed towards the Presidential Mansion to have another look at the changing of the guard.

Garlic Mushrooms

I know I have already described the movements of the Guards, but they were really ornate. Flicks, kicks, leg lifts, foot scrapes and more. I tried to get a video but stupidly pressed the wrong button and all I got was a picture!

By the time we had finished watching it was past midnight and the taxi swiftly got us home where we hit the hay.

Friday was going to be a really busy day for us as we were due to climb to the top of the Acropolis!

Till then,

SPSG xxx