Greece 2015: Athens

Oh, Greece.  So much economic turmoil right now, but I gotta say...I'd go back in a heartbeat.  I wrote these posts about a month after returning home, and all it did was make me want to travel more.  We were gone for sixteen days and hit five different areas.  There's no way I can or would fit it all in one post, so I'm splitting this up based on the areas we visited...starting with Athens!

We flew into Athens and were there about 36 hours before we took another ferry to Crete.  Then, we came back after we hit our islands and stayed for a couple days.  Athens is cool.  It's got amazing history (duh!), it's got great little cafes and shops, and awesome little squares and streets, especially in the Plaka district.

So, my top five things from Athens, in no particular order:

1. The Acropolis/Temple of Zeus/Panathenaic Stadium in Athens

It's kind of a given, yes?  My tips: Go early before it gets crowded and hot.  We got there about an hour after it opened, and by the time we made our way back down, it was PACKED.

We also walked around the Agora when we left, which was a pretty little walk.  Anna Kate also told me that Bible historians are pretty sure Paul preached in the Agora when he was alive, so that was pretty neat.

There's two Agoras- the Roman one, which is pretty small, and the other one, the Ancient Agora of Athens.  I'm talking about the Ancient Agora.

The Temple of Zeus is another obvious landmark to see, as well as the Panathenaic Stadium.  Worth the money!

2. The Plaka district

This is right around the Acropolis, and it was so charming and adorable and beautiful.  Seriously.  Lots of restaurants and shops, lots of touristy shops.  There are some decent, unique stores tucked away in these streets, too...you just gotta find them.

Our personal favorite was this restaurant called Ydria.  I had THE BEST pork gyro plate ever.  Like, seriously.  Ever.  Anna Kate got a cheese pie, which she said was pretty darn good too.

3. A bus tour

There's a few companies that run these.  Most big cities around the world have them too- you know the ones.  The double decker bus with a recorded description of important sights around the city, and you can get on and get off as you please within a 24 hour period?

This was probably one of our best decisions because on that first day in Athens we were wandering around, killing time before we had to get on our ferry.  We also had no clothes, no luggage, no decent shoes, so we didn't want to hit the Acropolis or anything.  And we were TIRED and hot, so it gave us a good breeze and we still got to see the city.

Selfies on our ride around town

4. Either the New Acropolis Museum or the National Archaeological Museum

We went to the National Archaeological Museum.  Just keep in mind that this museum is HUGE and there's tons to see.  I am a wanderer when I visit museums.  I don't care about reading every single little bit of information.  I just walk around, look at exhibits, and I read about it if it looks interesting.  Anna Kate is a reader- she stops to read everything, and even she gave up on that because there's just SO MUCH.

In hindsight, I would have visited the museum at the very end of the trip.  We went on a Classical tour and checked out Delphi and Olympia, and there was so much that was in the museum that I didn't even realize.  It would have been nice to make some connections when I was looking at all of these artifacts.

**I did not take pictures because I was so tired/overwhelmed.

5. Street cafes/bakeries

There are lots of nice, sit down restaurants in Athens.  Plenty to choose from, especially in the Plaka district.  But there are also lots and lots of little street cafes and bakeries to choose from, as well.  These places are cheap (5-6 Euros total for a sandwich/pie/pizza/etc, dessert, and drink) and delicious.  I got the best salami sandwich at a cute little bakery the first night we were there.  And the desserts- they've got the dessert game on lock down.

Some of my favorites:

**Krispy Kreme doughnuts are better.

Also, here are some things to know about Athens that I didn't know before I left:

-the graffiti is out of control
-most everything outside of the touristy areas is closed on Sundays...which sucks when you're trying to find a store to buy some clothes to hold you over until your luggage arrives
-Native Athenians don't wear bright clothes or shorts that often.  Anna Kate and I got some SERIOUS stares when we were walking around in our shorts and brightly colored tops on our first night there.  It was even more awful because we had nothing else to wear since our luggage got lost.  In touristy areas, you'll see lots of bright clothes and shorts.
-Restaurants are serious about getting you to come try their restaurant.  You get called out so many times to come eat there.  I didn't enjoy that, and it got to the point where we would look for places that weren't overly obnoxious to eat at.

So there's my rundown on Athens.  Up next: Crete!