The famous one...
Dionysos theatre
Emilyn and me
The illegal pic - got told off by guards for sitting there!
Finally got to fly to Athens after 5.5 years with emirates!
4 hours after take-off I am welcomed by clear summer skies and green mountainous terrains littered with houses, mostly white. Still kind of feel like ancient Greece for some reason, except with more modern buildings and definitely more houses.
Dashed out to the famed acropolis upon reaching hotel, feelings of excitement and anticipation rising, wanting to absorb into the culture and land as much as I can in the next 24 hours.
My camera already fully charged the previous night in preparation for massive shutter-bugging, track shoes to maneuver the uneven terrains as pre-warned by a pal, bottle of water to combat the summer heat and my active sweat glands, plus I have Emilyn (a fellow Singaporean) as company cum tour guide (she’s been to acropolis twice before), and I am all set!
Acropolis is in the midst of restoration thus there are scaffolding everywhere. Nevertheless, it is still a pretty sight, especially when we made our way to the top, plus all the scenic views of the city to feast our eyes on. Lots of ruins of course, somehow still charming in their bits and pieces, the theatres, the temples, the statues, all set amongst lush greeneries and hills.
And boy was it hot, and the sun seemed to get more merciless as we ascend! I cannot fathom being dressed in long sleeves and pants in this weather like the Japanese tourists we saw everywhere, but I really won’t mind the hats and umbrellas after half an hour. All of them have hats and umbrellas! My lines of defense were merely my sunnies and rapidly depleting tissue papers. We took advantage of every shade or shadow for a breather, and ahh-ed with relief for every bout of breeze that passed.
3.5 hours of exploring later, we emerged from acropolis, all sunned-out, hungry, sticky with sweat, and haggard and sore from all the walking and climbing. Despite all, we felt accomplished! Even Emilyn saw some sights that she missed on previous trips.
We then wandered to the lively markets off monastiraki. Had some yummy grilled corn, got my name in greek on a leather bracelet, an ethnic necklace to match my Grecian style dress, and 1kg of cherries for only 1.50 euros – my star buy!! Needed food desperately, so when we spotted Macdonalds, I begged Emilyn to go in and leave the greek cuisine to the next day instead. The greeks must love their mayonnaise coz the default question for sauce is mayonnaise or ketchup, and I have never seen such a huge packet of mayonnaise being meted out in all the Mackers I have been to all over the world. Another thing – they give out this tiny plastic fork for the fries, and I am only more than happy to oblige using it.
We explored around till about 9pm (the day is still bright, would not have realized if we did not check our watches) and fatigue began to take over. Fell asleep to one of the most comfy beds ever amongst all the destinations we fly to – and it is not my fatigue deluding my judgement I swear!
One peculiar thing I noticed about the hotel (Ledra Marriott) though, is that they left their feedback form on the bedside as well as in the bathroom beside the toilet seat. Hee, I thought its pretty original…guess they figured we could use some time helping them out on how to improve their services whilst doing number two.
Determined not to leave Greece without tasting the feta cheese and the souvlaki, I ordered room service the next day and had a blissful meal. The pork souvlaki is just heaven, you just know the greeks love their meat, and the feta so smooth and melting, even the pitta bread is unfaultable for a rice eater like me. I ate them all up without guilt as I already made up for my feast with a stint at the gym in the morning.
Still missed the Olympic stadium, the temple of zeus, the parliament house, some museums, and the islands off the saronic gulf. Have to leave them till next time…I underestimated the multiple sights in Athens as I read through the guide book before snoozing off.
By the way, another discovery is that the bag and jewellery brand Follie Follie is actually from Greece! Did not get a chance to visit the boutique will definitely do that on my next trip!
4 hours after take-off I am welcomed by clear summer skies and green mountainous terrains littered with houses, mostly white. Still kind of feel like ancient Greece for some reason, except with more modern buildings and definitely more houses.
Dashed out to the famed acropolis upon reaching hotel, feelings of excitement and anticipation rising, wanting to absorb into the culture and land as much as I can in the next 24 hours.
My camera already fully charged the previous night in preparation for massive shutter-bugging, track shoes to maneuver the uneven terrains as pre-warned by a pal, bottle of water to combat the summer heat and my active sweat glands, plus I have Emilyn (a fellow Singaporean) as company cum tour guide (she’s been to acropolis twice before), and I am all set!
Acropolis is in the midst of restoration thus there are scaffolding everywhere. Nevertheless, it is still a pretty sight, especially when we made our way to the top, plus all the scenic views of the city to feast our eyes on. Lots of ruins of course, somehow still charming in their bits and pieces, the theatres, the temples, the statues, all set amongst lush greeneries and hills.
And boy was it hot, and the sun seemed to get more merciless as we ascend! I cannot fathom being dressed in long sleeves and pants in this weather like the Japanese tourists we saw everywhere, but I really won’t mind the hats and umbrellas after half an hour. All of them have hats and umbrellas! My lines of defense were merely my sunnies and rapidly depleting tissue papers. We took advantage of every shade or shadow for a breather, and ahh-ed with relief for every bout of breeze that passed.
3.5 hours of exploring later, we emerged from acropolis, all sunned-out, hungry, sticky with sweat, and haggard and sore from all the walking and climbing. Despite all, we felt accomplished! Even Emilyn saw some sights that she missed on previous trips.
We then wandered to the lively markets off monastiraki. Had some yummy grilled corn, got my name in greek on a leather bracelet, an ethnic necklace to match my Grecian style dress, and 1kg of cherries for only 1.50 euros – my star buy!! Needed food desperately, so when we spotted Macdonalds, I begged Emilyn to go in and leave the greek cuisine to the next day instead. The greeks must love their mayonnaise coz the default question for sauce is mayonnaise or ketchup, and I have never seen such a huge packet of mayonnaise being meted out in all the Mackers I have been to all over the world. Another thing – they give out this tiny plastic fork for the fries, and I am only more than happy to oblige using it.
We explored around till about 9pm (the day is still bright, would not have realized if we did not check our watches) and fatigue began to take over. Fell asleep to one of the most comfy beds ever amongst all the destinations we fly to – and it is not my fatigue deluding my judgement I swear!
One peculiar thing I noticed about the hotel (Ledra Marriott) though, is that they left their feedback form on the bedside as well as in the bathroom beside the toilet seat. Hee, I thought its pretty original…guess they figured we could use some time helping them out on how to improve their services whilst doing number two.
Determined not to leave Greece without tasting the feta cheese and the souvlaki, I ordered room service the next day and had a blissful meal. The pork souvlaki is just heaven, you just know the greeks love their meat, and the feta so smooth and melting, even the pitta bread is unfaultable for a rice eater like me. I ate them all up without guilt as I already made up for my feast with a stint at the gym in the morning.
Still missed the Olympic stadium, the temple of zeus, the parliament house, some museums, and the islands off the saronic gulf. Have to leave them till next time…I underestimated the multiple sights in Athens as I read through the guide book before snoozing off.
By the way, another discovery is that the bag and jewellery brand Follie Follie is actually from Greece! Did not get a chance to visit the boutique will definitely do that on my next trip!
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