3 Aug (Thu)
We survived the ordeal of an 11-hour budget airline flight from Singapore to Athens, Greece, arriving around 9am in the morning. Having started our flight in Singapore time 2am, our body clock struggled to come to terms with a 5-hour longer day time. Not to mentioned, we were slightly deprived of sleep and water (and semi professional airline service).
All these deprivation was short lived as we landed onto the beautiful Athens. Greece greeted us with their paced command of English, as we checked out of the international airport and headed towards the domestic departure to our first destination--Santorini. Our first impression of Athens International airport was a little disappointing, as we thought the Bangkok International airport was far more impressive.
Nonetheless, the flight to Santorini was surprising fast, with the flight less than 45 mins. However, the airport was least impressive and as soon as we collected our luggage, we hurried our way to the taxi queue and headed to our hotel at Imerovigli, a town in between the famous Oia and Fira. We lugged our luggage down a steep flight of steps and entered our hotel room which looked like the traditional Greek home.
Soon, we walked our way to Fira which took us an hour. We were caught on many occasions the beautiful sight of the Santorini white and blue buildings, including the famed blue dome churches. We took the challenge and rode the bus to Oia, whose journey took us down the steep and winding mountaneous road.
We initially was a little lost at the Oia village, but soon enough we found ourselves walking alongside other tourists, stopping by frequently to snap a photo of the beautiful and amazing landscape. We were lucky to find a bar with a roof top view and treated ourselves to a nice meatballs and fried calamari dinner with a good glass of white wine.
Our legs could not hold up any further as the skies begun to turn darker. We took the same bus route back to our town and treated ourselves to a nice, homely Greek apartment room by the cliff and called it a day.
4 Aug (Fri)
We woke up this morning, ready for a good Greek breakfast to start our day. We were not disappointed as the hotel had a good spread of their breakfast and with a breath taking view, we shuddered to think of the challenge of steep steps and a heavy suitcase. True enough, I was almost breathless carrying the heavy suitcase up the steps and out onto the small alley to catch a taxi to the airport.
Our domestic transfer today was a tad disappointing with flight delay and a cramped waiting hall. Much to our surprise, we were issued the first two seats of the aircraft at Seats 1A and 1B. We enjoyed the extra leg room and again, within an hour we arrived back at Athens.
We were greeted heartily by our taxi driver who chatted with us as he drove us to our hotel along Ermou Street. Within a short while of setting down, we changed into casual clothing and headed down to the shopping district, Ermou Street.
Ermou Street was wisely closed for pedestrians and it was a breeze walking down the street that featured Sara, Mango, H&M, etc. Having missed our lunch, we scoured around and found an exciting shop that sells gyros which are essentially Greek wraps. And on mine, the chicken gyros did not disappoint and we soon found the energy to make our way to the flea market.
As we walked by, it was not difficult to notice some old abandoned buildings scribbled with graffiti. Occasional beggars littered the streets, while old men sat around yaking away the afternoon. We found the Monastiraki flea market but we were a little too late for the day's business. We wandered our way past the Hadrian Library toward the Temple of the Olympian Zeus.
We walked as we usually do, and managed to reach the Syntagma Square and caught the changing of guards at the hour. By then, our legs were aching for a rest and our stomachs grouching for food. We stopped by a Greek restaurant for a burger meal but alas, it could not beat our late lunch of Gyros chicken.
5 Aug (Sat)
We started the day at 6pm as we needed to arrive at the New Hotel by 8.15am with our luggage. The breakfast at our budget hotel was so-so, offering nothing more than some toasted bread, cereal and processed meat. Our hotel room was even more surprising: it was so old that we didn't know how to use the lift (it could only fetch 3 pax at any one time) and we could only find 1 free power socket for our electronics charging.
By 8am we made our way to the New Hotel. We were given a scare when by 8.35am we had no sight of our tour guide nor the coach. We panicked and tried calling and emailing he tour agency. Finally by nearly 9am the tour guide (or rather, the assistant) found us and we made our way out of Athens.
The journey to Delphi was by no means easy. The coach went up and round the mountaneous regions. Before lunch, we saw the ruins at Delphi under the scorching sun before we made the 5-hour journey to Meteora. Nearing 7pm after 2 coffee breaks, we arrived at Kalambaka and spent the night there at the isolated hotel.
6 Aug (Sun)
The day started at 8.15am for us again as we made the first road out to the nearby Meteora monasteries. The windy road up was quickly forgotten as we were gradually captured by the beauty of these monasteries resting at the edge of the cliff. We first reached the Varlaam monoastery for the monks, before going to the nearby monast ran by nuns only.
We were so quickly captured by the beauty and engineering feats of these monasteries, from how they were built so closely to the edge of the cliff to the beauty of the reflections (or drawings on the walls) inside the building itself. It was spectacular and definitely breathtaking.
Soon after an authentic Greek cuisine lunch, we made our 5-hour journey back to Athens, stopping by twice for coffee breaks and arriving in Athens around 6.30pm. We headed to our air bnb host who gave us a good introduction to the city before Iris and I took a walk to the Panathenaic Stadium and had our dinner at the heart of Adrianou Street where pubs and shops congregate.
7 Aug (Mon)
This is our last morning before we would fly out tomorrow out of Athens. Our itinerary was to explore the Acropolis of Athens which included the Parthenon, Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena. From there, we took a downhill walk to the Acropolis Museum which was amazing.
We strolled our way back at the familiar Adrianou Street into Ermou Street where we had our all-delicious gyros chicken wrap and fried feta cheese again. Shopping begun then for Iris and strolling through the scotching sun, she nonetheless had a few success without hurting much purse.
Unbearable under the hot sun and shopping bags, we decided to head back to our Airbnb apartment for a short rest. With mainly the local produce such as olive oils and baglava, we lugged our trophies back and rested our tired feet.
Before long we took out again to the streets looking for the best restaurant with a good roof top garden view. By then, my feet was sored from the walk to the flea market which we were told Hotel 360 and A for Athens Hotel offered the best roof top garden view.
Dinner was however at a more humble local Greek cuisine restaurant where we tried their fried feta fish, mixed grill and grilled fish. The dinner didn't come cheap in comparison with the other meals but was nonetheless satisfying.
8 Aug (Tue)
We packed our luggages and were all ready to head to the airport. From our Airbnb apartment, we dragged our luggages to less than a 10-minute walk to the Syntagma square where we paid €6 per pax for a 1-hour ride to the airport. The journey was quite smooth, with a few stops to pick up other passengers.
The airport was not to world class standard yet. We were a bit lost differentiating between the domestic and international flights customs check. Shopping wise, there were not many options so we grabbed a quick bite at McDonald's and headed to our gate. Oh mine, the gate was yet to be opened but the passengers flooded the waiting area.
Our Greece Travel Overview
1) Weather was hotter than expected for the summer. It was about 35 degrees and higher during the day. Bring along sun block, hats and caps, sunglasses and light, casual clothing, and sandals for easy walking.
2) Water is essential there. But the best part of it is that you can easily get bottled mineral water at the many executive kiosk (we called them mini marts) at a standard €0.50 per 500ml bottle.
3) Greeks are friendly and speaks good English. But expect them to go about their daily activities at their own pace. Most Greeks smoke as well, but their cigarettes aren't of a strong after-taste as others. In other words, they are bearable.
4) Coffee cafes are almost every where. The common chains, Coffee Island and Everest, offer good coffee at an affordable price.
5) Data SIM card wasn't as easily available all around. This is the same with their trash bins. So good to have a travel data sim router instead, if you prefer.
6) Toilets have limited cubicles. Be prepared to wait in queue.
7) Greek food is of a standard in Athens. So they don't really have "best of the best" but of course they do have TripAdvisor recommendations but it comes at a price.
8) Athens is generally safe, even as you walk at night. Graffiti is a common sight but avoid certain streets outside of the main counties like Syntagma Square, Plaka, etc.
9) Daylight is a lot longer than night in the summer. Expect the sun to rise after 6am and sets only after 8.30pm.
10) Greek cuisine can be generally "saltier". Common ones are gyros (wraps with chicken, beef or pork slices, sauces, veggies and French fries), souvlaki (meat skewers), moussaka (lasagna-like with beef, potatoes and egg plants).
