Hi guys! So my Athenian holidays are over as I flew back home yesterday, slept like a baby and now I am ready to review my holidays.
Arrival
The very first day I went on a guided tour around Athens organised by Walk and Talk tour Athens. Antonis was a great narrator and talked about history of Athens across 5 stops we had. There was around 60 of us attending this tour. This tour was also a part of the swing dancing festival I was attending that weekend called Athens Rhythm Hop 2024. After the tour, only 15 of us left and we enjoyed amazing views served by Greek chefs. I had chicken Soulvaki which was delicious. Couple pints later we went for some gelatos and finally made it into the festival.
Friday
On Friday, I actually walked around 15 miles (22 km) around Athens. I had no clear intention of where I was going, just randomly strolling narrow Athenian streets, enjoying some cafes, beer every now and then and graffitis. After I decided to get back to my hotel, I looked at phone’s map app to see how far I was away from my hotel – 6 miles or so … yes, I was walking quite a bit that day. Also, I went to festival’s day 2 where we danced until 5 AM. Yup, I entered at around midnight and left at 5 AM.
Saturday
On Saturday I decided to climb the highest viewpoint of Athens – Lycabettus hill. It was a hellish climb due to steep steps and scorching sun but I made it to the top eventually. Views were amazing, I won’t get much into details here as I actually blogged about Lycabettus hill climb in one of my previous blog posts. Of course, in the evening I went to the festival’s third day, again, danced from midnight until 5 AM.
Sunday
On Sunday, I was resting my legs as they were a bit sore. Of course, it was also the last day of the festival so I made it in the evening but only for couple of hours. It was great meeting old friends (mainly from the UK) and making new friends from all continents (yes, the festival was truly intercontinental).
Monday
I still had a full day on Monday so I didn’t waste it. On Monday I explored Acropolis of Athens. It was another amazing place – sighting of Theatre of Dionysus, another Athens panorama, ruins, etc … I also blogged about Acropoplis of Athens earlier so you can read about earlier.
And of course, on Tuesday I had my final beer, caught taxi to airport, flew 4 hours, drove 4 hours and got home. Sweet home.
While I think I did a lot and saw a lot over 5 days I stayed in Athens, there is still one thing that I regret NOT doing – I didn’t do Hop-on Hop-off bus ride around Athens. I think Sunday could have been amazing while not walking, yet seeing many sights. Oh well, I think I will be back to Athens so I can do the bus ride and see things I didn’t have the chance to see.
Also, I briefly mentioned Athen Rhythm Hop 2024 – that festival was the actual reason why I was in Athens. This festival deserves its own blog posts and I will let you know when it’s ready 🙂
