Athens, then back home

 

View south from Mount Lycabettus

Leaving Tinos, we caught a ferry to Rafina (Fast Ferries Theologos P).  Arriving Rafina at 530pm, we had booked a Welcome Pickups taxi to take us to our hotel in Athens. A little pricey, but it got us into our room by 630pm and out for dinner (the alternative would have been the KTEL bus, and we wouldn't have made it to our hotel until 7:30-8:30pm).

Athens' busyness was a bit of a shock. After 4 weeks on various quiet islands, we weren't really ready for crowds and noise. For many, however, Athens is a pretty interesting place (and is even for us at times, but then it seems to become just too much).

First day, we opted to walk up Mount Lycabettus, the highest point in central Athens (277m). It was our first visit and the slog was well worth it: great views!

At Mount Lycabettus

The second day, we again opted to do some walking where we've not been before: Philopapou Hill, directly across from the Acropolis. Lots of good paths for walking, including past "Socrate's Prison" (rumoured but not likely).

Mt. Lycabettus (from Philopapou Hill)

 

 

 

 

Last selfie, with Acropolis behind (from Philopapou)

Mt. Lycabettus and Acropolis (from Philopapou)

 

We had planned (and paid for) three nights in Athens, but had to change our plans due to a general strike called for November 9th, the day of our 6:55am flight. First indications were that all public transport, including taxis, would be shut down, and we would not be able to get to the airport. So, we booked a night out at the Sofitel at the airport ($$$) and checked out of our hotel in Athens at about 5 pm (no refund) and took the bus out to the airport. It kinda ruined our last-night plans, but it ensured all went smoothly the next morning.  (As it turned out, we might have been able to get a legal taxi/car service at 4 am, but we didn't get this updated information until after we made the changes.) Strikes in Greece are quite common (our leaving day in 2019 also had a bus/metro, but not taxi, strike).

Last night for feeding the cats

Flights back to Vancouver (via Frankfurt) all went well, though we didn't get much sleep (noisy kids). Arrived to a sunny afternoon in Vancouver and an easy drive home to Whistler.

 

A truly great trip. (Can't wait to return....)