Intro and Greensboro to Chicago
Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Toronto and Exploring Toronto
Air Canada Executive First Suite Toronto to Istanbul
14 Hours in Istanbul
Aegean Airlines Business Class Istanbul to Athens
Hotel Amalia Athens and Exploring Athens (Part 1)
Exploring Athens (Part 2)
Athens Airport Lounges and Aegean Airlines Athens to Santorini
Anamnesis Luxury Spa Hotel and Exploring Santorini (Part 1)
Exploring Santorini (Part 2)
Exploring Santorini (Part 3) and Aegean Airlines Santorini to Athens
Holiday Inn Athens Airport and Aegean Airlines Athens to Milan
UNA Hotel Cusani and Exploring Milan
United Business Class Milan to Newark to Greensboro
We landed in Athens around 12:40 am on Saturday night (technically early Sunday morning), after spending an exciting day in Istanbul. Athens does have a metro that extends to the airport, but the last train leaves the airport at 11:30 pm. There are a few buses that run 24 hours a day to and from the airport, so we knew that we’d need to take the X95 bus into the city. We had checked one bag, which was tagged with a bright orange priority label, so it was the very first bag on the belt. There didn’t appear to be any other flights arriving when our flight did, as there was no line at all to pass through immigration.
In the baggage claim area, there were overhead monitors that listed all the upcoming train and bus departures, which I thought was a great idea. It was a few minutes after 1:00 am when we were heading outside, trying to catch the 1:10 bus. There was a small booth to buy tickets from, but they only accepted cash, so I had to run back inside the terminal to take out some cash from an ATM, and then get back in line at the ticket booth. Time was ticking, but at about 1:08, I purchased two 3-day Tourist Tickets for us.
The 3-day Tourist Tickets offer unlimited rides on the metro for up to 72 hours, but you are restricted to a single ride from the airport and a single ride back to the airport. So the unlimited travel is valid to any stations except the airport. We didn’t have any need to transfer back and forth to the airport multiple times, so this worked out perfectly. A single ride from the airport into the city costs €8, and a roundtrip (within 1 week) is €14 if purchased in advance. Considering the €14 cost to get to/from the airport, and a single ride is €1.20, we knew we’d get more value out of the €20 unlimited ticket.
With our two tickets in hand, I dashed up to the waiting bus, and we hopped on. Within a minute or two, the bus pulled away, and we were on our way into town. Normally, the bus takes a little over an hour to reach Syntagma Square in the center of Athens, but at that late hour, it took barely 45 minutes. When we reached the Syntagma Square stop (the end of the line), the Hotel Amalia was just around the corner, about 100 yards away.
Even though it was right around 2:00 am, check in was friendly and quick, and we were assigned a room on Floor 1 (the 3rd floor of the building, with the Lobby level and Mezzanine level in between). Our room was clean, quiet and comfortable:
The room really was very decent-sized, especially by European standards and given the fact that we were only about 100 yards from Syntagma Square. We had plenty of room for our suitcases and to move about the room. The bathroom also felt very modern and clean, although it had one of those showers that has me convinced that there is a thriving market for showers designed by someone who has never actually taken a shower. The shower head was attached to the back wall of the shower, and not one of the side walls:
Why wouldn’t the showerhead spray in the direction of the longer dimension of the tub/shower?? As a result, when showering, you were effectively limited to using half the available space, depending on which direction you pointed the shower head. A bit baffling, but otherwise not a huge deal.
In any event, we slept well (the hotel was pretty quiet, especially since we had a room overlooking the side street and not the main road out front. When we woke up, we did hear a bit of noise coming from the maids in the hallway, so the rooms weren’t completely soundproof, but we never had any issues with noise keeping us awake.
We headed down one floor to the mezzanine floor, where complimentary breakfast was being served. Often times, breakfast in Europe consists of some croissants, juice, and maybe fruit if your lucky. But the Hotel Amalia Athens has an INCREDIBLE breakfast spread – yogurt, sliced meats, a huge assortment of breads, cereals, eggs, vegetables, fruit and even desserts:
We loaded up on a delicious breakfast, and headed out to explore the city. We first headed to the Acropolis, and given that it was early August, the weather was quite hot. Temperatures were in the 90s, and in the direct sun, easily felt over 100°F. We did have to wait in a bit of a line to purchase our tickets to the Acropolis, but once we made it in, we noticed some vending machines full of ice cold water. Since we were at a tourist attraction, I figured there would be a bit of a mark up, but we were already very hot and thirsty, so we gladly would have paid a premium for some cold water. To our surprise, the price for a bottle was only €0.30! Try getting a bottle of water at any other tourist attraction (especially in the US) for the equivalent of only 40 cents! I thought this was awesome, since people would easily pay 10 times as much for a bottle of water, given the heat!
As we made our way up the Acropolis, there were lots of ruins and sites to see, but opportunities for shade were a bit sparse (although I don’t think I’d want to see substantial construction take place on such a historic site, so I’m certainly not complaining).
There were some tour guides offering their services, but we simply opted to follow along with the pamphlet/guide that we received with our tickets. Some of the ancient theaters had undergone renovations, such as the Odeion of Herodes Atticus (which even hosts events today), but the Theater of Dionysus is more in its unaltered condition:
We continued our way up the South Slope, and while I can’t claim to have read about every single area of ruins, the history of the entire area is truly incredible:
It was a bit crowded as we reached the final set of steps to make it up to the Parthenon:
While it was still hot up at the top of the Acropolis, there was a good breeze that helped keep it a bit cooler. We spent some time gazing around at the incredible views, and eventually made our way back down.
By this point, we were ready to head indoors for some air conditioning, so we headed to the new Acropolis Museum, which is a short 5-7 minute walk from the actual Acropolis. The museum was just opened in 2009, and hosts an impressive number of artifacts and statues that have been uncovered in the Acropolis and surrounding area. Excavation continues underground below the museum, and there are areas with glass floors, allowing you to see below ground at the current excavations:
We weren’t allowed to take pictures in most areas of the museum, but it spans 3 floors, and would take hours if you wanted to look at every single piece. It was enjoyable to browse and read some of the stories, and don’t miss the top floor with huge original portions of the top section of the Parthenon. Admission was only €5 per person (€3 with a student ID or for seniors), so it was well worth it.
In the afternoon, we walked through the Monastiraki Flea Market, which was quite a sight to see. There were lots of old/antique stores, as well as lots of new leather goods. I actually bought a wallet at a leather shop, since my American wallet doesn’t fit Euro bills.
For dinner, we ate at a restaurant called Oineas, which was near the Monastiraki area. It’s a bit tucked away in a quiet area, and we were a bit skeptical at first as we were a block or two away:
Fortunately, we didn’t let this dissuade us, as we soon came upon a quaint area with a number of restaurants lined up:
Our meal started with bread and tapenade (crushed olives in olive oil):
We ordered a variety of dishes, including grilled octopus, sausage, dolmades, and fava beans. I really wasn’t sure what to expect when ordering grilled octopus, and sure enough, it wasn’t hard to tell which dish it was:
It actually tasted pretty good…but even though I can’t say for sure that it was the root cause, I had pretty bad stomach pains for the next 24 hours or so. For dessert, we were served a small fruit plate, which was a nice touch:
After dinner, we wandered a bit more through the Monastiraki area, which was lively with restaurants, street vendors, bars, and gelato.
We also were able to catch some great views of the Acropolis lit up at night: 
After a full day in Athens, we headed back to Hotel Amalia, for another good night of sleep (and delicious breakfast in the morning). The location of the hotel made it extremely convenient to come and go extremely easily.