Trip Update #3: We're in Athens!

[Josh Seamon]

 

Greetings from Athens everyone!

 

We had a rather surreal 3 hour layover in Frankfurt -- Everyone was so tired that not everything was making sense... especially since everything was in German! :) After a nice and short 3 hour flight, we touched down in Athens, collected our luggage and met up with Florence -- who was all too happy to get the tour going.

 

We took a 30 minute coach bus ride to the hotel where we checked in and an hour later departed on foot for a walking tour of the city. While on the bus to the hotel Florence gave us a comprehensive introduction to Greece, the overall structure of her trip, and an introduction to her very lively self. After we took off from the hotel, It took us about 20 minutes to get to the base of the Parthenon where we had an hour of free time to explore various Athens shops and market places. We saw what's left of Hadrian's palace and saw the Parthenon lite up as evening approached. We also stopped at a great Greek bakery and picked up a few snacks along the way before heading back to the hotel.

 

We just had a wonderful dinner of a bread and cheese appetizer with a main course of rice and Greek meatballs. It's now 8:30pm and the kids are enjoying an hour and half of free time before bed. A whole lot of the kids were nodding off at dinner so I don't think they will have any trouble sleeping tonight.

 

Tomorrow we wake up early and head into the city for a 3 hour guided tour -- half by bus and half on foot. We're going to see the Parthenon and the Acropolis and several other sights. We're going to have lunch together and then head back into the city for more explorations. On Sunday the plan is for most of the group to take a day-trip to Delphi.

 

So far everything has gone really well. The flights were smooth, the in flight meals were delicious, and the hotel is quite nice. Every room has a balcony and we're all on the 3rd floor or above so the view is amazing. Also, it's about 50 degrees outside so everyone is feeling pretty chipper even given how tired they are.

 

So, two more day in Athens, then two more in the Greek countryside, then an overnight ferry and we're in Italy...

 

 

- Mr. Seamon