Day 2 Athens

The next day I woke up tired because the couple next to my room made so much noise checking out.   The walls of my hotel room are thin and I could hear them slamming their suitcases around, trying to get out of there.  Awe!  The joys of traveling!  I couldn't fall back asleep so I was up since 5:30am.  I decided around 7:30am to head down and have my complimentary breakfast.  That's when I found out about the earthquake that happened in Italy on the morning news.  How scary!!  I contacted my friend immediately to see if she was ok and if anything occurred in her town.  Luckily my friend is way south so it didn't affect her.  I notified my friends and family that I was safe and decided to head to the Acropolis museum early.

As I hiked back up again, I ran into a couple from North Carolina who were walking my way.  They came in from Santorini and told me their stories on how much they enjoyed their time on the island.  They also gave me some insight of the airport there.  I'm glad I asked because their information would become useful later on.  Once I found the museum we separated ways.  

Since I arrived early there were not many people inside.  I found the Acropolis Museum very interesting and even watched a movie on the history of the Parthenon.  I stayed for a couple of hours before I headed out and that's when I came across a flood of people walking in.  Whew!  Right in the nick of time!  It is known that in Europe, most tourists start their day late.  I was pleased I got this out of the way so I could continue to enjoy my day.

Inside the brand new Acropolis Museum

From there I headed towards finding Syntagma Square.  I ended up finding the Zappeion which reassured me that I was on the right track.  I walked through the National Garden and enjoyed the scenery.  I liked that everything was nearby.  It was hot again in Athens but I took my time walking to each location. 

The entrance to the National Garden!! 

The layout of the National Garden...



Gotta love the selfie stick!

Once I walked out of the garden I found the square and noticed a crowd gathering by.  I knew what was happening so I rushed over.  Sure enough, the changing of the guards was taking place.  The military guard announced we were now allowed to take pictures with them after he prepped them up for us.   





That military guard is too intimidating.  I took my picture from afar.

Syntagma Square

Afterwards I was growing tired again. so I slowly made my way back to the hotel.  I had to take a nap.  I was exhausted being up so early and doing so much sightseeing.  

Once I woke up (2 hours later) I knew I had to stay up.  I sat outside a cafe sipping on coffee to wake up since I slept too long.  My stomache started acting up and that's when I knew I had to have some food in my system.  I asked a shop owner where would he eat in the neighborhood and he recommended a restaurant for me.  I didn't want anything heavy like the night before.  I settled for a Greek salad but it was huge.  Again a block of feta cheese sat on top of my plate.  I sat and played with my food if anything.  I was pretty amused people watching during lunch and I didn't want to leave just yet.

The infamous feta cheese topped over my Greek Salad.  It was delish!

After I ate as much as I could I decided to walk it off since I was too full.  I walked back up to Acropolis on a different path and came around a less glamorous view. Graffiti trains zooming by as well as some homelessness.  I still felt safe since I was surrounded by a lot of people.  I continued walking around and eventually headed back down once it started to get a little dark.  I was concerned about the lack of lighting up there.  I quickly made my way back to the same restaurant and went up to their rooftop for a glass of wine.  I enjoyed my evening messaging my friend in Italy and taking advantage of the free wifi. 



Walking further down Plaka...

Grittier side of Acropolis...

Afterwards I went back to my hotel room to freshen up.  My tiredness was catching up to me again. I rested but was still hoping to go out.  I wanted to enjoy some nightlife but was pushing through my exhaustion.  I showered and got ready.  I knew I wanted to take a photo up on the rooftop of my hotel since I knew I'll be checking out the next day.  I went up and there was a group of 8 that had been drinking and were kind of loud.  I didn't want to disturb them.  I took some selfie shots and made my way to the other side of the bar.  There was a family of 4 sitting and drinking.  The lighting was much better so I tried to take a selfie there.  Someone offered to take my picture and from there we striked up a conversation.

They were from New York and were staying in Athens for 2 weeks.  We exchanged stories until they closed the bar down.  I was still tired.  I went for a short walk and then decided to head back to my room.  It was midnight and I knew I couldn't go out even if I wanted to because I was crashing hard.  So much for that...  

The view is simply breathtaking!