How did we get here? Well to be specific - United from LAX to Heathrow, a 4 hour layover, and an Aegean Airlines flight flown by two pilots who evidently were trying to really “build the block” (aka fly slow to make more money) to Athens. By the time we got a taxi to the hotel, it was midnight. How did we get here on a trip that was supposed to begin with Sicily? That’s a bit more complicated. The weather reports were showing 90% rain for that portion of Italy for the next few days, which was not terribly appealing. We plotted out different scenarios - one of them even involved flying to Cairo for a couple days. Luckily, as a standby traveler, it is not difficult to change flights in a matter of seconds without incurring any kind of fee. So there we were, with a hotel reservation that had been made just a few hours earlier.
As fate would have it, this last minute reservation led to us getting the grand-suite in the O&B Boutique Hotel in Athens. It had very square, boxy, minimalist decor, but it was massive. There were two bathrooms, a living area, a bedroom, and three balconies (because sometimes two is not enough). I walked out onto the main balcony to find very gritty looking buildings across the way, but turned my head right and was taken aback by a direct line of sight to the Acropolis and the Parthenon lit up at night. Not too bad.
The following morning, we went for a walk to explore the area. During our breakfast, we observed the interesting cast of characters comparing their various wares and tchotchkes while smoking cigarettes. Athens is by most measures, a rather homely city. The graffiti, the years of neglect, and the dull color schemes have all served their purpose in solidifying it as a very ugly city. We walked these gritty streets for a spell until getting to a camera store. I had to buy a gorilla-pod because I had forgotten mine at home, and it will be quite necessary for all of my nighttime adventures. After this we trekked around the city some more before zig-zagging our way around various ruins (without paying for them naturally) and then getting set to go to the airport again.
Santorini! How did we get here? An Olympic flight operated by Aegean Airlines. But more realistically, the timing was a factor. Santorini wasn’t really even on our radar, but it has lots of flights because lots of people like going to Santorini, and that was more appealing that spending $350 a night at the Sofitel at the Athens airport after having been awake for some 36 hours, sleeping only 5 hours, and getting on a plane to a different island. So here we are with another last-minute hotel booking. We are staying just on the outskirts of Thira town and are the proud renters of a Fiat Panda for the next couple days. More on Santorini to come . . .
As fate would have it, this last minute reservation led to us getting the grand-suite in the O&B Boutique Hotel in Athens. It had very square, boxy, minimalist decor, but it was massive. There were two bathrooms, a living area, a bedroom, and three balconies (because sometimes two is not enough). I walked out onto the main balcony to find very gritty looking buildings across the way, but turned my head right and was taken aback by a direct line of sight to the Acropolis and the Parthenon lit up at night. Not too bad.
The following morning, we went for a walk to explore the area. During our breakfast, we observed the interesting cast of characters comparing their various wares and tchotchkes while smoking cigarettes. Athens is by most measures, a rather homely city. The graffiti, the years of neglect, and the dull color schemes have all served their purpose in solidifying it as a very ugly city. We walked these gritty streets for a spell until getting to a camera store. I had to buy a gorilla-pod because I had forgotten mine at home, and it will be quite necessary for all of my nighttime adventures. After this we trekked around the city some more before zig-zagging our way around various ruins (without paying for them naturally) and then getting set to go to the airport again.
Santorini! How did we get here? An Olympic flight operated by Aegean Airlines. But more realistically, the timing was a factor. Santorini wasn’t really even on our radar, but it has lots of flights because lots of people like going to Santorini, and that was more appealing that spending $350 a night at the Sofitel at the Athens airport after having been awake for some 36 hours, sleeping only 5 hours, and getting on a plane to a different island. So here we are with another last-minute hotel booking. We are staying just on the outskirts of Thira town and are the proud renters of a Fiat Panda for the next couple days. More on Santorini to come . . .
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