Athens for Thanksgiving

This was a nice hotel, right off of Syntagma Square. A great location! Syntagma is the main square of downtown. The metro station is right there in the square. There are tons of shops and cafes right around there.

The room was nice, with a double bed, sitting area, and bathroom. The TV had an interactive menu system with movies, messages, and information. The bathroom was all marble and had a tub with a shower. It was a handheld shower and it was a little tricky to get it to stay in the holder. The room had a mini-bar, safe, and French balcony. It also had a large closet. The room rate included breakfast. It was a full breakfast with eggs, bacon, ham, breads, yogurt, etc. The fresh-squeezed orange juice was great! The lobby was nicely furnished and decorated, and included a sitting area and bar. Overall, it’s a great hotel in a great location.

This was a nice restaurant right near the Acropolis Metro station. It has outdoor or indoor dining, live piano in the evening, and a large menu in English. They serve mainly Greek dishes, but they did have some Italian selections as well. I had a delicious chicken cream dish, and my husband had shish kebobs. Most Greek dinners seem to include potatoes and rice, and the salad always has tomatoes and cucumbers. The food was delicious and the servers were English-speaking and very nice. The restaurant was nicely decorated and they did have a non-smoking section. Greeks dine later than Americans, so at 7pm the restaurant was pretty empty.

The Athens market at Monastiraki was fabulous! From the square, there are several winding streets that branch out in every direction. Down each one, there tons of vendors selling anything you could imagine -- lots of clothes, shoes, bags, and tourist souvenirs, but also art, textiles, jewelry, nuts, and cafes. The prices were great, much less than shops downtown. I got some beautiful handmade placemats for 5 euros a piece! I also got some gorgeous oil paintings for 12 euros each. What I liked about this market is it wasn't just for tourists. There seemed to be many Greeks there doing their shopping, too. When you're standing in the square, you get a lovely view of the Acropolis. This market is a must-see if you like shopping!

Of course, when you go to Athens, you go to the Acropolis. Let me tell you -- it is worth the walk! You can take the Metro to the base (the Akropoli stop). It's quite a hike up the hill, but once you get there and are standing on that rock, it's quite a feeling. And what a view! There are several ruins on the Acropolis. You buy a ticket to be able to see the top Athens attractions. There is a path that goes back down and into Ancient Agora. There are also other paths that go to other sites.

In addition to the Acropolis, I would recommend the Temple of Zeus. There's not much left, but it is still impressive. It's so huge that it's unbelievable to imagine how they built it. Also, a trip up Lycavitos Hill is worth it. It's the highest point in Athens, and the views are spectacular. There’s an old church up there and a restaurant for the tourists. You take a cable car to get to it. You can take a taxi to the base or walk through the hilly neighborhood to get to it.

One funny thing about Athens: there are many dogs that just roam around loose. They are even at the ruins sites! We thought it was funny that we weren't allowed to touch the ruins, but they let the dogs just sleep there or even pee on them! I guess there’s no animal control there.

One more thing: I would highly recommend a visit in the off-season. It was so wonderful to not have to share these sites with 3000 other people. The weather was still very pleasant, in the 60's or 70's, nice, but not too hot. And at the most, there were maybe 100 people around. And that was at the Acropolis. At the other sites, there was just a handful of people -- it was wonderful. We got many pictures without anyone in them, and we could stay and enjoy the sites as long as we wanted.

I thought I should just mention this--the plumbing system in Athens DOES NOT handle toilet tissue. You can't flush it. Most restaurants we went to had signs in English, but some did not. I was especially surprised that our hotel didn't (you'd think since they deal with foreigners all the time, they'd think to tell us). We only knew from reading a guide book.

But when I asked them they said definitely don't flush the paper. Most places will have a basket by the toilet where you put your used tissue. It takes a little getting used to, but you have to. If you flush the paper the toilet will overflow.

I have been on many subway systems all over the world. The Athens Metro is the nicest one I've ever seen. The stations are all very nice. They are all marble, well-lit, with security booths and video cameras. Many of them have reproductions or originals of artifacts they found while digging the tunnels. The stations with multiple lines are really big. They have many levels where different trains come in. The signs are in Greek and English, so it's easy to find your way around. They have comfortable seats for waiting and escalators to each level. It does get very busy at rush hour, but that’s no different from any other big city. People were somewhat hurried (again, no surprise) but no major pushing and shoving.

The trains are equally wonderful. They are wide with large door openings. There is a large standing area by the doors and comfortable seats throughout. Every train we rode on was very clean. Same for the stations. We saw cleaning people in the stations often. They have a map of the line with the stations written in English. The stops are announced in Greek, but once you ride a few times, you figure out which ones they're saying.

They are actively expanding the lines in preparation for the Olympics next year. But already you can get to all the major sites -- the Acropolis, Temple of Zeus, the market, Plaka, etc. There is a line that runs to Pireaus, the suburb which is the main seaport of Athens. And they are adding a line to the airport.

Overall, the Athens metro is the best metro I've ever ridden. It will be perfect when they complete the line to the airport.