Day One: Afternoon Stroll around the Acropolis
We arrived in Athens at approximately 2pm on Thursday, quickly retrieved our bags from baggage claim and hopped in a taxi to Athens (not easy to do with car seats!). Rich had made reservations at the AVA hotel at the base of the Acropolis. After checking in our bags, we spent that afternoon strolling around the Acropolis, the Greek Agora, the Roman Agora, Hadrian's Gate and Hadrian's Library. We ate dinner at a family style restaurant, Scholarhio Ouzerikouklis, recommended by Rick Steves. Elisabeth was open to trying new foods, however Kate wouldn't eat a bite. She ate the bread and sausage (no spaghetti bolognese for Kate!). We put the girls to bed early - they were exhausted!
Boat Tour of the Saronic Islands
On Friday morning we awoke early and reported at 7:20am at another hotel, the Hotel Amalia, around the corner for a boat tour of the islands: Hydra, Poros, and Aegina. We took a bus from the Hotel Amalia to the port of Athens and boarded our ship, a high speed catamaran. It was a two hour trip to the first island, Hydra. We spent the majority of the trip on the deck, admiring the view (and trying not to be seasick!). It was an absolutely beautiful day, 65 degrees Fahrenheit, blue skies, no clouds (quite a contrast to Brussels!). Elisabeth decided that first morning that she wanted to move to Greece.
Hydra
Hydra was our first port of call. Hydra is one of the Saronic islands, located in the Aegean Sea between the Saronic Gulf and the Argolic Gulf. It is separated from the Peloponnese by narrow strip of water. In ancient times, the island was known as Hydrea, which was a reference to the springs on the island. The only automobiles on the island are trash trucks. On the seafront there were plenty of donkeys to ride, but we preferred to walk. The girls enjoyed stretching their legs. We walked along the seafront for the full two hours on Hydra from the mansions and museum on one side of the island to the windmills on the other side. We visited the local Greek Orthodox church and a few shops. As we were walking to board our ship a little girl approached Elisabeth and Kate. She pointed and said "nina, nina, nina" - she was quite taken with Elisabeth and Kate. Rich and I were worried that she would board the ship with us. So E&K held her hands and took her back to her grandmother.
Poros
We boarded the ship for an authentic Greek lunch and a short ride to another island, Poros. At Poros we walked up the path on the rocky hillside to a clock tower, took some scenic photos and hiked down. Several Chinese tourists asked if they could take their photos with Elisabeth and Kate. Elisabeth was happy to oblige, Kate was not. We hiked back down the hillside and boarded the ship once more for a short ride to the final island, Aegina.
Aegina
During ancient times, Aegina was a rival to Athens, the great sea power of the era. On Aegina we took the "Classical Tour" on a bus to visit famous Greek ruins. The Temple of Aphaea was dedicated to its namesake, Aphaea, a goddess which was later associated with Athena; the temple was part of a pre-Christian, equilateral holy triangle of temples including the Athenian Parthenon and the temple of Poseidon at Sounion. We also visited the Monastery of Agios Nectarios, dedicated to Saint Nectarios, a recent saint of the Greek Orthodox Church.
McDonald's on Constitution Square
On the return trip to the port in Athens, we were entertained by Greek dancing instructors. Elisabeth and Kate enjoyed it. We arrived back at Athens later than planned so we ate at McDonald's for dinner on Constitution Square across from the Parliament building and walked back to our hotel.
We contemplated a trip to Delphi the next day, but we were so exhausted we decided to stay in Athens and visit the Acropolis on Saturday...more to come...(I need to move along the washer/dryer!)...
