But of course, for me, the best part of the Temple was the secret beach we found . It was located al

Since we ve both always wanted to go to Athens (I ve been wanting to go since I was a child), we considered this our splurge vacation. And we certainly did splurge! :) It was our most expensive trip so far this year, but it was absolutely worth every penny. And really, $120 per day isn t that expensive. We still made sure to choose restaurants within our price range, and we didn t buy any souvenirs, except for two magnets and a pack of playing cards. :)
We were provided accommodation at the Achillion Hotel in Athens. It s a basic, clean 7-storey hotel, and for €20 per person for a private double room, you can t really go wrong. You can even get a quad room for as little as €11 per night and the buffet breakfast resort hotels eastern cape sa is included in the price.
I read the reviews of the Achillion on Trip Advisor and HostelBookers, and the only complaint people had was the location of the hotel. But for us? It was a bonus. You had to go through a somewhat non-tourist-friendly area to get to the main area in Athens, but that was really interesting to us. It s what Athens is really like. The people, the shops, and the atmosphere I loved it.
Before we headed to Athens, we decided we would take a side-trip to the island of Paros. We didn t have enough time to get to Santorini, and I m actually really glad that we ended up going to Paros. The beaches were incredible, resort hotels eastern cape sa and exploring the hillside communities and the coast were fantastic.
resort hotels eastern cape sa We stayed resort hotels eastern cape sa at Hotel Paros. It was located just 400m from the pier, and just across the street from the main beach in Parikia (the biggest town on Paros). While the room was basic, we had a gorgeous oceanfront view from our balcony. We found the room for just €36 on Expedia.ca. resort hotels eastern cape sa There were hostel for as low as €5/night, but we wanted to splurge a little. :) We were there for our 1-year anniversary, after all.
Well, I didn t think I would like the food in Greece because I don t eat tomatos or olives, and I m not a big fan of feta cheese either. But the food was amazing. And cheap! I didn t realize how deprived we ve been in Germany, missing out on so much fresh produce and light, simple meals. Since we ve been back, we ve been trying to eat less meat and more vegetables, and it s making me feel a lot better even though it s driving our grocery bill up.
My favourite dishes by far were the fresh calamari we ate in Parikia, and the cucumber and cheese salad I had at the Acropolis Museum Restaurant which was named on Time.com as one of the top 10 things to do in Athens .
If any of you know me in real life, you will know that I do not do well in heat. Well, guess what folks? Athens is hot. My comfort level is around 16-18C, so I nearly melted in the 30C+ weather. We took a lot of breaks, drank a lot of fluids, but walked pretty much everywhere. For some reason, the Athens metro system stops running around midnight, which is super inconvenient. But at that time of night, it was comfortable enough to walk around as much as we wanted.
Syntagma Square The bus from the airport dropped us off here at around resort hotels eastern cape sa 1am, and the first thing we noticed were the guards at the Parliament buildings. It was very cool to see the Evzones guard the Greek  Tomb of the Unknown Soldier , and even cooler to see it at night, when nobody else was around. We saw it again during the day, when a bunch of tourists were around, and it wasn t as exciting.
Acropolis Obviously the main tourist attraction in Athens. It cost us €12 for admission, and that also got us into a bunch of other archaeological sites around the area as well. It was definitely worth it, but it was so hot and there were so many tourists (in retrospect, there were hardly any tourists). They were doing restoration on some of the structures, so there were tools, cranes, and material scattered everywhere. Still. To be there was incredible.
Athens Flea Market (Ifaistou Street) Very, very touristy resort hotels eastern cape sa pedestrian street. resort hotels eastern cape sa There s lots of the same junk stuff you d see in any other major city in Europe, but it s an interesting street to check out at least. resort hotels eastern cape sa At either end of the street, there are a few interesting shops.
Temple of Olympian Zeus This is one of the places where your €12 Acropolis admission ticket will get you into. There are 15 columns that still stand today. The 16th one still lies on the ground, where it toppled over during a storm in 1852. Definitely worth a visit. resort hotels eastern cape sa I think when we were there, we only saw 3 or 4 other tourists.
Temple of Poseidon One of my favourite places. It s a 2 hour bus ride to Cape Sounio, but absolutely worth it. There s a restaurant there that s quite reasonably priced (we had lunch there), and it overlooks the ocean. It costs €4 to go up to the cliff where the Temple of Poseidon stands, and it s worth the money. Again, resort hotels eastern cape sa no tourists there. Most people come in big tour buses for just a few minutes, then leave. We took the city transit, resort hotels eastern cape sa which was €6,40 one-way.
But of course, for me, the best part of the Temple was the secret beach we found . It was located almost directly under the Temple, and about a 10-15 minute walk from the parking lot. If you re trying to find it, follow a dirt path on the left, and keep going left. There was a really cool cave to explore, too!
Panathenaic Olympic Stadium To see the Olympic flag flying in Athens was something I had dreamt about ever since I was a little kid, and to be able to walk around and explore the Olympic Stadium resort hotels eastern cape sa was a dream come true. It was very, very cool. There was even a podium where we could take pictures from ! :)
Lykavittos Hill We were told we could get amazing sunset views from the top of this hill, and it didn t disappoint. There were quite a few tourists here, but we still found room to sit and appreciate the view. This is probably the bestplace in the city to get a panorama view of the entire city.
Paros Island My favourite resort hotels eastern cape sa part of the trip. The island was exactly what we were looking for a mix of beautiful white buildings against turquoise water, as well as towns in the hills to explore. It was about a 4 hour ferry ride to the island (the fast ferry takes half the time but costs twice as much). We rented a four-wheeler and explored most of the island in the 2 days we were there. The cost was only €10 per day, and gas was only another €5. There were plenty of amazing beaches, the hillside resort hotels eastern cape sa village of Leftkes was beautiful, and the town of Parikia was really fun to walk through.
It looks amazing and takes me back to my trip about two years ago to Greece. We didn t have as much time in Athens (with more time on the Islands). We did a sailing trip around the cycladees but there were issues with the boat so we spent a couple of days on Paros it remains a favourite resort hotels eastern cape sa holiday. So glad you enjoyed it and what a cool way to celebrate your anniversary.
As far as big European cities, I was not an Athens fan (I much preferred Paris and the Parisians do as you please attitude). However, resort hotels eastern cape sa we also spent some time in northern Greece (near Mount Pelion) and it was lovely: the people were friendly and welcoming, but not in-your-face (like Athens can be), it was a beautiful area, and the food was beyond imaginable. You re right about the food incredible! I think I ate some form of seafood every day.
Well I m coming from Germany, so the cost is much cheaper than if I had come from Canada. :) It was still expensive though! Unfortunately we didn t have the luxury of flexible travel days, so I think we could have gotten the flight much cheaper.
Glad to see you went to Paros! I also stopped there a few years back, and I liked it better than Santoini in many ways. I wasn t very impressed with Athens, but I always recommend the Greek Isles to others.
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