Athens is one place I’ve always wanted to visit. In middle school I was fascinated by Greek mythology and our visit was a bit of an accident. Hubby came home one evening and said “I have to go to Athens for work in a few weeks” and when I saw it was the week after Mother’s Day, I replied “you know we’re going with you, right?”
We actually ended up visiting Athens twice, once in conjunction with hubby’s business trip and again on the Holy Land cruise we took with my parents and sister (fun fact: Athens and Belfast were the only places we went to two separate times!)
Our first visit was in the Spring of 2011 when Honeybun was 2 1/2 and Sugarplum was 8 months old and Greece had recently endured it’s financial crisis. Being the savvy travelers that we are, we picked a hotel not too far from all the things we wanted to see (by this point in our traveling experience I had developed a really great system for picking the best hotel) but it wasn’t until the last day of our stay in Athens that we realized our hotel was right behind the City Hall where some of the drama of the Greek financial crisis and bailout had played out! (Luckily we were there during a peaceful spell!)
We traveled to Athens three days before hubby’s meetings (though most of the first day was taken up by flying) and took that time to explore the city. Because hubby was staying at a seaside hotel and not in the city for his work portion, we brought our car seats knowing we would be taking taxis to/from the airport and between our hotels. Public transport into the city from the airport is ….
We arrived in the late afternoon (after a connection in Frankfurt, Germany) and after checking into our hotel and dropping our bags and car seats we headed towards the Monastiraki Square where we had a traditional Greek dinner in a nice little restaurant and everyone gushed over the girls’ blonde hair.
The next day we set off early for the Acropolis, this was what I’d been waiting my whole life for! Buggies are not allowed on the top by the Parthenon (but there is a safe place to leave them) so I threw Sugarplum in the carrier and off we climbed. Honeybun climbed most of the way to the top and we all enjoyed the views and ruins. Honeybun especially liked the Erechtheum with the ladies holding the building up with their heads! The views were amazing and it was surprisingly calm and not too busy with people.
After climbing back down we stopped for lunch at a little cafe below the Acropolis then headed to the Ancient Agora. Honeybun did a little super model posing (a little too much America’s Next Top Model for her in those days while Daddy was traveling, Sugarplum was screaming and mommy was trying not to loose her mind!). We did not do the museum but did explore the statues outside and almost got kicked out for getting too close.
We continued wandering through the street markets around the Plaka and Thission neighborhoods where we bought a few souvenirs, our painting for the trip and gifts for family before heading back to the hotel for the night. One of our favorite treats in all of our travels was the coconut sticks which we bought in the Monastiraki Square (Probably a tie for best with the kuros kalacs we had in Budapest).
The next day was reserved for museums. I really wanted to go to the Byzantine Museum but it was closed on Monday (just our luck!) so we headed to the Cycladic Art Museum and the Benaki museum which house ancient treasures from throughout Athens’ and the world’s history. There were many interesting things to see and the girls were not bored for a second in either museum.
That afternoon we headed out to the seaside hotel where hubby would be stationed for his meetings (we were given the go-ahead by his company to share his room). The hotel sat high above the sea with a little beach area and pool overlooking the sea. We tried visiting the beach the first afternoon but it was a bit chilly. The girls and I spent the next few days hanging out in the hotel room and playing at the park. Since the beach was too cold and I wasn’t brave enough for swimming alone with an infant and toddler we took advantage of the huge shower and bath tub with a view instead.
Our second visit was a one-day adventure off the ship 9 months later. Like we had done in other places, we again booked a private tour (like we did in St. Petersburg, Russia and Kusadasi, Turkey, which was cheaper and easier than a cruise ship tour since there were seven of us). We started with a tour of the city, stopping at the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the original Olympic stadium.
We also stopped to watch the changing of the guard at the Parliament Building before heading towards the Acropolis. My parents and sister climbed to the top and saw the Parthenon while hubby, the girls and I explored the ruins at the base of the Acropolis we had missed the first time. There were hardly any people there so the girls were able to run and explore (respectfully) to their heart’s desires.
We all then visited the museum together which was fascinating. The vast collection of ruins is astounding and the various conditions of the pieces was interesting. Lastly we had a traditional lunch and did a little shopping before heading back to the ship to head off for our next port!
