First day in Athens – ends in happy

It was a very Churchillian morning – it was not the end, nor necessarily the beginning of the end, but definitely the end of the beginning. The boys awoke very fragile, but clearly on the mend. The fragility evidenced itself with Dec having a complete melt-down over packing and ending up sobbing in the bathroom. A healthy breakfast sitting in the sun and setting out to gently explore seemed to get things back on track.

We walked down the road to Syntagma Square and watched the very serious soldiers channel Monty Python’s Ministry of Funny Walks. Their precision and dedication is impressive, but there’s no way to take their choreographed moves terribly seriously. And pom-poms on their boots? What on Earth is that about?

The boys needed some recovery time so we sat in a cafe in a lovely park for a while. Then just further down the road is Hadrian’s Gate and the Temple of Olympian Zeus, but then Athens is just awash in ruins. Back to the hotel to check-out and then some more sitting in restaurants to pass some time. The fact the restaurant was beside the Agora meant we could combine sightseeing with a cold beer – which is not a bad way to go.  But, wait, we have better.

So mid-afternoon we got into our Athens apartment. Happiness. We have a view of the Acropolis from our dining table. And from our swimming pool. Let’s face it, we may not leave the apartment for the next few days. The apartment is on a lovely residential street that has a small supermarket down the road, a bottle shop in the other direction, and three cafes opposite. It may well be heaven. We had a swim and a home-cooked meal. And we are happy.