Day 110 Sunday 6 July – Athens, by Ken

The sun was rising over the misty mainland of Greece when I woke up. The Gulf of Corinth directly in front of Mabel’s windscreen was as calm as a millpond. It was a magnificent sight.

Gulf of Corinth Early Morning

With less than 100km to drive between our camping grounds on the fringes of Corinth and Athens and not of lot of packing up to do, we decided a slow start to the day was in order.

Slow Start To The Day In Corinth (I'm pretty sure Jane didn't have that bottle of wine for her breakfast)

It was approaching 10:30 when we left the camping ground with Jane in the captain’s seat of Mabel. It wasn’t long before we were approaching the closed bridge that had caused us problems over the last two days, but unlike Friday morning the detour to take us to the Patras - Athens motorway was signed. The signing caused Jane some consternation as it conflicted with the instructions coming out of satnav. She reluctantly agreed with my suggestion to follow the signs which got us to the motorway after several kilometres of rough country roads.

The Greeks have some of the best roads we have used on this trip and their new motorways are excellent. That between Patras and Athens is three lanes in each direction designed to a high standard with a very good ride that Mabel seemed to be gliding along at her 90 km/hr cruising speed. The on and off ramps are well designed being long, giving plenty of time to decelerate and accelerate. That is in marked contrast to Italy where they are dangerously short and are usually connected to very tight curves. Leaving an autostrada requires heavy braking to get as much speed off as possible before the inevitable seemingly endless curve at the end. Even then the g forces on the initial part of the curve are similar to those in the centrifuge used for training astronauts.

Good and Quiet Motorway

We caught a glimpse of the Corinth Canal as we crossed from the Peloppenese to the Greek mainland and shortly afterwards caught our first glimpse of the Aegean as we passed the large oil refinery at Isthmia. From there the motorway hugged the coast to near the port of Elefsina. It was very busy with a lot of ships lying at anchor with numerous floating dry docks dotted around. The road was about 100 metres above the sea and below we could see what was presumably the original two lane road running virtually at sea level. There were also signs the motorway had been improved with tunnels through the flanks of hills replacing viaducts skirting round them.

At the first toll booth we came to I was still in the co-pilots’ seat. Leaning out to pay the modest €5.40 fee I managed to drop some of the coins. The attendant stopped me from getting out. Instead she asked how much I had dropped and was happy to take the balance of €2.40. We switched driving duties at a service area and Jane paid two further tolls after that. In all we paid €12.80 for the use of over 80km of a very good road, much less than we would have paid in Italy. Also, there was little traffic on the road and I wondered whether collecting the tolls was actually worthwhile.

Nearing Athens the motorway became busier and by the time we pulled off into Athen’s north east suburbs all three lanes were full. The last few kilometres were through leafy narrow suburban streets packed with houses with lots of parked cars constricting the streets. Very close to our destination cars were parked on both sides of the road and Jane doubted there was room to get Mabel through. There was, but only just, I had to fold Mabel’s door mirror to clear that of a car while the woman driver looked anxiously on.

The camping ground was surprisingly small for a capital city, a marked contrast to those we have used in Rome and Paris. It was also busy, but we found a small shaded pitch adjacent to a caravan. The caravan’s owner was very concerned we stayed 700mm from his caravan’s toilet window. I’d no idea where that precise requirement came from.

After lunch of bread and dips we set off in Smarty to visit Athens. The camping ground was in the suburb of Nea Kifisia which Stella and I had visited in 1971 as her friend Evelyn (and once my girlfriend who had introduced me to Stella) was living at the time with Rick, her US Army husband. 43 years on it felt familiar with its bustling shopping area and quiet suburban streets.

We found Kifisia railway station on the second attempt. It was in a maze of one way streets. There was nowhere to park nearby and we had to weave a tortuous route through narrow streets and then a busy main road to work our way back to a side street where we found a park.

A day pass for the metro was €4 each. On the outside our train was covered in graffiti as were all the others we passed on our way into Athens. Inside it was spotless as were the stations. Interestingly, each station had a security guard wearing a stab proof vest. Our Line 1 train was fast  (electric, third rail) but stopping at every station, including one that served the 2004 Olympic Park, meant it took a good 40 minutes to reach Omonia station where we changed to a Line 2 train to ride three stops to Akropoli. Line 2 was underground and the trains were graffiti free.

Our Decorated Train

Security Guard

Omnia Station

Artefacts Found When Excavating Akropoli Station

It was a short walk from Akropoli metro station to the pay booth for the Acropolis where the attendant happily took my word I was a British citizen over 65 years old and gave me half price admission. Our guide book advised avoiding visiting the Acropolis in the mornings as that was when coach tours arrived. If correct, that was good advice as the area was very busy with tourists of lots of different nationalities.

First Glimpse Of The Acropolis

Drinks Break

 It was very hot and we drank a lot of water climbing to the top of the Acropolis. On the way we stopped to look at the Theatre of Dionysous, an ancient amphitheatre and the Theatre of Herodes Atticus where some of the Roman walls remained but the marble seating had been replaced by the modern equivalent and a stage set up for an orchestra had been installed.

Theatre of Dionysus

Theatre of Herodes

Finally reaching the top of the Acropolis we entered through the arched Roman Beute gate and through the Propylaia where there was evidence it had been built using the ancient Greek equivalent of Lego. 

Beute Gate

Jane On Steps To Bute Gate

Lego Used In Construction

Propylaia

From the Propylaia we climbed a slippery marble cobbled path polished by the feet of tourists. The Parthenon was a building site dominated by a large rail mounted crane. According to our guide book archaeologists planned to complete restoration work in time for the 2004 Olympic games. They didn’t and it may be 40 years yet before it’s finished. The Erechtheion was perhaps the most striking of the buildings on the Acropolis. A temple to three Greek gods, designed by Pericles, was virtually unencumbered by scaffolding.

Here's some shots of the Parthenon:

 

Pericles' Temple To Athena, Poseidon and Erechtheus

We stopped for a while looking out over Athens sprawling virtually as far as the eye could see. Far below we could see the remains of the Temple of Olympian Zeus and in the distance the white church of Ayios Yeórylos stood out on the top of a tree covered hill.

Athens

Church of Ayios Yeórylos

Temple of Olympian Zeus

 We walked down from the Acropolis to the nearby Pláka, a largely pedestianised area of narrow lanes and alleyways filled with cafés, restaurants and shops. We walked around the area for a while, it was very busy with tourists, many of them American. 

Would Suit Someone Keen On DIY

On the Way To The Plaka

A Plaka Street, Believe It Or Not

Taverna

Having tired of walking we decided to find somewhere to eat settling on the Akropol taverna in a tree filled square in the centre of the Pláka where the proprietor offered authentic Greek food. We spent a long time perusing the menu, I decided on dolmades followed by mousaka. Thomas (or would it be Tomas?) the proprietor recommended shrimps, fish, both fresh today, and salad. But I wanted mousaka, not having had it in Greece yet. Thomas said it was too hot to eat heavy mousaka and we should go with his seafood option. We compromised with dolmades followed by the seafood all of which was absolutely delicious. We lingered over drinking the last of the red wine we had ordered. When we eventually asked for the bill Thomas asked if we would like ouzo and water melon on him. Of course we did. Talking to Thomas he told us his very good English was learnt over 12 years at school.

Plaka Pavement Cafes

Akropol Taverna

Thomas

Delicious Fish

After dinner it was an easy walk back to the Akropoli metro station from where we took the trains to Kifisia. Both the trains were very busy as were the numerous pavement cafes and tavernas we passed as we travelled through the suburbs.

Akropoli Station

Today's Trip (95km)