Day 1 - June 11 Athens

Ah, where to begin.  

Well, let's start with day 0 - Wednesday June 10th.  Flight out of JFK scheduled for 4:34, but didn't take off until 5:40.  Seriously, who cared.

Linda and I had already had a glass of vino at the Delta Skyclub, and we were already (mentally) out of New York.   

The plan was, have another glass or two of wine on board, pop a Xanax, and snooze a good 6 of the 9 hour flight.

We need to alter this plan next time to change to vodka - because Linda and I might have gotten an hour of sleep each.  There might have been a reason - see I've been nursing a light head cold since Sunday.   So I was not at my best.

And, I seem to have  given my darling wife the cold. 

However, head colds and lack of sleep did not break our mood.   We were soon enough in Athens, the sun was out, and this was a vacation that had been planned for years.   

We picked up the luggage without a hitch, and hopped a taxi to the Royal Olympic Hotel.  It was quite  beautiful - everything you'd expect from a 5 star hotel.

Except it was 11:30am and our room wouldn't be available until 2:30.   Normally, we might have ventured out into Athens and strolled the streets.

As we were exhausted, we opted to lay poolside for an hour and then grab a bite.

Well, I laid - Linda passed out.  I could barely wake her an hour later. 

At around 1 we strolled out and stopped at a local bistro for lunch.   A great Greek salad, and Chicken souvlaki for both.  Both very good, but the side order of feta cheese coated in phylo dough was phenomenal!   And, as the feta in Greece is all made from sheep or goat milk, I can eat it!

At this time, Jamie and Josh texted us that they checked in and were heading out to Plaka.  We headed back to the hotel to check in, and then went a strolling ourselves. 

Our first stop was the Temple of Zeus.  What was originally a large structure, is now only a handful of columns - but magnificent. 

From there we walked into the Plaka area.  The Plaka is just below the Acropolis, and is teeming with shops, stores, and restaurants - in hopes you'll spend your euros there.   We got a bit farblondzshet and needed Google Maps to point us back to the hotel.  

Once back, we took a quick nap, showered and took a taxi to our dinner destination - Orizontes, at Lycacittou.  Lycavittou is a hilltop that overlooks all of Athens.   The taxi drops you at the bottom and you have a choice of whether to hike up (not) or take the cable car (yes).

The views from up there are astonishing.  Pictures do not do it justice.  

Dinner was very good, except for the service.  We started with a great (and beautiful) Greek salad.  

I had shrimp, over pasta - very tasty.  Josh had the Greek risotto, which he enjoyed.  

The problem was with the girl's fish.  They ordered something similar to grouper.  When the waiter tried to filet it, there was a problem.  The translation we understood is that it was undercooked.

Anyway, it was 15-20 minutes until the fish came back out.  

But, the service did not alter our mood - nor would we NOT recommend this place. The wait staff all were apologetic, but - it was what it was.

Upon returning to the hotel, Josh, Jamie, and I went to the rooftop bar for a nightcap.  Linda went to get some extra shuteye and try to kick "my" head cold.  

The views from the roof bar was stunning.  A perfect way to end our first day in Athens.

After two rounds of drinks, we headed down to our rooms, and catch up on some much needed sleep.

The next day would be the trip to the Acropolis.