Arriving in Athens (Greece 7)

In the morning, we had breakfast, finished packing then drove the hired car to Gavrio where we returned it to its owners. Due to a misunderstanding about dates, we actually had the car for a day longer than booked so I had to pay another €35. Returning the car a day earlier and travelling by taxi would probably have cost us just as much if not more, so this wasn't a problem. I do wonder how the car hire firm makes a profit but that's not my problem.

The ferry turned up on time at 10:15 am and we scrambled aboard. This stage was a bit worrying as we didn't have much time and we have more luggage than the usual traveller. We found seats and off we went for a two hour journey which passed quite quickly.

I had ordered a driver to pick us up at Rafina: although there are buses which take one to Athens, it was not prudent to use public transport when we didn't know our destination. The roads were very crowded; Athens seemed very spread out, and the driver said that 5 million Greeks live in this city which is a problem when the country's population is only 10 million (Wikipedia says 11 million in 2016).

The hotel is narrow and tall, very close to the Monastiraki train station. This is a very central location and one can see the Acropolis from our balcony (if I remember correctly, I paid a bit extra for this). In the afternoon, we went out for a walk in the crowded neighbourhood and found ourselves in a bazaar similar to what the Old City in Jerusalem was like 50 years ago, or the bazaar in Rodos. Some of the items were delightful (hand-carved items from olive wood in one shop, all items made from Portuguese cork in another) and some were trash. We had dinner in one of the many restaurants (we sat in a side alley but discovered afterwards a huge 'restaurant square'), having grilled sea bream. Very tasty and no more expensive than our meal in Chora.

Slightly after returning to the hotel, we saw that the Acropolis was now floodlit.

Despite buying cough medicine in Gavrio prior to departure, I am still coughing merrily and had a very bad night. I couldn't get to sleep at first, and about 1:30 am, I had a coughing fit which ended with me almost being sick but getting rid of a great deal of phlegm. When I don't cough, my throat hurts as it is dry. I think that I will have to see the kibbutz doctor next Tuesday if nothing improves. As a result of my bad night, I didn't wake till 7:30 am, which is late for me.