Greece - Athens
Original Post: November 6, 2018
On the seventh week, they rested.
Week six was filled with mid-term assignments, all due the day before our fall break began - the mark of surviving the first half of the semester; the mark of a week-long relaxation.
Week seven was filled with Greek food, Greek drinks and Greek views.
Sunday afternoon, October 28, we checked into the Acropolis View Hotel in Athens. Right away, we went to the rooftop deck, which offered a view of the city and its major landmarks - the hotel’s name was fitting, as we could see the beautiful scenery of the Acropolis from where we stood.
From here, we went to lunch at Cafe Roua. Our mouths were watering at the sight of the food at the table next to ours, so we asked the waitress to give us what they had - our first meal in Greece was a delicious traditional Moussaka dish and Gyro.
After walking around the main area of the city and going back to the hotel to enjoy the night’s lit up view from our rooftop, we went to dinner at the modern Greek restaurant Mani Mani.
The next morning after eating free breakfast from our hotel, we walked through shops in the Plaka area - the oldest neighborhood in Athens, a five minute walk from our hotel.
Our first sightseeing location was the Olympian Temple of Zeus. Free with a European student ID - thank you, Maynooth University! - we were able to get in easily.
Hungry from all of our walking, we went to the Acropolis Restaurant Cafe for a light Gyro lunch - that ended up turning into a four course meal. The owner, who appeared to be a nice old Greek man, kindly brought out appetizers without us asking. Unfortunately, they were not on the house and we walked out with our pockets a bit more empty than expected.
We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the Acropolis and Parthenon, also free for European students. For dinner, we went to the restaurant Adriano’s in the Plaka area, where we took part in a traditional Greek dance that ended with smashing of plates.
The next day, we flew to the Greek island of Mykonos and began the true relaxation part of our week-long adventure.