Athens, Greece

We had an early wake-up (12:30 a.m.) in Amman for a 4:15 a.m. flight to Athens. We landed in Athens at 6:30 in the morning and had a little over 12 hours to see as much as we could before our next flight. The last time we were in Athens was in 2009 during our around-the-world trip, and both times we were only there for a day and missed one of the most important sites in the world, the Acropolis of Athens. I wasn’t about to let this visit go by without correcting this egregious blunder.

was going to host the 1996 Olympic Games for the centennial anniversary of the first modern games, but the pace of construction led to a delay of eight years before Athens finally hosted in 2004. Even then, many venues were plagued by strikes and slow work and there was universal panic that Athens would not be ready in time. Part of the plan was to build the metro out to the airport. This never happened in time and was still not built in 2009 when we were last here. I’m not sure when they finally completed it, but I was happy to see it complete now. In just 50 minutes we were at Monastiraki Square, and I remembered being in the same spot in 2009. Thankfully I booked an Airbnb just a minute away and by 8 a.m. we were napping.

After catching up with some sleep it was time for some Greek lunch and then the Acropolis. In 2009, both times we were there we ate at a small kiosk that served amazing Greek food, it was run by an extremely friendly Egyptian from Alexandria. I knew exactly where it was, just a few minutes from our Airbnb. Google Maps said it was permanently closed, but I hoped it wasn’t accurate. As we got closer to the place I could see the colour scheme had changed, and then I saw that it was indeed closed, replaced by an ice cream shop.

We found another place to eat and then ventured up the hill to the Acropolis. After wandering around the site for a couple of hours we ended up in the Plaka neighborhood before it was time to head to the airport once again. Next time, I’ll need to book a few days in Athens as it seems to have improved in the 14 years since I’ve been there and has so much to see.