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My trips to Athens Greece
Trip To Athens September 2004
We arrived to Athens
airport 2:40 am without to have a place to stay arranged. I think this is the best way how really expirienced the trip.
In the arrival hall we find and have to say that it surpriced me that we found many travel agencies opened. The staff is another story.
As we asked for cheap nice hotel located in the city centre and that was probably question which really upsett the lady in the agency.
She start to offer us hotels in the centre in price not less then 140 EUR. (we asked for 3 single rooms)
We asked her to get room around 60 EUR per night and she simply close the file with the hotels asnwered that there are no available such a hotels. After 10 of hopeless disputation we took hotel Jason Prime (160 EUR / night / single room)
we paid deposit at the airport and the balance should be paid at the hotel reception.
Then we took taxi all of them are yellow and there is long line of them infront of the airport.
It was easy and comfortable and we paid 36 EUR for the journey which is normal. Generaly taxi are quite cheap in Athens.
The Hotel Jason Prime is located near the
Omonia
Square in the centre of Athens and you can walk to quater called Plaka in 10 min. We got to hotel after 3am we checked in to the rooms. Rooms were large and very nice all with balcony.
At the reception was old greek man gave us basic info about the location and maps.
Of course we went for little walk. It was September and even so late in the night it was very hot. All the streets seems very similar and it was not easy to find the way back to hotel but we managed.
Next day we had to be in Egaleo (north east part of Athens) in street Mnisikleos where is the Kung Fu Hung Kar school and as we have been told there are no Hotels in this area.
The public transport is for the first time in Athens little confusing and therefor we decided to take taxi. We catch the cab on Omonia Square and ask to go (go in greek is ,,pame,,) to Egaleo and when we ask for Mnisikleos steet the driver looked into the map while he drives. In 15 min we got there.
At the evening we returned back to the centre of Athens and explored the Omonia area and it is busy 24 hours. There are lots of people during the day but alsmots the same amount of people in the night. Omonia Square is sometime called like Albanian centre of Athens. And is considered like dangerous in the night but I have to say the we felt all time safe and did not faced any dengerous situation.
After 2 days in Athens I did not managed get back to the hotel without using my city map!
The best time we found in the historical centre under the
Acropolis in
Plaka
it is lovely place with slow down atmospher with many small caffe, restaurants original Greek Tavernas, shops with suveniers, tshirts and other greek staff. We spend one day to walk up to Acropolis from where you have amazing view to all over the Athens
Stepan 2004
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Trip to Athens 2005
My trips to Athens - Greece In July 2004 my friend invited me to go to Athens with him and his Kung-fu master (They had some intensive 2-phase training with a Greek Master there).
For 10 days! It was an amasing surprise for me and I started getting ready for a trip.
All my friends told me thats really great, just my sister told me:
Are you crazy?! Dont go there in July or you will get burned from hot weather in that horrible cement concrete city!
I knew of course that there is really hot in summer top season in Greece, but finally I decided to go in any case.I couldnt lose such a great chance!
I have booked some quite cheap hotel Dioscouros in the very centre called Plaka
(70 EUR per tripple room per night incl. breakfast.)
When we came to the centre, hot and tired we started to look for a hotel. It was in a small narrow street called Pitakou but very good located. Even the hotel name is Dioskourous we called it At the Spider (that was the boss that Spider - he was all the time everywhere, pressing all the time all of his staff and he stayed in some cellar of the hotel).
So we had to pay all 10 nights beforehand , we did not care too much cause we wanted to get a room quickly, to have a small rest and to go outsideWeve got a key
and went to our room. Our key number took us to a door from outside.We opened that door and entered to some Spiders cellar or what, there was one very small window leading straight to the pavement (really, when you opened the windou, you head was just on the pavement level. And there was no airconditioning that was really unacceptableSo we had to find a Spider and ask him to give us another room. It was a little bit complicated but finally we succeded to get a really nice and big room, with wooden floor, good wooden beds, big window with a small terrace and a good view!
Between that we have a look to some other hotels. Its really not easy to catch a taxi there. However there are plenty of yellow cabs on the streets.everywhere and its very cheapIf you succed to stop some cab, it doesnt mean he will tak?ou to the place you want to go. Not at all! Well, you say the name of the place and the driver is expressing by his face if hes gonna tak?ou or not! But if you dont know that speciality of Greek drivers its quite difficult to understand what their faces expressions means.But later you will get used into it(you will just have to).
Well, finally we stayed at the Spider.. We just managed our stuff in the room, took a shower and went outside. As my friends have already been there a couple months ago, they remained some places in the centre so that was really fine.
In a few minutes we were at Plaka.
There were lots of quite narrow, very old stone streets with plenty of various shops having exposed their goods on the street, with many pubs and restaurants and lots of tourists from all over the worldWe decided to have a lunch in a nice restaurant on the street cross of Plaka streets. Most of the restaurants had their tables and chairs outside as well, so there was almost no space for walking. And if there was some small space, there was usually lying some lazy and tired dog in the middle of the street. Those dogs were lying everywhere! Just everywhere! Its really strange and also a little bit unhygienic I think. Anyway, thats Greece.
Next day we decided to go to the beach Glyfada. We called a taxi from the hotel (having those crazy experiences with taxi drivers). Then we were going slowly through overcrowded street looking forward to see the sea soon. In more than half an hour we came to the sea. Weve got some recommendation from our friends where to go. And that was a really good idea! Just in front of the beach there was a large something as a lounge with perfect fast food (various kinds of toasts, sendwiches, vegetable salads) and our beloved frapp?of course.
Then we found some sunbeds with umbrella, then we took some nice food (good-looking and polite waitresses were serving us bringing our food straight to sunbed!) And after lunch we went to the sea! Ive really enjoyed it, however I am not very good friend with big waves.But fortunatelly there were no big waves, just small ones, cause we were just at some bay and not at the full sea. So that was really great for me.
But very strange was that we didnt found any shells there. Probably beacause of ebb and flow, or maybe there are no shells at the bay, I dont know.
One of the day we went to Acropolis - the main monument in Athens above the Plaka - to see the sunset and it was great. There were lots of people sitting on the rock talking and enjoying the evening.
We stayed there much longer then we planed. Acropolis has somting magic.
Eva 2005
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