Athens, Greece

We were up before our alarm rang at 8:30, the first time this trip. Maybe we’re starting to get over our jet lag? It was just as well, as the bells on the orthodox church next door started chiming at 9am for Sunday mass. I think the bells are literally right outside our window! At least, it sounds like they are. The singer (?) had an excellent voice. The incantations reminded us of call to prayers at mosques where it’s broadcast over speakers.

The Athens half marathon was today, with a few road closures. I had looked up the full marathon when planning to make sure we didn’t hit it (that’s a busier time here) but not every event. I suppose in a city as big as Athens there’s always some event or the other.

We walked over to the National Archaeological Museum, in the Exarcheia neighbourhood. It’s another up-and-coming neighbourhood. The recent opening of new subway stops has kicked-started the gentrification.

The museum is large. We spent about three hours visiting, and could probably return to see the remaining. It was pretty interesting and well-labelled in Greek and English.

I had read up about a sandwich place, The Black Salami, about ten minutes from the museum. It was excellent! It had a very local vibe to it. We had an espresso and a miso cookie after our sandwiches. Mmm good.

That was it for the day. We got home, did some laundry at the laundromat (we don’t trust hotels to not shrink our clothes), picked out a restaurant for dinner with indoor seating. We ate at Athinaikon near the Holy Metropolitan Cathedral. It was mostly tourists but had pretty good food.