24th Nov

Today is going to be a a bit emotional. Having to leave my travel buddy behind was never going to be easy. Alan now has a job, so i am on my own this trip. Saying goodbye at the airport was not the easiest thing to do. I think Alan held up better than i did.

Anyway the flight to Melbourne was good, but we were delayed by half an hour. My connection to Dubai did not leave for another 2 hours, so i was able to spend time in the Qantas lounge.
The 12 hour flight to Dubai in the A380 seemed to take only a few hours. I must have gone into a deep sleep, how lucky.

Arrived in Dubai at 11.30pm and was transferred to my hotel for the 10 hour layover. Didn't get much sleep, but it was nice to lay down.

25th
Breakfast at the hotel was very good, lots to choose from. The short bus ride back to the airport had me there at 9am. The flight to Athens was not departing till 11.50am, so i had so time to kill. Turns out the gate i was leaving from is a 21 minute walk. The Dubai airport is Huge!

We landed at Athens at 1.30pm. Now as the flight was an international flight we had to clear immigration. This is where my new Hungarian passport had its first use. The queue for non EU citizens was very long, and would have taken 20 to 30 minutes to clear. But as i am now an EU citizen i cleared immigration in under 2 minutes.

The train ride to the city took 40 minutes, and only a short walk to the Plaka Hotel. It is a nice balmy afternoon with the temperature around 18C. After unpacking my bag i realised i left my jacket in the Dubai hotel. Feel pretty stupid right now. So its off to find a replacement. There is a pedestrian mall right next to the hotel, and it doesn't take me long to find a new Jacket at a reasonable price.

After walking around Plaka i am starting to feel hungry. A lamb kebab in pita for 2 euros was very tasty. Now back to the room and try and catch up on some sleep.

26th
Still adjusting to the time difference had me waking at 4am. Did a few things on the computer before trying to get more sleep. Managed to fall asleep and woke at 7am. Breakfast in the hotel had more than enough to choose from. Left feeling very full, so probably wont need any lunch.

Left the hotel at around 9am with plans to climb to the top of Mount Lycabettus. As i didn't have a map i probably did not take the shortest way, but i did get to see a lot. Lucky its a cool but sunny day, as the path to the top takes me about 40 minutes to climb. The view is certainly worth it. There are only 3 other people taking in the views.

I have a rough idea where to go and get a picture of the Glass plate running man. I pass many police men near the gardens, looks like they are getting ready for another protest. Anyway after finding the glass man i head back to the hotel. It seems i get a little lost on the way back and end up behind the Acropolis, a long way from the hotel. Doesnt really matter as it is a glorious day for walking.

I find a coffee shop that offers freshly roasted coffee. So i order up a large Iced coffee, and it is so good!. I finally get back to Monastiraki square where i indulge in another great tasting lamb and pita. Just as i finish eating it starts to rain lightly. So back to the hotel to rest my very weary legs. Must have walked 10ks today.

Its mid afternoon and i feel like another iced coffee, so i try the cafe next to the hotel. This time it is not as easy ordering a iced coffee. On the 3rd attempt the barista gets it right, and it is a nice iced coffee. Its getting close to sunset so its up to the roof top garden to get some pictures.

Fly out tomorrow to Stockholm. The flight doesn't leave till 1.50pm, so no need to get up early. Looking forward to breakfast already.