What a change from Asia. It was very weird being on a European flight and not seeing any Asians. The Germans are so efficient and very serious. Lufthansa was really good; up there with Air New Zealand. On our first flight we were on the top deck just behind first class, nice.

Frankfurt was cold and with high security not surprisingly. We arrived at Athens pretty tired and then went to go and hop on the metro, but it was closed for some reason. So we took a taxi to our hotel which was right in the heart of Athens. Right next to a few sex shops where shifty looking old Greek men seemed to be frequenting at all hours of the day and night. The hotel was actually quite good apart from the neighbours.

We had our first Greek food at a trendy bar, alfresco and it was superb and set the tone for meals to come. Red wine not chilled finally! Fresh simple but fantastic food. Bread, Greek yoghurt and feta that beats anything we have had at home by miles. I think we are going to like it here.

We knew it would be cold around 21 degrees Celsius, but it felt colder after being in the heat for so long. First time for four months I have worn jeans.

The one day we had in Athens before heading to Rhodes we decided to just wander around and get our bearings and leave the big-ticket sightseeing items until when we returned after Rhodes and Santorini.

We went to the National Archaeological Museum which had a very extensive and impressive collection of artefacts from the various Greek periods going back 3000 odd years from around the country and also some Egyptian artefacts. That took us the whole morning and then some, before we had a cheap lunch of Gyros (from what I can gather the poor man's souvlaki) before checking out Hadrian's Arch and peering through the fence at The Temple of Olympian.

We timed the changing of the guard at Parliament to perfection. It was quite entertaining with their traditional attire complete with short skirt, stockings and pom pommed shoes and their incredibly perfectly tied synchronicity. See my videos.

I had in my head that our ferry to Rhodes was at 8pm but to my horror after randomly checking, it was actually 6pm and being the last ferry before closing down for winter it was a mad dash to the port. We made it just in time. Quite crucial to catch it as it was the last ferry of the season, as winter officially kicks in from November.