It was a right bunfight getting onto the Athens bus from Patras.....quite chaotic. Maybe it's because the railways have become unreliable that there were so many waiting to get on board the buses. Me managed to get on though without too much fuss. We were pretty fagged and shagged from the ferry trip...so the bus trip allowed us to nod off and dribble over the poor fellow passenger who was sitting next us.

That said though, between the naps there was once again stunning views. Greece is a beautiful country. The nearer we got to Athens, the flatter the land and the familiar sights of Olive groves and agriculture.

The descent into Athens gave us an idea of the size of the city and it does sprawl. You could quite plainly see the Acropolis though before we were engulfed into the city and got off the bus. We were hoping that there'd be a nearby underground station but there wasnt so....it was time to negotiate with the taxi drivers...I think we did ok as Athens is not having a great time economy wise. it was a 20 minute drive and we passed the square that had hosted last night's riot. We saw it on Bizarro TV on the ferry. It was an anti-fascist demonstration that ended with a full blown kick off. it wasnt reported on the UK newspaper websites and maybe that's not a bad thing. Athens isnt getting anywhere near the amount of visitors it was a couple of years ago.

The ecomonic downturn is at least good news for us, prices here are at least 50% cheaper than they were in Western Europe. The people we've met are friendly and there's a good vibe despite all the negative local tv reports about riots etc. Last night we headed out and enjoyed good food and beer at a very reasonable price.

I'd suggest you visit, but I dont want you lot pushing the prices up !!!

Today, we 're doing the tourist thing and visiting the sights.