After two fairly long flights (Sydney-Abu Dhabi - 14 hours, and Abu Dhabi-Athens - 5 hours), we finally arrived in Greece at 1:45pm. From the airport, we took the metro to Monastiraki, an area in the middle of Athens.

When we emerged from the station, one of the first things we noticed was the magnificent view of the Acropolis from Monastiraki Square (though I was very disappointed by the amount of scaffolding around it).

Our hostel, Athenstyle, was only a two-minute walk away, so we checked in and showered, then went out for a walk to shake off the jetlag, orient ourselves, and find some food.

In our first walk around Athens, we managed to see the outside of the Museum of Greek Folk Art (right opposite the metro), the ruins of the Library of Adrianos, and the Roman Agora.

We also found a taverna with a friendly waiter who spoke very good English, on Epaminonda, with a view of the Acropolis. G had the seafood spaghetti (which he enjoyed so much that he said it would be a hard meal to beat) with a glass of house white wine, while I had chicken souvlaki, chips and rice with a Coke.

After dinner, we walked a little further, passing many more souvenir shops, before heading back to the hostel. We tried to stay awake to go to the hostel rooftop bar which has views of the lit-up Acropolis at night, but we both fell asleep around 6:30pm.