Alan: So after many months of anticipation and planning Deb , Colin and I finally arrived in Greece. Athens first so not yet the laid-back relaxation of a Greek island! A typically hectic city break, our early start to the Acropolis (7.30 a.m.) paid off on national museums' day (free entry!) as we had a good look round before the coaches and school trips arrived.

Most surprising thing about Athens is the lack of local style bars in the areas we have been in; everything looks like a tourist trap! We have found a couple of decent restaurants (well done Trip Advisor) which, at least as far as we could tell, provided some authentic Greek cooking at decent prices. Overall it’s a difficult city to love, we had pretty much visited everything in the Lonely Planet guide with a day to go.

Oh well, in the early hours of tomorrow (Saturday) morning we will return to the airport to catch a flight to Lesvos – we are due to land there at 6.20 a.m. as we move on to part two and arrive on our first island. It’s been cloudy and even rained a bit today so here’s hoping the sun returns for our arrival on Lesvos.

Deb: Got to agree with everything Alan says – don’t like Athens at all! It’s not that it feels particularly unsafe; it’s just not attractive, absolutely manic and a bit grubby! Having said that, the two meals we have had have been fantastic in non-touristy restaurants. Oh, and the Acropolis was awesome! (even though covered in scaffolding!) At the restaurant Last night, they took us into the kitchen to choose the meals as there was no menu, and the night before, the specials board was in Greek with no translation – a bit of a gamble to what we had to eat! Excellent, and washed down with (allegedly) home produced Retsina (excellent value!) Several ouzos already drunk and a couple of brandies............hey ho. Rained today but it might clear up – can’t wait for Lesvos-bring on a Greek island!