It’s time to leave the ship and slowly begin our journey back home. We are staying in Athens for two nights so that will be a nice transition home!
Hotel check-in times are in the afternoon, but we need to leave the ship early. This leaves an awkward window where you have all your luggage and no where to put it. We decided to do the tour offered by Azamara for after the cruise to help with this transition. We left the ship at 8:15am with our luggage. We piled it onto a coach bus and then hopped on for our tour.
Our tour is to the Acropolis. Our guide joins us on the bus and tells us about Athens on our way to the Acropolis. Traffic is heavy. Once at the parking lot, we use the restroom and then walk towards the Acropolis. There are a lot of steps and a lot of people. Apparently everyone from the four ships docked had the same idea. It is ridiculously crowded. It is very difficult to stay with the group because there are several groups trying to stay together. The views were gorgeous, but I was mentally checked out for most of the tour. Too many people, the guide’s range for the ear piece wasn’t far so it kept cutting in and out, and it was hot. If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t do it straight from the ship. Even going a couple hours later would have probably been better.
It was convenient in terms of transportation though. After the Acropolis, we were dropped off near the hotel Azamara used for the post-cruise. We didn’t book this hotel though. Our hotel is a short walk down the road. Luckily, it’s downhill to the hotel which makes moving our luggage easier. The narrow sidewalks and uneven stones make things a little challenging. We could have taken a taxi from where we were dropped off, but the traffic is so backed up that walking is faster. We make it. No bellyflops on the suitcase either.
Our hotel is an old building that was recently renovated into a hotel. It’s more like an apartment building than a traditional hotel. You have to press the button to be buzzed in and then there is a small desk under a staircase with a man to check us in. He’s very nice and helpful. He walks us up to our room and makes sure we are able to use our key. The key is not your typical hotel room key. It’s a gorgeous old key that looks like it’s from an episode of Locke & Key. Our room is wonderful with high ceilings that have the curved molding on top. The bathroom is also fantastic with a huge shower. I’m so looking forward to a normal shower and not the tiny shower found on our ship.
Time for some lunch! It’s 1:15pm and we go to the restaurant across the street. The man who checked us in recommends it. The hostess asks us if we’re here for lunch and her undertone is a little weird. It’s like she’s nicely telling us that brunch is over and is ready for us to be disappointed it’s over. She seems surprised when I said we’re here for whatever meal is being served. Lunchtime must normally be a little later. I ordered the chicken and Brian had the seafood risotto. Both were fantastic. The food on the ship was good, but this little local cafe was much better.
We wander around the city. I end up buying a carry-on bag so we can hopefully get our luggage under 50 lbs. We also pass a place where a man is handing out cards to entice people to visit a rooftop bar. We say no thank you and roam around the city. Eventually, we decide a cold drink on a rooftop sounds perfect for the afternoon.
We circle back to the bar and go down a hallway to elevators. The elevators in Athens are quite different from the ones we have at home. If you’ve ever been to a home with a private elevator, it is like that. It’s small and there is a door you have to close before it will work. We press the button and wait. While we wait, five Americans come down the stairs. They warn us, “I wouldn’t use that elevator if I were you. We have been stuck in it for twenty minutes.” The elevators are small and hot and that sounds like a nightmare. We walk seven stories up instead. The bar is nice up at the top and the service was good too. We end up having two rounds of drinks which were both very good. We get ready to leave and I decide to snap some pictures because the view is fabulous. I back up slightly to frame my picture and my sandal catches the edge of the tile. It’s stuck until it isn’t. My sandal rips up the tile and then the release causes me to cascade backwards. Another great moment that should have been caught on video. The parking lot incident earlier in the trip was in an empty parking lot. This is in a happening bar and did not happen unnoticed. I insert the tile back where it goes and stand up. Several people asked me if I was okay. I was. One of the waitresses tells me the same thing has happened to her, but she was carrying a load of drinks. With all the uneven paths we’ve traversed the past two weeks, I’m actually surprised this is the only time I fell in Europe.
We make our way to another rooftop for dinner. We catch the sunset. Our meals are delicious. I had the beetroot risotto.
We stumble upon this neon lit alleyway and it entices us. It’s a place called Little Kook and it’s a restaurant with over-the-top theming. It has Halloween theming right now. I saw someone eating a dessert and it was a cake in a chocolate coffin. We found out later that they change the theme often. We don’t stop to eat, but it would be a cool place to try another day!
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