Leaving Athens

We returned to Athens via ferry. I discovered that it is probably my least favorite way to travel. There are no directions on what to do. People race onto the ferry as if their lives depended on it. As it turns out we had assigned seats and no reason to hurry. However, some people don't buy seats and they have to find a place on the deck or in the shared areas. So every time Bryan and I got up to look outside or use the restroom someone tried to take our seats. When we went back to the burger joint in the back of the ferry to order some food the man behind the counter told us they were out of meat and had lost the ability to heat food. We arrived in Athens at midnight, eager for our familiar hotel.

We got up the next morning ready to make the most of our last day. We caught a taxi to take us to the funicular that travels to the top of Lycabettus Hill. It is a high point and a great vantage point to see the city. It helped me put into geographic perspective all I had seen up to that point. We walked the treacherous, down hill road back to level ground and back to our hotel to run our boarding passes for our flight home the next day.

Then we boarded yet another bus tour to take us to Cape Sounion to see the Temple of Poseidon. When I had booked this tour I had made the false assumption that I would be at the ruins during sunset. So much for my assumptions. But the ruins are spectacularly placed on a hill above the sea. We had actually seen them from the cruise ship. The drive down and back was beautiful and we sat behind a woman who took a picture of the sea every 5 to 10 seconds, so she was obviously impressed.

When the bus dropped us off we hustled back to our hotel to watch the sunset from the rooftop. It was almost finished by the time we arrived but I was able to imagine how beautiful it would have been 5 minutes earlier.

We ate a relaxing meal in Monastiraki and said good-bye to the Acropolis.