We always arrive at our destination a few days before the tour starts, in case there are any complications with the flight. Our son, Nicholas, was visiting with us, and he offered to drive us to the airport. That was a very generous offer, because getting from our house to JFK  always involves being in lots of traffic. However, the GPS gave us a route that we don’t typically take, which put us on the Throgs Neck Bridge. The traffic was manageable, and we arrived at the airport in plenty of time. Our plane had two seats together without the typical middle seat, a definite plus. As for negatives, the food was the worst airplane food ever. For example, what they called a calzone, and what I consider a calzone, are vastly different. We arrived in Athens at 1 AM New York time and 8 AM in Athens.

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We got through Customs quickly. The taxi ride from the airport to our hotel took an hour during the morning rush. We were struck by the graffiti that seemed to be everywhere.  Our  room was not ready, and being hungry, we went to the breakfast buffet. The hotels on all of our tours have offered a breakfast buffet, and this one was similar to the previous ones, except for the addition of spanakopita, spinach pie, one of my favorites.

The GPS said that the Acropolis was seven minutes away, so off we went. We encountered many school groups of a variety of ages that had the same destination. I have no trouble going up  hills, but I am less secure about descending them. I resolved to take my walking sticks next time we were out.

During our walk, we passed a Greek Orthodox church that was plain on the outside but conveyed a solemn mood  of reverence inside.

Further along, there was a set of caves that are called Socrates’ Prison, even though there is no proof that Socrates had ever been there. We also passed a stadium at which Maria Callas once performed. We did not enter the Acropolis because that would be part of our tour.

Back at the hotel, our room was ready. We awoke from a nap at 3:30 PM. We knew it was too early for dinner, but was it too late for lunch? No! Our hotel had a rooftop restaurant  from which we had a wonderful view of the Parthenon! Nick ordered Cretan (that is, from Crete) pasta in a feta cream sauce, or in other words, mac n’cheese. I chose moussaka, layers of eggplant, beef, and potato, with a béchamel cream sauce. Our first lunch in Greece was absolutely delicious! We were advised to make a reservation for dinner so that we could see the Parthenon in lights.

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