For half term break, I took Liana and Colin to Athens for three days. I found a last minute deal at Athens Tower Hotel with an Acropolis view and breakfast with a view. Located at Monastiraki Square, it is convenient to many sites and transit. We got to our hotel around 8 and went immediately for dinner nearby. Bairaktaris is in a bit of a touristy area, but the staff are nice and the food is good. I remember eating take-away gyros here in 2019! I introduced the kids to tirokafteri (spicy whipped feta dip) and Liana was an immediate fan. We also got some kebabs and croquettes. During dinner, the kids spotted friends from school walking by! After dinner we spotted Venetis on the square and looked in. It was good and we ended up here every night for ice cream and pastries.
The next morning we slept in a bit as our first activity was cooking class at 11. I planned it for the first day as it was the only time with a chance of rain (and it apparently poured during class) and it would introduce some foods to the kids. There were 4 other people in the class and that was a good size. We made phyllo from scratch and formed our own pastries with our own fillings. While those were baking we each made our own main. The kids had a lot of fun and learned a lot. Dionysia at Eat With Your Greek Cousin did a great job. We stopped by the hotel for a small rest and then headed to the Panathenaic Stadium, the site of the original modern Olympic games. We did a small race, visited the museum, and sat and took in the scenery for a while. When leaving, we walked by the Temple of Olympian Zeus (mostly ruins, grounds were closed) and Hadrian's Arch. We stopped by Kayak for ice cream and a rest. We took the subway back to the hotel area and decided to walk the shops of Monastiraki.
The next day we started off by visiting the Acropolis. We walked up the north slope via Areopagus Hill and took in the sites from the hill, as I was planning on coming down the south slope when done. There was a line that would have been ok to wait but I just went online and bought an instant ticket. We started off viewing the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, which is still used for some concerts and performances. We then headed up and did a anti clockwise loop around the Parthenon. We went out for the views at the famous eastern viewpoint. We walked by a few ruined sites on the way down the south slope. After stopping to pet some cats, we went to the Acropolis Museum to use the restrooms, and decided to not visit the museum. We started walking back toward the hotel. Liana spotted a sweatshirt she liked. We found some random lunch spot and had an enjoyable lunch. After a rest at the hotel we took the subway half way to Mount Lycabettus. We walked up the steep hill to the funicular and rode that up (which has gotten pretty expensive, €13 round trip). We took in the views and peeked in the little church. We went back to the hotel for a bit of a rest before meeting our friends for dinner at MS Rooftop, across the street from our hotel. The kids had fun sharing a meal in Athens and talking about the different things they had done.
Our final day we slept in a bit as we would be doing a decent amount of walking and had time to take things slow and enjoy the day. After some breakfast we first went to the Ancient Agora around 11. The main entrance was closed for remodel so we walked around the park and finally found the ticket booth. The line was starting to get long and I was able to buy instant tickets online (and the line was huge by time we left!) We first saw the Temple of Hephaestus with nice views of the acropolis and the entire agora from there. We saw our first tortoise on our walk down the hill toward the Stoa of Attalos. This building was reconstructed around 1950 and now houses a museum and offices. The entire day we were stopping and counting and naming cats, the kids had fun with it. We walked around the loop of the agora and read a little about what each area was used for 2500 years ago. We headed to Adrianou (street with several restaurants facing the ancient agora). We ordered several starters to try a few things we still had not been able to enjoy. After lunch the kids wanted to do the Illusion museum, not far from lunch. We spent a little over an hour checking out all the exhibits. After some ice cream we were going to check out the roman forum but it had closed at 3 for off-season hours. Most of it can be seen from the street, I was hoping to take them in the octagonal tower that was a weather station and clock (although it is just empty now). So we decided to take a walk and check out the national gardens more. We saw a few animals and birds and then found the playground. After playing for a while, our school friends showed up there! So the kids had lots more fun running around and playing. Around 5pm we all started heading back toward Monastiraki for dinner and rest. We were up early the next morning to get to the airport by 7am.
