Athens & Patras
Trip Start
Jun 09, 2008
1
17
19
Trip End
Jul 04, 2008
Athens,
Attica,
Greece
Sunday, June 29, 2008
First off, I looked for a hostel available and tried Athens Backpackers, but no reservation, no accommodation. I thought late June must have been on season and it was difficult to find accommodation on the spot. After a while, I gave up staying in Athens and determined to finish all the sightseeing in a half day and to leave Athens in the evening. Anyway, the first destination was Acropolis. In my opinion, the sightseeing in Athens is enough, if you visit Acropolis and Temple of Olyimpian Zeus. I went up Areopagus Hill in front of Acropolis, where the view of Ancient Agora was beautiful. I missed National Archaeological Museum, which is one of the world's greatest museum, according to the LP guide. I did't care, because originally I didn't like museums as I mentioned before.
I left Athens late in the evening and arrived at Patras, where I could take a ferry to Bari, Italy
Temple of Athena Nike
. I hoped to leave Greece on the day, June 30th, because the price was supposed to go up in July. Anyway, when I got off the train, it was three in the morning. I planned to stay in Patras station at first, but it closed just after my train arrived. Tired and daunted, I decided to stay in the park near the station, because a newsstand was open overnight and some restaurants around the park were still open. A few young Greek approached me and talked for a while, but gave no harm. Around five in the morning, the train station was open again. I slept in the station for a couple of hours and then headed for the ferry port to book a ticket.On the way to the Superferry office, not to the ferry port, I found a TI on the same street. The staff member working alone was very kind and told me where the office was located. After booking the ticket, I went back to the TI. I had an idea to visit Olympia, but I was tired of ruins at that time. So I changed my mind and looked around Patras. In Patras, there were no must-see sites, but I checked some tourist spots. First of all, I headed for Kastro. When I walked up steep sets of stairs and went through the gate, a lady told me it was closed on Mondays. However she let me in and gave me a few minutes to stay there. I was happy to hear that and stayed there about 10 minutes... Kastro was well preserved and worth visiting. I visited a few other sites in Patras, but Kastro was absolutely the best of Patras.
In the ferry port, there was a small soccor goods shop and the clerk talked to me. He was nostalgic about the European cup in 2004 and the Olympic Games held in Athens. The ferry port was farther away from the port entrance. When I was walking, the bus driver picked me up, but I had been alone on the bus until he picked up a European girl. The ferry boat was huge with a restaurant and a swimming pool on the roof, but there were only three guys including me in the large male dormitory. Acording to their brochure, June was middle season, but I wondered how many passengers use the boat on season. Anyway I was able to take a shower after a long time and relaxed on a bunk bed.
