Greece Day 2

After a decent nights sleep, Gordon and I enjoyed breakfast at the Mare Nostrum, we decided to try out Greek public transit and head to the Acropolis in downtown Athens. We caught the bus right outside the hotel. The directions said to take the bus to a light rail station. The directions said this could take 40 minutes. So we get on the bus. It drove a meandering route, giving us a good view of all kinds of neighborhoods around Athens!  An hour and ten minutes later, the bus finally pulls into the light rail station. Quite a public transportation experience!  The light rail was fabulous, new, clean, efficient and took us directly to the Acropolis. It was great to see the Acropolis. Quite a hike especially on a hot day, and very crowded. But just an amazing site full of history and I am glad to have visited.

After we left the Acropolis we decided on a taxi back to the hotel, given the adventure with public transportation.  Evidently driving in Athens is challenging for everyone - our taxi driver stopped three times to ask for directions. He also was concerned about the A/C in the car. If it didn't feel cold enough, he restarted it by shutting the engine off and on again, even when on the highway driving 100 kilometers and hour. But we got to Athens airport safely and caught our very short flight from Athens to Heraklion. Piece of advice for future travelers. Aegean charges 30 euros for a checked bag. But other than that, great flight. Carol and James picked us up at the airport and while driving on Crete is not totally insane, it does appear that stop signs are simply a suggestion.  A red light, however, seems to mean stop. But we drove out to the villa, absolutely lovely, and very close to the beach. A good night's sleep and looking forward to tomorrow. 

Villa Athena