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Our big trip – by pod

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Off to Greece.

Pauline has never been to Greece or Rome and we figured now it’s a bit cooler in Josselin it would be a good time to go. Wednesday we took the bus to Rennes and the train to Paris Montparnasse, staying the night in Paris.

Staying in the 19th arrondissement we did have a view of Montmartre from the hotel but it was miles away. Nice hotel though.
Next morning we took the RER to Paris Charles de Gaulle. I liked this warning sign on the doors.
We didn’t intend to fly within Europe but getting to Athens via a train is quite a mission so we bit the bullet. As it turns out flying is also a bit of a mission these days. But the flight itself on Aegean Airlines was pleasant enough, then we took the subway to our hotel, which took about an hour or so.
The hotel room we had booked had a faulty boiler so they moved us next door to an apartment on the 7th floor which has a view of the Acropolis so that was nice although stressful when we got there as they were full and the apartment wasn’t ready until the next day. All sorted now though.
The apartment came with this welcome basket, not complaining!
I did like this RX7 just around the corner. You don’t see many of these left in NZ, not as daily drivers.
We did a bit of exploring the next day once we’d moved into the apartment. The local shops were quite something. We bought some figs and pistachio nuts here.
Athens reminds us of Havana in that there’s a lot of beautiful but crumbling architecture everywhere you look. Its also fairly chaotic and dirty but definitely alive. I like it.
This is the entrance to Hadrians library.
There are cats everywhere, they seem quite well looked after but semi wild. They’re certainly well treated, we had one in the restaurant we ate at. Everyone was giving it leftovers and pats.
This morning we took the metro to the Acropolis and had a guided tour. On the way up the hill we ran into this young Japanese guy who was clearly smitten by this handsome cat. It was very cute.
Even though it’s not in season there were a lot of people at the Acropolis.
Our guide Maria on the left there. We all had ear pieces which made it far easier to hear her.
This concert theatre (Odean of Herodes Atticus) is still in use even though it’s over 2 millennia old. I wish they’d give us some advice on how to build a hospital that lasts more than forty years!
View of Athens from the top.
One of the temples. I kept feeling like I was in a Star Trek episode.
I think this is the same temple from the other side.
Back down again, this is Hadrians gate. The same Hadrian who built the wall in the UK.
We went to a local cafe, Zen Athens Tradional House just across the road from us and got takeaways. The owner was a lovely lady who didn’t speak a word of English but she took a shine to us. The food was excellent. A very good day all in all.
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