Weekend Away: Our Trip To Athens – Part 1

It has taken me quite a while to go through the 1000’s of photos I took and all of the video footage too. I still can’t believe we were in Greece this time last week, it was such a great weekend and I am so thankful that we were given the opportunity to go as a family. A few months ago Expedia asked me where in Greece I would like to go and I chose Athens. I have always wanted to go, the history behind it is so interesting and the architecture is so beautiful.

We got up at the crack of dawn on the Friday morning to drive to Heathrow. The girls have never flown before and if I am honest I was a little nervous. Thankfully, Athens is only 3 and a half hours away so not too long for little ones. The flight was very bumpy, adding to my nerves, but the British Airways crew were fantastic and kept us all comfortable. Before we knew it, we were stepping off the plane into the sunshine- a 23ºC heat was very welcome after leaving behind the rain and cold in London.

We took a taxi from the airport to the hotel, it was a fixed rate of 39€ and the taxi driver was so friendly. He told us all about the local area, the places to visit and sights to see. I wish we could have stayed for longer, there are just so many things to do!

We stayed in the Athens Status Suites Hotel, just off the main high street. It had interesting decor but I cannot fault it for cleanliness or for friendliness of the staff. The Greeks in general are just so friendly, really lovely to the children too which was so nice. Everybody adored both the girls, chubbing their cheeks everywhere we went!

We didn’t stay in the hotel for long, wanting to explore the local area and get some lunch. We had taken food for LJ as I knew it would be hard to cater for allergies abroad but the rest of us were able to sample various local dishes over the course of the weekend. I am a big fan of Greek food, discovering a love for their dishes when we took part in the World on a Plate challenge a few months ago – it was actually a picture of my Greek Honey Cake that bagged me the trip!

As we strolled down the high street we found a cute Pitta Shop selling absolutely delicious pittas and baguettes stuffed with so much meat! The Greeks sure know how to feed you- no scrimping on anything! I have actually come home full of ideas for dinners at home and will be sharing them over the next few months I am sure!

After we were fed and watered we carried on exploring the city. It is absolutely massive and takes a good few days to fully take it all in. The square above was just around the corner from our hotel and the girls really enjoyed running around. Again, the people were so friendly and at one point the girls were feeding pigeons alongside some locals.

The sun was gorgeous, it makes everything so much brighter and more colourful. I wish we had more light like this in England- I would take so many more photos!!

As the sun started to set we returned back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. I have no photos of the meal as unfortunately they had red lighting in the restaurant, making the photos ghastly! The food was delicious though, albeit a little expensive, and we all enjoyed our meals. The highlight of the meal had to be the view from our table. Being so close to the city centre meant having a fantastic view of the Acropolis.

We were all exhausted by the end of day one so had an early night. We knew we were going to have to get up early the next day too for a fun packed day on a boat! The time difference of +2 hours would mean a 4am wake up call!

Click here for part 2