Jet lag definitely can work to one's advantage when in a new country. Waking up at 5:30am, we realize we might as well start our day early seeing that the Acropolis ("Ack-row-po-lee") opened at 8am. Not only do you beat the rush, but you also get the time and space to enjoy the attraction to yourself without mobs of tour groups and people in the way (a bonus for photo taking) later in the day.

The Acropolis admission is 12 euros and includes the Parthenon as well as 5 other nearby ruins/sites in the area-all within a walking distance. Hiking up the hill to the Parthenon was pretty smooth and the view just got better the more elevated we got. Fun fact, the Parthenon is dedicated to the goddess Athena because she was the only virgin god, and hence why she's also the only clothed goddess in her drawings and figurines. This tells you quite a bit about the lifestyle of these Greek gods, but joking aside, the Parthenon is quite a view and so worth spending as much as you can if you had all the time in the world. Athens looked amazing from this height and it was so neat to spot areas we had walked to from the day before. It just comes to show that when there are things to see, walking for hours is not hard at all.

View from top of Parthenon
After the Parthenon, we exited and walked down the hill into Plaka, an ancient neoclassical neighbourhood  with many open air restaurants, patios and cafes. lt was around 11am and most places were just starting to open, but they all looked very cozy and chic, a great spot to people watch over a meal. Down the road from here there were also many sellers setting up tables of locally made jewellery as well as vintage finds, like an actual agora (Greek marketplace) back in the day.

P.S. Freddoccinos are amazing in Athens!-a strong caffeine flavour and so refreshing in the heat! A must drink!

Plaka 

We walked on to discover the rest of the Greek sites included in our admission including the Roman Agora, Hellenic Garden, and the Temple of Zeus. We decided against two of them as they were out of the way and not as recommend from reviews I had read (Ancient Angora and Kerameikos cemetary). I really liked the area the Temple of Zeus was in as it was situated in the National Garden. It felt very fresh to be surrounded by plantations of all sorts and stroll through a garden after having seen so many ancient places. The ancient gate at the Temple of Zeus also was a symbolic divide between the old/ancient city and the new/modern city of Athens. too.The Zeppelon mansion is also located here and we saw some people riding segways in this garden


As timing would have it, we were also able to head back to the Hellenic parliament at Syntagma Square and catch a guard change ceremony happening (on the hour). Though I've seen other guard changes before, I like how every one is different and how culture is embedded into it from the outfits to their walks. I loved the long tassel from the guard's headpiece as well as how their walk felt like a slow motion tap dance. Very amusing and worth the full ten minutes ish. Prior to arriving to the guard change, we stumbled upon Ermou Street, one of the top shopping streets in Athens! Lots of international and local brands amongst street food stalls, cafes, boutiques and unique shops. I had lots of fun window shopping expensive foreign looks and splurging on fun novelties (at a great price!) from my new favourite household store call Tiger from Denmark!


To end off our last night, we headed to Kolonaki, a posh neighbourhood where lots of business people hangout. Locals refer to it as a wealthier area so there were lots of local designer boutiques, high end stores, cafes, bars, and fancy restaurants. We were here at 8pm and the atmosphere was surprisingly quiet as the shops were closed, but the eateries weren't very busy at all. When we inquired about this, we found out that most places don't get lively until 11pm or so, so when in Greece.. keep this in mind if you are looking for night life. We had a ferry to catch early the next day so we headed back shortly after and happen to stumble on something better, the Academy of Athens.

If I thought the buildings were gorgeous during the day, at night its even better with the lights turned on. The Grecian architecture, linear columns, and gold plated designs kept my eyes gazing and loving every moment of the night view. What a great way to cap off our last night in Athens.

Can you guess where we're headed to next?