It’s quite possible that all the world’s stray cats live in Athens. And they don’t seem to mind. Neither do the stray dogs that can also be found napping on the steps of ancient sites all throughout the city. Oblivious to the wonder in which they live, it seems these forgotten pets are quite content with their lot in life.

We’re only three days into our travels but contentment seems to be a running theme here in Greece (unlike what the media would have you believe). We have found Athens to be a beautiful, clean and hospitable city. Not to mention the amazing ancient ruins, friendly people and delicious food. Everyone thanks us for visiting and tells us to pass on the truth – Greece is not a scary place and they need us more than ever. I’m so glad we came.

We landed to rainy skies on Friday morning, and after finding our way to the Athens Backpackers Studios, tried our best to beat jetlag. Our first meal in Greece was delicious – homemade bread with olive oil, a dip made from fava beans, tzasiki, feta wrapped in phylo and covered in honey for starters, followed by Greek salads and chickpea stew. Interesting to note that authentic Greek salads have little lettuce and consist mostly of chunks of tomato, cucumber, onion, feta and capers. With our bellies full, an afternoon nap was in order and then a walk to the acropolis and through the Plaka.

Saturday we took a very informative walking tour and saw most of the ancient greek and roman ancient ruins. After, we took the very clean and modern metro to the National Archaelogical Museum only to find that they have not yet switched to their summer hours and closed at 3 pm. Oh well – at least Kerry found a stand there with 5 euro watches. 🙂

We finished our last night in Athens with a stroll and shopping in the Plaka – the older part of the city with quaint winding streets and every type of touristy shop you can imagine – and a hearty meal at the Hermion Taverna, complete with classic Greek folk music.

Today we rounded out our stay in greece’s capital by visiting the acropolis, Parthenon and agora. The architecture of these ruins will blow your mind. It’s hard to believe the ancient Greeks built these temples and buildings without any modern conveniences. I can’t imagine how impressive they must have been in all their glory.

With the sun shining and not a cloud in the sky, we’re now making our way to the island of Hydra on a high-speed ferry they call a flying dolphin. Looking forward to a few days of island-style relaxing! More to come as our Greek adventure continues…