Greece!!

We made it!!

After not sleeping last night....too hyped up and trying to catch up on posting everything...I greeted Sabrina as she stumbled out of bed at around 3 AM this morning! We then finished packing up our stuff and our apartment before heading outside to catch a taxi taking us to the airport. The driver was very nice and helped us load up our ridiculously-heavy bags (did I mention Sabrina likes to collect cobblestones from every place she's been in? So, she literally had a bunch of rocks in her bag...), and then he played a radio station in the car that went from Sinatra to Queen to R&B...it was very eclectic. 

Anyways, we made it to the airport and going through the ticket counter and security was a breeze! Even though we had left at least 2 hrs before our flight was to take off, we probably only needed 45 minutes and thus had PLENTY of waiting time in the Fiumicino airport! 

...these are the faces of exhaustion... ;D

But eventually our plane arrived and we took a little shuttle over to the tarmac where we then boarded for Athens!!!

Unfortunately the wind was crazy and it was very turbulent, but the scenery below was amazing! Here are some pics Sabrina snapped of the islands we flew over...

Finally we landed in Athens and made it to the bus stop in great time. This bus would take us into Athens to a stop near our hotel, and I thought we could just buy our tickets from the driver because that's what I'd read. However, the guy didn't show up until there were just a few minutes until he was supposed to leave and I didn't have the correct change so he sternly said I would have to run to get tickets at the booth. So that's what I did! I barely made it back onto the bus - literally jumped in the back as the doors were closing - and scared the crap out of Sabrina who, weighed down with all our bags, couldn't have tried to get off and wait for me if she had wanted to! Luckily, we made it to the station alright and even passed this somewhat familiar sight on the way there...

Then hallelujah- we made it to our stop: Syntagma Square! From there, I had walking directions to our hotel, but with the signs all in Greek and very crowded streets, we got turned around pretty quick. Luckily, we happened to be standing next to a kiosk that sold maps - but even that didn't help us. So, we turned to the next best thing - two police men leaning on their motorcycles on the corner....and the one I asked was SUPER hot! Like Adonis-status. And he was so nice too - helped us locate the street we needed and gave my arm an encouraging squeeze before flashing his brilliant smile at me, urging me to go forth and conquer!

And conquer we did!! Though there were some words said under the breath at a few points when we felt again completely lost. But we made it!!

The lady at the desk was also very nice and welcoming and our room is perfect for the three days we're going to be here - two beds and a quaint little bathroom where the shower has no door! haha!

...our great view. Ah well, we won't be staying in here much anyways!

So after we took showers and got a little settled in, we then went exploring around our neighborhood - eventually ending up in the area known as Monastiraki. It was very cute and right next to some old ruins known formerly as Hadrian's Library! And you could even see the Acropolis from them!!

...our delicious dinner of fresh gyros!! So good!!!

...the bill...it's all Greek to me! haha!

...some of those ruins...

So cool!!!

...some of the side-street vendors - they had anything from clothing to spices to cookware to jewelry - it was crazy!!

So after our jaunt through our backyard, we headed back home to chill and relax after a pretty crazy day. Tomorrow we plan to actually climb up to that Acropolis we spied from afar and spend the morning perusing yet another site on my bucket list! Can't wait!!!