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Today I\u2019ve been to Monastiraki, the University, I climbed Mt. Lykavittos, and I went to the Panathenaic Stadium.<\/p>\n
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Monastiraki is one of the tourist districts of Athens; pedestrianised and home to the city\u2019s Flea Market. Having been told it was best on Sunday mornings before 11, I went first thing this morning. It was a lovely walk past all the cafes, and through the flea market itself; mainly Greeks out and about at this time on a Sunday morning: tourists all still in bed!<\/p>\n
From there, I got the metro to Panepistimio station (Panepistimio is the Greek word for University) and photographed the National Library and Athens University buildings. From there, I walked up Lykavittos Hill, which took about an hour, and enjoyed the 360 views over the city.<\/p>\n
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After walking back down the hill and back to the station, my next stop was Syntagma, from where I was just a few minutes by foot from the Panathenaic Olympic Stadium. With my Uni of Glos ID card I got the student discount, getting in for \u20ac1,50 \u2013 and took a free audio guide too. Sport isn\u2019t my thing \u2013 but the stadium was rather spectacular. As an added bonus \u2013 after following the passage indoors I found on display all the Olympic Torches: including the ones used for London 2012 and London 1948!<\/p>\n
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Back outside, I walked up to the top of the stands for a photo looking through the stadium towards the entrance. Near the exit, on display is a list of all the Presidents of the International Olympic Committee, and a list of all the Modern Olympic Games which have taken place \u2013 all listed in Greek of course; so now I know the Greek words for St. Louis and Antwerp (Most of the other cities are relatively self-explanitory in Greek \u2013 just remember that Monaco is the Greek word for Munich!<\/p>\n
After lunch, I returned to the hotel for a late siesta \u2013 I tuned to the Third Programme and slept for nearly 4 hours.<\/p>\n
For my final night in Athens, I ate at the restaurant on Karaiskaki Square, just down the road from my hotel; and where Metaxourgeio Metro Station is located. Pork souvlaki with rice, chips and a slice of lemon: which is what I cooked in Cheltenham last week. I think my version had more flavour though, but it was still nice, and although the road was very busy and noisy, I secretly enjoyed watching the traffic on the roundabout. It was all locals eating in the restaurant \u2013 no tourists \u2013 in fact I don\u2019t think the waiter picked up that I was not Greek.<\/p>\n
So that\u2019s my week in Athens done. Tomorrow, I\u2019m off to Levadia. Don\u2019t know whether I\u2019ll blog every day there: but I\u2019ll try and post several times during the week if I can.<\/p>\n
Bye for now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today I\u2019ve been to Monastiraki, the University, I climbed Mt. Lykavittos, and I went to the Panathenaic Stadium. Monastiraki is one of the tourist districts of Athens; pedestrianised and home to the city\u2019s Flea Market. Having been told it was… Continue Reading