Left via ShuttleBus for DFW around noon on Thursday. Arrived at Frankfurt around 8 AM on Friday. Forgot all about the hassle at the airport there. Arrivals are bused a long way from a parking lot to the terminal. Since I was arriving in the European Union from the U.S., I had to go through immigration, customs (nothing to declare so quick) and the airport security again. And it was about a mile walk to my Athens departure gate. One thing about being old, hearing impaired and carrying a cane (nice prop, but not really necessary) is that I get to ‘pre-board.’ Otherwise the flights were uneventful.

Arrived in Athens on schedule around 5 PM on Friday. Grabbed a ΤΑΞΙ to go to my first hotel. (Some cabs are TAXI; I’m not clear as to the difference — they are all yellow.) This driver didn’t know where the hotel was. It didn’t show up on his GPS directory. He got me to the district, handed me a map, and asked me to find it for him. Fortunately, I knew roughly where it was and was able to locate the street intersections. What made it a bit strange is that the hotel is located directly across the street from what is obviously a ΤΑΞΙ/TAXI stand, where there are usually a bunch a cabs waiting for anyone who wants a ride.

The hotel is pretty much ‘American Best Western’ with European sized rooms. It is located about halfway between Πλατεία Συντάγματος (Parliament Square) and the Flea Market.  I ate the free breakfast at the hotel. They seem to cater to a wide variety of folks.
A bit of Britain on the left — sausages, eggs and stewed tomatoes. I prefer my tomatoes raw, so I skipped those. A croissant, orange juice and coffee would be a French petit déjeuner . On the right is Greek — watermelon, cantaloupe, raw tomatoes, zucchini, olives and feta cheese.

 After breakfast I walked toward the Flea Market — lots of tourist souvenirs — but no fleas. Rugs, clothes, and tourist junk. And then on to revisit Hadrian’s Agora.  I was thinking of going on a bit further to the Tower of the winds and the ancient Agora. But Athens is experiencing a heat wave; it is cooler in Dallas! And I’ve not recovered from jet lag. So I had a frappe and headed back to the hotel for a nap and to cool off.