Acropolis, Athens

An early start after our day at sea, beginning with my new favourite delicacy - nutella doughnuts.

We planned to walk to Piraeus metro as we had last time we ported here. We parked (moored?) at gate E12 however...about as far away from the station as it was possible to be in the port without being at sea! Nonetheless, we stubbornly stuck to our plans and walked the 50-odd minutes to the metro.

We got off in Athens at Omonia, where we began to walk towards the Acropolis Museum (having see the Acropolis before). On the way we passed the Academy of Greece with a large queue thronging through the doors. Being British, we joined the queue, assuming a fabulous museum awaited. Instead, we found ourselves attending a graduation ceremony...oops...

Onwards in the drizzling rain, past the Greek Parliament and fancy soldiers guarding it, we wound through the Plaka to the museum. We couldn't quite understand how we missed the museum last time but it was pleasant to have something new to do. The statues on the main floor felt a little lost and in need of context - more like a vault than a museum. Equally many of the pediments on the top floor were plaster cast reproductions (and let's not get into the whole Elgin Marbles debate). Nonetheless, interesting, dry and with panoramic views of the Acropolis, it was a worthwhile stop.

The nearby Hadrian's Arch was a quick photo stop, adjacent as it was to a major city artery and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Being the off season, the Temple was half price at €3 and whilst you could see it through the fence it was well worth the price to wander it virtually alone and up close.

On our way back to the Monastiraki metro station, we went down the main shopping street for a souvenir hunt (which turned up little other than tacky Acropolis models or soap - neither of which we bought) before jumping on a train back to Piraeus.

A late afternoon of reading after the yomp back to the ship was followed by a restaurant dinner. Our waiter Gilbert, who had plodded through our meals all week, was a little over zealous this evening and served us four courses in under 45 minutes!Read more