Sunday, 3 June 2012

From Barcelona to Tehran: Day 35

Day 35: Hurrying to Athens; From Korinthos to Athens in Greece

June 3, 2012; Distance covered today: 95 Km; Total: 2555 Km

There is nothing special I can write about today’s ride. Woke up at 5 am, left the campground at 6, and pushed it to get to Athens before the heat. Today was Sunday, and tomorrow is a holiday as well. So there is a lot of traffic coming opposite my direction. I got to Athens at 12 noon.

It was difficult to find the tourist office. The people I asked about the office had no clue if there was a tourist office. I then tried to find a hostel. I had looked two up on the internet the night before, with some difficulty, I found the first one, which had no vacancy; the second one, Athen’s Backpackers, gave me a room of four beds all of which are now taken. 

I took a shower, washed my clothes, and contacted a friend’s friend, Dimitra from Athens, to see if she is kind to hang out. She gracefully accepted to save some time for tomorrow evening. Based on my experience in Barcelona, where I met local people though CouchSurfing, I may learn a lot about Athens and Greece when I meet someone from Athens.

I was so tired to go and venture around, so I just went to a restaurant and had Moussaka, a Greek dish. Then I passed out for an hour. Tomorrow, I will have to go to the port to get a ferry ticket. All the agencies here in town are closed tomorrow. Then I will check out the Archeological museum.

6 comments:

  1. You didn't say how you liked the mousaka!
    Hope you enjoy Athens!
    Alexandra

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  2. Generally, I love eggplants, particularly when it is with ground beef. So, I should say that I loved Moussaka. The only problem, as a hungry cyclist, no portion is big enough for me. I asked the waiter if the portion was big enough for a hungry man. He assured me that it would be enough. But It wasn't for me. Thanks for suggesting me this dish. It was delish.

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    Replies
    1. I know this guy. Mansour eats like a horse despite his skinny figure loooll... in all fairness he does need the fuel to cycle through this crazy journey...

      You should have asked for nooone ezafeh Mansour :)
      should have mentioned this in the post.. details of food is always interesting!
      majid

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    2. ok, so when you eat ghyros you are going to need 3 at least! :)

      Looking forward to reading more about your impressions of Athens - is it the Acropolis Museum you are going to? I found it amazing!

      Tell Dimitra to take you to Plaka, Thiseio, Monastiraki and Exarkhia, and beware of crazy retro-neo-nazis - although I'm sure Dimitra can scare them off!

      alexandra

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    3. hahahaa, Majid, believe me or not, I asked for extra bread, but the guy brought only two more rolls! At the end, I had to eat some of the food without bread: such a waste.

      Alexandra, we went to some really really cool place including Palka for some real Greek food, which was enough.
      Tomorrow, I am going to the Acropolis museum before I leave for the port for my ferry at seven pm.

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  3. Although the museum will be closed today too, if it's a holiday... try again tomorrow!

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