The First 24 Hours in Athens Greece

           The first 24 hours in Athens, Greece were very confusing.  We got lost a lot getting to our apartment, but we were all right. The next day, we went to the farmers market and the grocery store. We tried to visit the archeological museum, but it was closed or closing when we got there.  Instead, we had gelato at a cafe right next to the museum because we had to wait for daddy who went to the phone shop to get his IPhone 4S.  We tried to find him at a phone shop nearby when we finished our gelatos, but he found us.  It was very confusing being in a new country for the first day, but after getting lost a few times, I know my way around the city pretty well.

Us resting at the park near our apartment.

           Three days ago, my family and I arrived in Athens, Greece after being in Egypt for 10 days. We had a very hard time getting to our apartment for the first time.  The trip started with a perfectly normal routine with us getting Metro tickets at the airport and then we got in the next train to our stop  to the center of Athens at Stygmata.  The train was empty when we got on because it was the last stop at the airport.  The train filled up and we were off.  But when we approached our stop at Stygmata, the train kept going past two other stops. We were confused.  We got off at the next stop at Kerimekos and went outside saw lots of restaurant and ate at a burger stand. We all had hamburgers. I had a chicken burger like Kayley and Mia.  The rest of the family had beef. I liked mine but it was very spicy, because the guy put lots of mustard in it.  Then we waited for daddy to figure out where we were and where our apartment was.

Me looking lost.

           After what seemed like 30 minutes, we got 2 cabs to take us to our apartment.   Later, we found out that our Metro stop opened around the time when we got in the cabs because the protesting was over.   Daddy told the cab drivers, who only spoke Greek, that we needed to go to No. 7 of a street full of apartment billdings. He even showed them on a map we got from the airport.  They seemed to know where they were going, but when we got there, it was not the right street.  We were a block away from our apartment building, but instead of going 2 blocks to it, they took us to the other side of the city even though we were telling them not to.  They probably knew where to go because the GPS was telling them to go the right way, but they went the other way. When we finally got to the right apartment, we met the manager outside the building.  I don't know what Daddy paid the drivers, but it was probably less than what they wanted.  Our first trip to our apartment in Athens was very exciting.

Athena with us at the other end
of the park near our apartment.

           The next morning, we went to look for groceries and we found a humugous farmers market a few blocks from our apartment.  The farmer's market seemed like it was not everyday, so everyone was there getting their food for the week.  I saw lots of stands with people selling fruit and veggies.  Some of them were selling olives and one sold sweets.  All the food looked delicious.  We bought lots of fruits and veggies, but we finished it in 2 days later.  I liked the oranges the best because it is orange season and they were yummy.  We also found the grocery store that we bought our other supplies at during our wanderings.  We also found a bakery across the street that had lots of different deserts.  Mommy and daddy bought us a huge loaf of glazed sweet bread that we had after lunch.  We found all that we need on our wanderings around our neighborhood  our first morning.  We also got a little lost getting back to the apartment, but getting lost made us get more familiar with our place in Greece. 
          In the afternoon, we tried to visit the archeological museum, but it was closed or closing when we got there. Instead, Mia, Mommy, Kayley, Zander, and I had gelato at a cafe right next to the museum.  We had to wait for daddy who went to the phone shop to get his IPhone 4S a few blocks away. When we finished eating our Tiramisu gelatos, which was like a cake with layers of ice cream, we tried to find daddy at a phone shop nearby that smelled of Skittles, but he found us instead and took us to get his phone at a shop down the street.  The kids and I watched TV while daddy got his phone set up.  After that, momma thought that we could go thru the park to get to our apartment, but the path went in a circle.  So we ended up at the same place we entered the park and we walked back that way instead.  We got lost in the park, too.  But now I know the park!

Closed Archeological Museum.

             The first 24 hours in Greece, we had an adventure exploring our neighborhood and Athens to find our apartment and get what we needed.  Getting lost was fun in Athens.  It forced us to use a map and to get to know the city.  Now, I don't really need a map when I go there again, because I know the area around the apartment well.  But I still need a map to get to certain places and I know how to read one if and when I need to get somewhere.