Reflections regarding Sunday September 22, 2024 to Monday September 23, 2024 moving from Naples, Italy to Athens, Greece
Today was a travel day: Walk to the metro station, ride the metro to Naples Central Station, take a train back to Rome, switch to a local train that would take us to the airport, fly to Athens, walk to the airport train station, take the metro into Athens to catch a bus, ride the bus to a stop near(ish) our new Airbnb, walk to our Airbnb. Woah! We had been planning this for a while, but our travel day was a bit daunting when it arrived. Thankfully, all worked out well because we weren’t rushing, there was no whining or yelling, and our boys grown into excellent travelers who were quick to offer to help each other and us with the bags.
We awoke early to ensure we had enough time to walk back through the streets with our bags and catch a metro that would get us to Naples Central Station with plenty of time to walk relaxingly to our next train. Our walk from the apartment to the Toledo metro station was so much better because we discovered a “no stairs” path on our walk the day before. What a difference that made! Except for a few confusing signs at Rome’s Termini Station everything went smoothly. We also learned that families with strollers have priority security checks in Rome’s Fiumicino-Leonardo Da Vinci Airport. When they saw all of our children and bags they sent us through the same line. That was the fastest security check ever.
It was just before sunset when we landed in Athens, which, at first, I enjoyed. The skies were turning gorgeous shades of reds, oranges, pinks, purples, greens, and blue before darkening. However, by the time we arrived at the bus station it was completely dark outside. Athens was the first time I was really struggling with reading the signs. Chaim and I had not studied much Greek, or any, and the lettering looked different enough for us to second guess ourselves when we tried.
Like most of the previous cities in which we resided, our Airbnb was far from the city center and the area was not lit up as much as I would have liked. Walking through the dark in an unknown location to an unknown location with our children caused me some serious stress. By the time we reached the apartment. and I was already judging Athens poorly – unfairly so. Before going to sleep I shared with Chaim an epiphany during our walk. I do not like arriving to unknown places at night and I was willing to pay a little extra to help make our travel schedule work around this.
I didn’t sleep much that night. I couldn’t fall asleep because my mind was in overdrive. Inexplicably, planning how we would spend our time in Athens was more overwhelming for me than any other city we’d visited. Perhaps it was because I was hellbent on taking the boys snorkeling for the first time. Because Greece! Or, maybe it was because other than the Acropolis I hadn’t had a chance to research ideas for Athens on a budget until we arrived. Normally this wouldn’t bother me, but the more I researched the more I realized we probably should have spent a day or two in Athens before moving to Thessaloniki or somewhere else. My imagination and desire to create a perfect Greece experience for the boys put me into decision paralysis. It was 3:00AM before I finally fell asleep and then Matanel woke me at 4:00AM for a cuddle.
At 6:00AM Shai had a nosebleed (on white sheets!) After taking care of the sheets as quickly as possible, I accepted that sleep was not in my future and left to get groceries. The walk was beautiful. Most of the city was still asleep – we later learned that Athenians are late to rise, starting their days around 8:00AM during the weekday and 11:00AM on weekends.
After such a long travel day the day before, we let the boys sleep in, except for Amichai who would have slept the day away. We went back to our Prague schedule with learning in the morning and excursions in the afternoon.
The boys must have been tired because they had no interest in going out. Granted our Athens Airbnb was the best we’d had since beginning our journey. A plethora of rooms, two bathrooms, a designated dining room and decent size kitchen, and two balconies. There was plenty of space to be together without being on top of one another. A nice break after almost two months on the road and staying in places where everyone had to buddy up in a bed or we were all sleeping in bunkbeds in the same room. After three hours of cajoling them to leave the apartment, I was annoyed. I did not come to Athens to stay cooped up in our apartment. It occurs to me now that this same thing happened when we first arrived in Paris and Prague. I will need to account for a light “day after big travel days” and accept that while my instinct is to explore as soon as possible, the rest of our family needs a rest day.
Finally, we let our apartment around 3:30PM. We had to stop at a kiosk to buy bus tickets, which was an experience. Children six and under ride free and ten and under ride for half price in Athens. I was honest and told the cashier how old the boys were. She looked at me and said, “No.” Pointing at the twins she continued, “These two are small. They go free.” Then, looking at Amichai, who was almost twelve at the time, and Eitan, she said, “and these go half price.” I tried to argue and realized it was futile. This exchange happened a few times while in Athens. We tried being honest and the vendors took it upon themselves to give us discounts they probably had no authority to make. My wallet didn’t mind.
The boys and I ventured out to Lycobettus Hill to hike to the top and watch the sunset. The hike is a relatively straightforward so long as you can identify the path. There were plenty of times we thought we were on the path and realized we had strayed. Fortunately, it isn’t easy to get lost. When straying from the path just keep walking up toward the top of the hill and you’ll eventually be in the right place. The views were stunning. From Lycobettus one can see all of Athens all the way to the Aegean Sea. The Acropolis is in direct view from Lycobettus and is so massive that it stands head and shoulders above the rest of the city. As we hiked to the top of the hill we passed Prickly Pears and a plant that looked like some kind of peapod. Google Lens seemed to think these plants were okay to eat. The boys enjoyed trying them out, but do not recommend the pods. Our only complaint on the hike were the numerous mosquitoes that had come out to feast on us.
At the top of Lycobettus is a small church and a restaurant. Otherwise, it is really known for its views. It is possible to take a cable car up or down. I had hoped the boys wouldn’t notice the cable car, but we passed it along the way to the bathroom. I caved and we waited to take it down. The ride is underwhelming, taking place in a tunnel that has words that are supposed to be inspiring projected along the walls. We spent the entire time debating whether a cable car counts as a train or not. Later we learned it does, in fact, count as a train.
Dinner proved lacking. Up until Athens, we had been living on salmon and tuna. After multiple grocery store visits, I learned there is no salmon in Athens. At one point, when I asked for fresh salmon a kind store representative handed me a package of lox saying, “very fresh salmon.” Lox might be salmon, but it is not fresh. Tuna, however, is all the rage. I bought several cans of tuna while worrying that our children were going to get mercury poisoning by the end of our travels.
That night, we tried getting the boys to go to sleep early. At this point we were three hours ahead of Iceland. I wondered if the boys were struggling with earlier bedtimes because they hadn’t truly adjusted to the time changes. Whatever the case, I was exhausted and hoping for an earlier bedtime. Stupidly, instead of going to sleep I scrolled on my phone for hours looking for the perfect Sunday excursion that always seemed just out of reach.
