Exploring Athens in a Day

I wrote in my How to pack your holiday makeup bag like a Pro post that we were travelling to Greece and Morocco this summer.

Since childhood, Greek mythology always attracted me. Being Indian, I could relate to having countless gods and demigods as the Hindu mythology has countless gods and goddesses too.

It was only fitting that the first stop on our holiday be Athens.?The first place we went to was the Acropolis. It is beautiful. You can almost feel the history have a life of itself around you.

The view from the Acropolis is stunning. You can see the city of Athens cradled between Mount Aigaleo to the west, Mount Parnitha to the north, Mount Pentelicus to the northeast and Mount Hymettus to the east.

We then went to the Monastiraki which is the main shopping areas of the old town. The main square less to many lanes that are full of flea markets. The lanes are full of several small stalls; some selling handmade shoes, some selling clothes and some lanes leading to a traditional flea market. I even bought myself a hat!

The temperature in Athens being very high, I decided to wear an off shoulder dress as it is light and perfect for Greek weather!

This stall only sold old vintage cameras. For someone like me who loves photography, it was such a beautiful sight to see!

We also came by one of the oldest churches in Athens, Church of Panagia Kapnikarea. It is a Greek Orthodox church and is said to be built sometime in the 11th century. Hidden between tall buildings on a busy shopping street, it looks small from the outside, but inside, its magnificent!

We walked through the streets, to find ourselves in Syntagma. This is where the parliament is. From there, we walked to the National Garden.

The National Garden is beautiful. It is very peaceful to walk through and has lots of unusual trees. The garden also has peacocks, rabbits and turtles and we spent a lot of time watching people feed the rabbits.

We then went to the highest point in Athens, Mount Lycabettus. To get right to the top, one can either trek or get the Lycabettus Funicular. We took the funicular on our way up and trekked on our way back, down. The view of the entire city is truly spectacular. There is even a small church which adds to the charm of Mount Lycabettus.

As evening slowly crept by, we headed back to our hotel and watched the beautiful sunset behind the clouds, or as I think of it, divine intervention!

• Dress: Zara Link!
• Sandals: Zara
• Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Link!
• Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Link!
• Hat: Bought from Hat Stall in Monastiraki

D x