Alfa Beer!!

Well today was very interesting, I woke up early which is a miracle in itself and unpacked. I then decided to explore Athens and try out the little bit of Greek that I had memorised, which managed to get me far. I wandered through a housing area and managed to end up at the back of the Olympic Stadium, after crossing a few roads and walking up and down stairs (past various cats and dogs of Athens) I managed to find myself  at a tram station. I used this to get myself to the centre of things in Athens, Syntagma. The first thing I saw when I got off the tram was a Costa, which I headed straight for (whilst thinking HOORAY civilization!). One very delicious Costa Coffee and a short facetime to David later, I then decided to wander some more. I first looked at the Parliament building in Syntagma as it was right outside Costa.

At the time there was what first appeared to be a demonstration, I knew that if it was I should be as far away as possible, but as ever curiosity got the better of me so I kept on looking. But what I had initially thought of as a demonstration turned out to be a very big ceremony of the changing of the guards, which I have to say was extremely interesting to watch, there were police everywhere and the traffic was stopped for ages and it was all very controlled (hence my initial thought of protest). But I have to say I enjoyed it, we have nothing that compares back in England.

After this I had another wander round Athens, asking various people about any shops open that might sell basic groceries, and there were none. And so failing in my endeavor to get supplies I went to pick Kyle up from the airport using the metro system (which I think I have the hang of now). Kyle and I travelled back on the metro to Syntagma, it was packed and struggled to get off with his case but we managed. We decided we would walk back to the apartment through the National Gardens to stop him from falling asleep on a bus. The Gardens were very beautiful, full of orange trees and loads of other plants, and  of course the dogs, which by the way are soo streetwise they use the crossings. On the way to the apartment we saw the Temple of the Olympian Zeus which was quite bretahtaking even from a distance.

Also on our way to the apartment we happened to find a Dominos Pizza so we will not starve at least in the next three months. Having dropped off kyles suitcases we headed back to Syntagma, on foot which we managed quite well for our first time in Athens. We decided on a plan of action: to find supplies, wine and something for tea. After about five hours of wandering the streets we gave up and headed up the only street we hadnt been up. Lo and behold a small shop selling groceries. We had struck gold and so did our first grocery shop in Athens, buying basics such as bread, milk, coffee, sugar, wine and of course Alfa Beer.
Once in the apartment we put our food away and tried to think of something for tea, but not a lot of choice was given to us, and so we decided to find a take-away. We went in the opposite direction to the way to Syntagma, and by chance found a pizza place with people that spoke a little English. The guy that made our pizza was so skilled it was unreal, he literally threw the pizza dough in the air and we watched him go through the whole process of making it, everything was fresh, no pre-made pizza bases just very professional and impressive, we will definately go back there again.

Very nice pizza, it was fantastic. We got back to the apartment, cracked open a couple of Alfa Beers and scoffed the pizza, very good night I say. Also Kyle decided he was going to have a cigarette on the balcony and in the process of looking for his lighter managed to break his shelves, I couldnt do anything but laugh, we both couldnt, because at that point we were on to our second Alfa Beer.  We tried to watch Will and Grace but became distracted by Alfa Beer, it seems to be the theme of the night and so here it is in all its glory.

Yes this pretty much sums up our night, so chill out, relax and have an Alfa Beer on us.

P.s. We managed to stop laughing long enough to fix the shelves. 

The first thing

Well we made it, from Newcastle to Heathrow and then to Athens. Didn't do a great deal today apart from travel, Heathrow Terminal 5 is HUGE, its like stepping into another world completely, you would think that they have a McDonalds with it being so big, but sadly not. And so we went for cocktails instead, well me and Abigail did, Gareth decided he was too manly for cocktails and had cider instead. The flight was alright like, both times the staff were lovely and the food wasn't too bad either.
I go abroad and the first thing I see in Athens is . . . an IKEA. Yeah very exciting I know. The transport system is unreal, we think our metros are bad but the ones here are like completely different, and each metro you get on is slightly different to the last. They also have trams, buses and trolleys (A cross between a bus and a tram I think). The taxi drivers are nuts, they drive wherever they want, its quite funny actually. Anyways I am very tired and must sleep seen as i have to find my way back to the airport tomorrow for Kyle.

(Cherry Daisy Cocktail, very tasty)

Goodnight x