“Travels to a Different Time” : 7August2000: Athens, Greece: Mount Lycabettus and Kolonaki the District to Be In!

Monday is a slow museum day and attraction wise in Athens as many are closed. Got in the mood with a late breakfast. Fried eggs replaced by scrambled eggs and cinnamon buns replaced croissants. The dining room at the Hotel Stanley is huge but as breakfast was late the tour groups from Canada, USA, Spain, Turkey and Hong Kong are long gone for the day. Off to Mount Lycabettus at 277 metres above sea level with a pine forest nestled below. The neighbourhood I passed through to get the funicular to take me to the top is called Kolonaki and it is very snazzy. High priced condos and high-end shops, restaurants and cafés. Tree lined streets. Took the funicular to the top of Mount Lycabettus and visited the St. George Chapel which was very simple. The view of Athens is nothing but spectacular. Lunch at Kolonaki Pizzeria with tables and chairs on a slope as it is located on the slope up to Mount Lycabettus. There are few tourists in Kolonaki and its trees provide welcome shade. Eating my Calzone I could hear classical music drifting through a nearby open window. Passing down through Kolonaki saw a McDonald’s and no there is no McSouvlaki at least yet. Saw some African guys selling fake Louis Vuitton’s they had placed on a shawl then the police came and they wrapped up their goods and tore down the street with the police chasing them.  Headed off to the National Gallery but it was undergoing a 850,000,000 drachma renovation and was closed. Dinner at a taverna in the Plaka was average and half the price of my dinner last night at the Hotel Stanley. Had a drink at the rooftop bar of the Stanley and watched the Acropolis all nicely lit up