To Athens we go!

This trip to Athens got off to an interesting start once we reached our hotel (setup by the company travel agent) on Thur late afternoon. We found the hotel to be quite dirty & in poor condition, located in a rather bad area near downtown Athens. When we went out for a late lunch, we observed drug deals & hookers on the street just outside the hotel. Needless to say, after reporting this to our home office in Cairo, the boss’ Assistant worked quickly before leaving work for the evening, to get us moved to a better location. We now find ourselves located out near the sea coast & just across the street from a city tram location…life is better & we overcome yet another hurdle in this exciting life of travel :)

On our departure out of Cairo, I was able to snap this pic of the definitive line between the desert to the west & the green of the Nile Oasis in which we live. Cairo is located at the far southern tip of this “V” shaped oasis. The Libyan border is about 350 mile to the west, across this vast desert.

Riding the tram into downtown Athens from our hotel took about 45 min with all the stops.

Here, we are just north of the Acropolis & if you click on this pic to enlarge, you can better make out the Pantheon at the top.

Ah, the beauty of the Lord's creation is again seen as the sun sets over Saronikós Bay, looking to the southwest off the Athenian coast.

Looking back to the northeast toward Athens, from a pier out in the bay.

Got tired of being limited to foot & public transportation, so I bought this Dahon folding bike that I can carry in our plane.

First evening with my new toy, I took a long ride along the coast through Athens. The coastal walkway reminds me a bit of the one in Chicago, along Lake Michigan, except that the skyline is absent of the massive high rise buildings of Chicago & the walkway is not nearly as bike friendly :)