Instead of flying to Greece direct from Sydney, I flew around the world anti clockwise, I booked the cheapest flights I could find, I flew from Syd-LAX first, I didn’t sleep once on that flight, it was an early morning flight, I had a 10 hour layover so I decided to get out of the airport and visit my uncle that lived there. The next flight was LAX-CDG, it was only meant to be a 3-hour layover however there was a 3-hour delay on the flight, so it was a 6-hour layover instead, and then I flew to ATH, all flying Delta and Air France, after finally getting to Athens, I waited for my bag and unfortunately it didn’t turn up. I lined up for about an hour and a half waiting to talk to the baggage people and they ultimately told me that they couldn’t track my bag because it didn’t have a personalised sticker (which they give you at the airport) the girl at Sydney airport didn’t give me one, I was distraught.
I already pre booked a car service through “Welcome Pickups” at a set time however he kept telling me he had to charge more because of a long wait, I think I got ripped off but I didn’t want to cause an argument so I just left it, I really should have cancelled it, he was so horribly rude and it just made the experience way worse.
I finally got to the hotel at around 2:30AM, the hotel doubled as a restaurant and bar so there were no signs at all that said reception, I did message a person before saying I had a big delay and she did wait up for me which was incredibly nice, the restaurant had just closed and there was luckily one person packing up but all the lights were off, he said “No no closed” he didn’t speak much English and I said hotel and he just walked away and he came back to me and gestured a wave to follow him upstairs, he finally lead me to the hotel staff and the girl that was speaking to me through bookings.com checked me in so quickly and she was lovely. I had a well-deserved mini breakdown and tried to get some sleep.
The same morning, I got up and checked out but left my bag in the receptions office, I had a different mindset, I went to H&M (my all-time favourite shop) this shop was in such a beautiful building, double level-ed. I found a similar pair of shoes to replace mine I lost in the luggage and a bag of underwear, that’s all I really cared about and needed, after H&M I headed to some shops around the area, at this stage it was already 40 degrees or 104F, I decided to get lunch at McDonalds however it wasn’t good, after lunch I walked around to see if I wanted anything else then went back to the hotel and collected my small belongings and waited for a taxi, when I walked outside I slipped and luckily some girl caught me, I was so grateful. The grounds in Athens are slippery, most areas are cobblestones or even marble so appropriate footwear is needed (which I didn’t have because of lost baggage).
I unfortunately got to the ferry stop too early and had to wait around at Piraeus port for about 2 hours before I was able to board the ferry, by the time I got to the waiting area there wasn’t anywhere to sit but the footpath.
The main reason of coming to Greece was to attend a wedding of my best friend on an island called Leros.
Leros is in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegan Sea, 317kms or 197 miles from Athens, 32kms from Turkey, the fastest way there is to land at Leros airport however sometimes they have bad wind, and a small plane can’t land in such conditions, you can also get a ferry from Kos which is about 1 and a half hours and it has a beautiful scenery, however I opted out for a ferry which came in a little bit cheaper than flying to Kos, staying there and then getting a ferry. The ferry is only meant to be 12 hours however there was some sort of a delay, I booked a cabin, which was worth it. The ferry was huge, check in process was super easy, you just go all the way to the front of the boat and check in and they show you to your room.
There is one major cafeteria on board on the main level, the food is average, but I just chose the wrong item, there is also a much pricier fine dining restaurant too.
Finally, we left the port, and it was time to wait 12 hours until I reached Leros, I headed back down to my room, watched 2 minutes of a show on my laptop and as soon as the boat started to rock, I went fast to sleep, it was only 8pm however I think all the jetlag caught up to me.
I slept until about 1am when we reached our first stop however I went back to sleep, you can definitely feel and hear when the boat is stopping, this continued to happen until about 2 and I didn’t wake up for another until sunrise, at that time I was getting a little concerned if I was going to miss my stop. I went out to the main deck as we pulled into another island, the sun was just up and watching the people on the island and the boat was a fun experience. As we we’re pulling out of that island I decided to head back to the room and pack, we pulled into another island and I rushed towards the door to hear the announcement of what island it was, however it still wasn’t Leros. As we were heading into Leros I got a phone call saying to check out and head to the foyer for departure, so all that worry was for nothing.
Finally, I was on the island, what a relief it felt to finally be on dry land, I waited for my friend to pick me up, I was thinking it was going to be a cute Mamma Mia moment where her friends arrive, however my friend thought I was coming into a different harbour, and she arrived only 10 minutes later. Not a problem though, I was just happy to be there.
As soon as we got to the main square, I had my first ever coffee, and I still think about it a lot, called “Freddo Cappuccino” the most perfect coffee you could ever drink, I had so many of these while I was there, definitely don’t skip these if you a coffee lover. After the coffee, I headed for a breezy nap on a balcony thanks to some Jet-lag.
Later that afternoon, I headed into the main area, Alinda Beach. This is where a lot of people stay while holidaying here. It’s a long stretch beach with some straw umbrellas and wooden seats. There is plenty of accommodation around this area, it has a lot of cafes where you can order the food across the road and eat it right on the sand and shoreline.
After hanging out in Alinda, we headed back to the mother of the grooms house, I was fortunate enough that the mother of the groom lent me a beautiful dress. For dinner we headed to a local taverna where I got to experience the best food, I think I had, my favourites were the fried cheese with honey, it was delicious. After a fully belly, we headed back to our hotels to start another day in paradise.
After a comfortable sleep I went to reception and handed my key in (policy of hotel) and they told me I had a free breakfast,
After breakfast I headed for a scenic walk around the area, still in the same clothes I arrived in, looking at all the colourful architecture along the way, the area I stayed in had so many beautiful houses, I felt so relaxed walking around,
After walking I headed for another of those delicious coffees with my best friend and then I was ready to explore the beautiful island. For lunch half the wedding party went to a beach bar in Merikia called Lime Beach Bar, it was a such a chilled out place, so relaxing. After lunch we headed back and had a quiet afternoon until I met up with the rest of the family and wedding guests.
That night, for dinner, we all headed to Hatzidakis Winery. We had a 2 course dinner with wine to match, for entres we had a delicious mezza plate with cheeses, fresh tomato’s and Olives and bread, for mains we had moussaka, and it was the best moussaka I’ve had.
The next day, it was a lot more relaxing, coffee again in the morning, and then took some photos around the streets of Agia Marina, also I finally had a change of clothes, the sister of the bride kindly overpacked and leant me some clothes for the remainder of the trip, I was so happy to be out of those gross clothes I had on.
After taking a million photos, we headed for a beach side taverna, the beach was called Xirokampos, it was a beautiful afternoon, we went for a swim too, if you are going to a beach in Greece make sure you take reef shoes, there is uncomfortable amount of sea grass and inside can be sea urchins, I purchased “Reef” brand shoes from Australia, however my luggage was lost so I never go to wear them.
For dinner, we had a relaxed evening sitting outside the mother of the groom’s home by the water watching the sunset.
The wedding day.
Finally, it was the day we’ve all been waiting for, it started like every other day, a coffee! Then my best friend and I went for a nice walk. All the bridesmaids gathered in the bride’s room, doing our hair and exchanging stories.
Eventually, we had to eat, so we all headed to get gyros by the marina. After lunch, we headed to the mother of the groom’s house to get the dresses steamed and ready for the photographers. After the make-up was done, we did our hair. However, I have naturally curly hair, so unfortunately, my braid didn’t do anything, so we just put it in a slick back bun, which was the best decision I made.
The wedding was scheduled at around 7:30 pm. (sunset), so we had heaps of time to get ready. Finally, it was time to get my best friend wedded, we all got on the ATV’s and headed to Bellenis Tower. The wedding ceremony was as beautiful as ever.
The reception was at a beautiful taverna/bar called Zephyros. It was decorated with fairy lights and beautiful table settings.
Since the night was young, we all headed to a bar that was in a cave. It was super cool.
When it comes to drinks, the Greeks are very generous with their pours, I was saving my drinking for the bar, so I ordered a vodka and soda lime, simple and hydrating right? So, I had thought, and because everyone else was drinking I got another one.
After dancing for a short time, a tray of shots came around and I decided to take the shot, I didn’t even know what it was at the time although there was lemon and salt, I just took it without the extras. After having some more fun, I decided to take another one because there were still so many left, I didn’t want them to go to waste, so I thought, why not! At the time of the shots, I didn’t feel the effects.
I’m lightweight, so I think it hit me all at once, I only started to realise when I couldn’t walk up 1 small set of stairs.
We left the bar arms in arms, trying to walk straight however, we were nothing but.
I had to start hiking up to my hotel, It wasn’t a far walk per se. I think it was only 2kms or nearly a mile straight up. It’s quite steep when you’ve had a few too many. On my walk I met a police officer, he was smirking at me, probably because I was walking like a baby donkey.
I put my hands out gliding on the footpath walls to keep myself up right. Once I made it to my hotel, I realized the reception was closed, and I had left my key there the day of the wedding.
So I realised I was locked out, I messaged our group chat and asked if I could sleep on someone’s couch for the night and thankfully someone replied fast, so I walked back down again. also ran into the police officer again and this time he stopped me and said “where are you going, this is the second time I’ve seen you” at least I still had my senses and I just gestured over there and then he asked me “how much have you had to drink” with my fingers I did the general “just a little bit” he laughed and I kept walking.
The last day was a was a quiet one. Some of us made it out for a morning coffee, and others slept in until 1 pm.
For dinner that night, we headed to a bar next to the windmills called Harris, which had amazing cocktails and the best scenery. We went to a beachside dinner in Panteli Beach which consisted of fresh marinara seafood pasta. For dessert, we got lukumades, a delicious Greek doughnut with honey and crushed nuts, they were to die for.
Departure of Leros, I didn’t have too much to pack so I gathered the borrowed clothes up and gave them back, I bought two backpacks from a store before leaving, so I could throw away my broken carry-on, however they broke later on the trip, a lot of us were leaving on the same day, so we caught a ferry to Kos and then a flight to Athens. The ferry passed by Türkiye which was so cool to see. It was really 50 metres away.
Once in Kos, we had a private transfer to the airport, which helped so much, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone travelling that way.
Flying from Kos to Athens was really easy. The flight was smooth and fast.
Once at Athens airport, I caught an Uber/taxi to my hotel. My taxi driver was really friendly and talking about all the areas, so I thankfully didn’t get ripped off this time.
For dinner back in Athens, I went and got another gyros place. It wasn’t as good as the one on the island, however, it was cheap. It was only 3€. I decided to head back to my hotel room and eat in bed.
I decided to do a hop on, hop off tour of Athens, and it was a fantastic way to see the city and surrounds, I had a plan to go to the archaeology museum, so I went early to avoid the crowds, like everyone else, I got off the bus back at stop 1 and headed to my hotel, I didn’t know but on Sundays in Athens all shops are closed so I couldn’t do any shopping.
I had to wake up early for a flight out of Athens the next morning, so I went to the hard Rock Cafe for dinner and went to sleep early,
I have heard mixed reviews on Air France being a bad airline in Athens with a lot of strikes, so I left the hotel at 2am, the driver that picked me up laughed at me when I told him that because it only took us 15 minutes to get to the airport, absolutely no one else on the road.
I got to the airport 1.5 hours before the check-in opened, and all the chairs were full. Unfortunately, I had to sleep on the cold floor.
The check-in counter finally opened, and I joined a long waiting queue. I finally got up the front and they said I couldn’t check in one small backpack; however I stood my ground and demanded it, I had to go to the “special luggage area” so I really stood in that line for nothing.
Once through security, my flight was about to board, so I had no time waiting.
I flew from ATH-CDG, I had a 14 hour layover in Paris (I left the airport). ATH – SIN and SIN-SYD. Flight time 24hrs.
CDG to SIN, I slept about 11 hours.
I’ve come to the realisation that I hate the window seat, I’d rather the aisle otherwise you’re trapped there, for some reason I thought I’d be able to see some Paris sights from the window of the plane lol, but I guess that failed.
Reviews on accommodation:
Snob Hotel Athens:
The accommodation was not the best, when I booked, I was so excited, the photos definitely were different, the hard mattress, thick sheets, no signs where reception was, boring staff, I would not stay again. My bathroom sink was dirty. This is in between the neighbourhood of Psyri and Monastiraki, very close to the shops.
Blue Star Ferries: Blue Galaxy.
Worth every penny, having your own bathroom on a huge ferry is a bonus, the bed was extremely comfortable, same with the pillows, very basic but still worth it. I paid 150 euros. I would recommend booking whenever you can, so you don’t miss out on the onboard accommodation.
Elefteria Hotel Leros:
Location was in a really interesting area, it has a small square near by which had many cafes and shops. The room was very colourful, it had a nice view of the castle, the bathroom was renovated, that’s one of the main reasons why I chose that place. The owner was quite abrupt always, I had a weird vibe from him most of the time, his wife was extremely friendly and sweet. On the night where I got locked out (left the key with reception because of their rules) the owner left my room door unlocked with the key on the inside, I thought that was extremely unsafe, my passport and money was in there and also I can’t get stop imagining if someone was in the room waiting to attack, I’m probably overreacting but I was heavily intoxicated single female.
Ciel Suites Athens:
Do you ever have those times where you never forget the best hotel you’ve stayed in; well, this is it for me. Centrally located in Monastiraki Sq., Walking distance to the 1st stop of the hop on hop off tour bus. It was amazing, the check in process was fast, it’s a small hotel with no thrills, marble floors in the lobby, marble staircase, it has a lift, but it is tiny as in one person and their bag per time. The rooms were so modern, very NY style, big room, the comfiest bed and two cute little Julliet windows that you could open up for fresh air, the bathroom was fancy, the hotel room felt relaxing and moody, I wish I stayed here first and longer.
Rebwithacause 