Day 22 - Back to Athens

Espresso Freddo: 1

Today we got up bright and early to get our lift to the port to catch the ferry back to Athens and the end of our holiday.  We got to the port and sat in a cafe and waited.  After a while, we went and queued up at the dock and waited some more.  And then some more.  Our ferry ended up arriving 20 minutes late.

Our particular ferry started in Crete, then came to Santorini, then on to Naxos, Paros, Mykonos and Syros before reaching Piraeus port in Athens.  At every stop, in spite of the best efforts of the crew, we ended up a little further behind schedule.  We got to Athens an hour late.

The seas were fairly rough today.  I kept expecting the captain to put the seatbelt sign on except, of course, there is no such thing on a ferry.  It was quite amusing to watch the passengers staggering around like drunkards while the crew had no trouble walking in a straight line, including one woman in a pencil skirt and high heels!  

At one point it got so rough, one crew member was walking around with an armload of seasickness bags to hand out.  Fortunately I didn't need one (good drugs for the win).  Although, when we were met in Athens our taxi driver either had very strong cologne/aftershave or air freshener.  I was feeling distinctly queasy by the time we got to our hotel.

After checking in, we went clothes shopping.  I'd packed for warm weather.  I'd even bought a bathing suit especially for this holiday but never wore it once.  However, tomorrow the prediction is for light rain and the same is predicted for the two days we are sightseeing in Istanbul.  

We went looking for waterproof jackets but we are in a trendy part of Athens and there aren't the right type of shops here.  We really needed an outdoor gear shop but instead we could have our choice of party outfits.  I ended up buying a water resistant jacket that looked as if it was a very dark maroon colour in the shop.  Just my thing.  Now I have it back in the bright lights of my hotel room, it looks distinctly brown.  I never willingly buy brown clothes.  My school uniform was brown.

Grumble.