Ya sas Greece!

Greece in a nutshell was a whirlwind of everything I expected it to be, yet nothing of what I expected it to be, if that makes any sense. After years of failed plans and almosts, my best friend and I decided 2019 was THE year to do it. We were going to travel to Greece.

As fate would have it, a week after hunting for flights, Oman Air had a crazy sale where the flight ticket to Greece was HALF of what it usually was. So, it was instantly decided that Greece was in fact, finally going to work out. The Olympian Gods were on our side already!

Travel to Greece

The first part of travelling to Greece was the planning stage, which started from mid-July, from Airbnb hunts to wondering which islands we would visit. Was Santorini a good time to visit in December? How cold was it? How much money would we need in Greece? Some questions could have been answered from other travel blogs, but a majority of them were written at the peak of summer and when almost everyone was partying on the islands of Santorini and Mykynos. So, in terms of gathering accurate information for us to survive a week in Greece, we were basically flying in blind.

CMB – MCT – ATH

OMAN

After a not so pleasant booking experience with Oman Air – my flights were cancelled twice, I finally departed Sri Lanka and landed in Oman at midnight, exhausted and ready for my 14hour transit. Oman Air offered an olive branch for the inconvenience of flight cancellations and arranged a stay at a transit hotel until my flight to Athens the next afternoon. So, by 2am, I checked into Crowne Plaza in Muscat and passed out instantly. Breakfast was an overdose of pink salmon, hummus and turkey, along with great coffee of course! By noon, I was driven back to the airport for my flight at 2pm.

Muscat to Athens

The flight from Muscat to Athens was beautifully empty, and with the whole row to myself, I was ready for Greece! With breath-taking views of snowy mountain tops, cloudy skies, rivers and a stunning sunset paired with wine at 30,000 feet, and it was the happiest I’d been! Six hours, two movies and a 20 minute nap later (I can never sleep on a plane – there’s too much excitement!), we were prepping for landing. Tray tables stowed, wine bottles cleared and trying to smile back my happy tears, touch down was perfect. Well done, pilots!

ATHENS!

Immigration and baggage collection was a breeze and 15 minutes later, I was walking over to the metro and it was COLD – 11 degrees, if I remember correctly, and my crop top and summer skirt were not ready for that nail-biting breeze! After a 10Euro train ticket to my stop – one straight ride to Ambelokipi in a warm metro and a 2 minute bus ride and I was hugging my best friend – who had flown in roughly 5 hours earlier.

Anna’s Stay, AirBnB, Athens

Our first Airbnb property was the perfect welcome to Athens. Our host, Anna made us feel right at home with freshly baked spinach and feta cheese pies, a bottle of Greek wine and the best of hall, ample hot water to soothe and defrost ourselves in.

After a shower and unpacking, we set forth to explore the best restaurant for authentic Greek food.

Gyros in Greece

First Greek meal of the day consisted of — Gyros and Dakos, accompanied with Ouzu; a local liquor. While I wish Ouzu tasted better than it was, it happened to be my first and last time trying it. The Gyro and Dakos, on the other hand, well I fell in love.

After dinner, we headed back as we had an early start of touring the Acropolis! Stay tuned for the next blog!

Yours truly,

Imperfect Traveller

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