Today we enjoy a nice morning of sleeping in and breakfast again on the terrace. We leave all our luggage in the hotel lobby at 11:00am and wait out around the hotel pool area for two hours before we have to take a bus to the ferry that will take us to our next stop – Athens. Some sunbathe out by the pool, while others play card games, go for a local hike, or take a quick trip back to the Old Port of Mykonos.

Our trip over to Athens is another SeaJet ferry, which is a quick one. Jay and I purchase some ice creams as we wait to load the boat. We are sitting on the top indoor deck of this ferry, with little tables between us, and we relax and enjoy the swift 3-hour ride to Athens.

We arrive in the port of piraeus. It is the largest passenger port in Greece, the 4th largest in the world, with more than 17 million people traveling through it each year.

We take a 45-minute bus ride to our hotel. We pass some of the sightseeing landmarks that will be on our guided tour tomorrow, and everyone is looking forward to it, as Nikolaus narrates a detailed history of Athens and Greece on the bus’s speaker system.

We arrive at our hotel and it is perfectly located right in the center of the city. Our room is a standard hotel room that is clean and has the standard twin beds and bathroom. We leave our bags and quickly make our way down to meet the group for dinner.

Dinner is just around the corner at Ayschilou. We are escorted into the indoor garden patio where we sit together in small tables and order a bottle of wine to share. Jay orders a pork, chicken and lamb gyro sample platter, I order the pork gyro platter, and some tzatziki to share. This meal was a perfect end to a long day and we all chit chat about our other travels and where we want to still go, as we sit under the trellis garden, with a small three-person string ensemble playing quiet greek music in the corner, and a bubbling fountain that is slowly being drowned out as more and more people enter the restaurant.

Jay and I leave dinner, and take a leisurely stroll through the narrow alleyways to stretch our legs. The streets have come alive with nightlife, as people sit down for dinner at the little outdoor restaurants. Live music is everywhere and lights are strung up overhead, giving the place a warm and colorful glow.

We pass the quirky area of ‘Little Kook,’ which is an alley completely transformed to look like Alice In Wonderland. Even the servers are dressed up like the characters.

We round the corner and can see the Parthenon and ancient agora all lit up tonight, and we are excited to learn more about them tomorrow on our walking tour of Athens. We slip into a nearby ice cream shop for some dessert. Jay orders strawberry cheesecake and apple pie ice cream. I order the limoncello. We sit on a bench outside the ice cream shop and enjoy our nighttime treat, as we watch the people passing by. It is such a magical night to spend, listening to the chatter and people enjoying the festivities.

We return to the hotel for a good nights sleep. I zip up to the hotel’s rooftop terrace for a breathtaking view of the entire city. A few members from our group is there with some wine, chatting and gazing up at the spectacular view.

The Parthenon is lit up, as it looks down, glowing over the entire city. We watch the moon rise up so quickly, over the hillside, and it is an evening I forever want to keep a mental photo of the moment. Its a perfect warm night and we are on the final leg of an amazing vacation.

Tomorrow we spend the day exploring the great city of Athens.