Friday 5th July 2013 - Farewell Athens and Farewell Greek Islands

Luckily our flight is at midday so after breakfast we head straight off to the metro station at Monistiraki.  I don't like hanging around on the last day and like to just get home as fast as possible.

We take the blue line which we thought would take us directly to the airport.  However, passengers for the airport are instructed to leave the train at Doukisses Plakentias station where we wait for another airport train.  

The Athens metro is immaculate, well priced and very efficient.  The journey back to the airport is very enjoyable and we take in the last views of the landscape before arriving at the airport.

Final thoughts.

This has been an amazing trip and has absolutely rekindled my love for the Cycladic islands.  Highlight island of the trip was definitely Folegandros - rugged, wild and stunningly beautiful.  I know I'll go back again another time.  It was great to revisit Antiparos - I love this little island and am always tempted to linger longer.

It was brilliant to visit Athens again after so long.  When I was last there about 20 years ago my overwhelming impression of the city was that it looked like Beirut.  Now it is a city ravaged by grafitti, very tired around the edges but still an amazing city to visit.

The Attalos Hotel was brilliant and will definitely stay there again - staff were friendly and helpful and the location was just perfect - of course the view from the roof terrace was the icing on the cake!

Island hopping in Greece becomes addictive.  I've lost count of the number of Greek islands I have actually visited - nearly 40 at the latest estimate.  We are already planning our next trip - we were very taken with the look of the Western Cycladic islands that we sailed past on the way back to Athens - Serifos, Kythnos.  But that's next year.  Roll on retirement!