Costa Deliziosa Postcard #5 – Piraeus (and not Mykonos!)

Last night’s dinner in the Costa Club Restaurant was excellent, the food, the service and the setting was fantastic. We had a window table and watched the light fade over Santorini and all the buildings start to light up like a Christmas tree. It was all rather special and we were fortunate enough to be sat enjoying our meal as we sailed away. I will edit this post with some of the photos when I get back as I don’t want to use up all of my internet minutes and the ships system can be a bit sluggish at the best of times.

During the meal there was also a public announcement which came as a bit of a surprise to us, the captain had deemed the port of Mykonos unsafe for us to visit and the announcers explained in about 8 languages that we would be going to Piraeus instead. We immediately thought it might be something to do with the current migrant crisis but it later transpired it is down to some high winds being experienced in the area and the team on the bridge decided to go elsewhere. So at 7:00am this morning we found ourselves not in Mykonos but in Piraeus so with no Alex with us this time we decided to set off and finish what we started earlier this year in May when we stopped here on the Norwegian Jade. According to the information given we would be there from 8:00am to 6:00pm which is I believe longer than we were due to be stopping at Mykonos.

I awoke this morning around 7:45 just as we were sailing into the port passing MSC Opera & Musica in the process. We didn’t go down for breakfast into 8:45 and once again missed the crowds which we seem to have done quite well at this week. After that it was off the ship and to the HoHo bus stop to get our transport into town. I don’t consider it too expensive at €20 per ticket and its also very convenient with the buses running every 30 minutes. We got off at the Acropolis stop and headed off on foot to our first destination today which was the Parliament building and the tomb of the unknown soldier to watch the changing of the guard. It was timed to perfection as it was almost as if they were waiting for us to arrive.

From there we walked through the National gardens past the Zappio and on to our next venue which was the The Panathenaic Stadium which was the site of an ancient stadium and more recently where the first modern Olympics were held in 1896. €5 to get in and wander round is an absolute bargain and we spent a good two hours wandering and climbing the steps. Nicole seizing an opportunity to put some of her acrophobic demons to rest.

Our next quest was to find to leather sandals which had been part of our plan in Mykonos and we again hit the jackpot finding a shop called Sandal Mania which had everything we needed…… and more!!!!!
Before making the return journey back to the ship which is around a 30 minute trip we stopped for a coffee, beer and baklava. We found a nice shaded taverna where we could sit in the shade and watch the world go by.
The rest of the afternoon was as you would imagine sat out in the sun in our now favoured deck.