Thursday morning begins early - or Wednesday night ends late. Three-thirty AM flight out of Ercan, North Cyprus with transfer in Istanbul. Plane pretty full, possibly down to shortage of alternative flights to make desired connections but also possibly because the country is heading into a three day holiday weekend. Istanbul airport (arguably the world’s largest) also insanely crowded. And the flight to Athens in a big Boeing 777-300 also very full. (Though recognise our signature booking - after due examination of configuration seating maps - we’ve nabbed two of the very few economy seats in banks of two instead of three or four). It’s also Easter week in the Greek Orthodox world so many on holiday.
Pretty decent breakfast, leading to disparaging comparative reflections on Air Canada’s international breakfast offering, a slice of banana bread referred to by one reviewer as originally designed for use in nuclear war shelters and able to maintain that texture for a decade or two.s
Metro into Athens centre pretty crowded as well - two young gypsy girls do edge in but scarcely have room for their musical fundraising efforts. Accommodation chosen to obviate need for transfer, so hotel a short walk from Monistiraki. Off Athinas near the central market, where we once saw a man, tearing down the street with a stolen roast, chased by a butcher with a meat cleaver.
The weather is sunny and warm, Monistiraki is humming, but it can wait until tomorrow. It’s been a long day already.