Day 39 - Start of my first reading week solo trip

Woke up early to tube to Heathrow airport. Shock, shock, horror, horror - BA flights (including taxes) were £20 cheaper than budget airline flights, not inclusive of taxes!

The new Heathrow Terminal 5. Looks familiar aren't it? Thanks to online check-in, self-service kiosk and fast bag drop-off, it took me less than 15 minutes to be done with checking in. Airport security is just as tight as in the states - take out belt, shoes etc.

planes waiting to fly off. We waited for 1 hour. How efficient right.

Lovely sky.

Over the Alps. Felt so Google Earth. They served lunch, but there wasn't any choice but Pasta Bolognese. Gave up after trying to separate the beef from the pasta.

Arrived at Athens (Athina). My timing was so wonderful. The metro between the airport and some station was disrupted for construction works as of yesterday. But on the bright side, taking a bus is 3€ cheaper than taking a metro from the airport.

At the metro station after I alight from the bus. Look, no barriers! Just validate your ticket and go.

Inside the metro.

Arrived in my hostel room. Only me and another guy, who's half-French, half-Isreali, but borned in Germany. He stays in this hostel for a long period of time apparently.

The manual lift door in the hostel.

After I checked in, my stomach was growling from a 1/4 lunch. Head down the the square near the hostel to look for Gyros.

A Gyros stand outside a Tarvena (tarven).

My first Gyros. Pork (they ran out of chicken, I don't really like mutton, and I don't eat beef) kebabs, tomatoes, onions, chips, and a yoghurt with mint and garlic sauce, wrapped by a toasted pitas bread with olive oil. All these for 1,80€. Surprisingly, just one is enough to fill me up. Don't eat this inside tarvenas on a plate! They charge the same thing on a plate for at least 8€!

Monastiraki square at night. From Right: Metro station, Acropolis in the background and an old mosque.