The passport application had been made. We left them embassy and sat at a cafe, wondering what to do for three days in Athens. We had not planned to come back so soon. We had planned to have a few days on Santorini, then head back the night before our Athens to Venice flight. We had seen all the ruins we wanted, and were a little ruin-ed out. There are only so many times you can look at old rocks and keep being amazed. Well, only so many times I can, at least.
Justin did not want to stay in a hostel, especially the Athens Backpackers hostel I mostly enjoyed. It was loud there, it was true. And staying in bunk beds gets old, for a couple. I looked for a hotel, trying to keep within our budget. Things had been getting expensive lately, and if we had to cancel a flight, it was gonna get even more so.
Expanding the search parameters to near Athens, I finally found a hotel down the coast for 50 euro a night. Tripadvisor noted that it had been recently renovated, in a quirky fashion, with many unique features. It was rated as good for adults, not so good for families. Great, hopefully no kids would be there! It was in a good area, near the beach, and we could reach it by tram. Perfect. I booked a night there. We would get another if we liked it.
A couple hours of walking, bussing, and finally tramming, we arrived at the hotel. A woman in her 30’s or less greeted us as we walked in. I gave my name for the reservation, and admired her cat’s eye makeup. I could not get those broad bold eyeshadow techniques to work for me, whenever I tried it! She gave us a key, told us breakfast was included, but could be served in the room for an additional euro. We chose to come down for breakfast, and headed up to the room. Oh drat, I forgot to ask about checkout time, and she hadn’t mentioned it.
We swung the door to the room open, and saw quite the sight. Tho I had only booked the standard room, it appeared to be a queen at the least, or maybe even a king sized bed before us. My eyes travelled around the room. Green. The walls were painted green, with half the walls being taken up with foam half tubes, patterned in snakeskin. The green curtains hung in front of two big sliding doors that met at right angles, so that one entire corner of the room could be opened to the balcony. The wall at the foot of the bed was entirely covered in mirrors. I sat on the bed. Ah, nice and soft, not broken down. My eyes travelled up, and caught sight of myself, reflected in the mirror on the ceiling, next to the green chandelier. I blinked.
The bathroom was predictably tiny, in what I was coming to see as the European standard of one drain in the shower, one drain on the floor outside the shower, as there was no way to keep all the water inside, even if there was a shower curtain, and no hanger for the shower head. That was why you had two hands apparently, to hold the shower head and also wash yourself. The towels were wrapped in sanitizer service plastic bags, and there was two soap dispensers mounted on the walls, in addition to the more usual little bars of soap in wrappers. That was nice; you could choose not to waste little bars of soap for a short stay!
Justin and I unpacked our bags, and decided to go out shopping. Despite the beach being so close, swimming was not an option, as all Justin’s swimsuits had also been stolen, sadly including the new European style one he had just bought in Dubrovnik, and only gotten to wear about three times (much to my delight each time). As we left the hotel, walking down the spiral staircase, we paused on the floor below. Sure enough, the distinct sounds of female enjoyment were coming from a room on that floor. We grinned at each other. Someone was enjoying their stay, eager to have some quality time, tho it was still only afternoon!
It turned out we had ended up in Glyfada district. From what we could gather, this is where the moderately well-off Greeks went to vacation. The shops were mostly designer shops, and the restaurants authentic. It turned out that Greeks typically go to dinner around 9pm, and then clubbing at about midnight! So the restaurants we thought were deserted at 7pm were actually just getting ready for the nightly rush.
The stores were mostly geared for affluent persons, looking to add a few choice pieces to their wardrobe, not for budget conscious backpackers looking to recover from total luggage loss. We did manage to find quite a few quality places, and over the course of the two days we were there, found a new, if limited, wardrobe for Justin. We tried to find a new swimsuit, but as soon as we asked, the salespeople directed us to the swim trunks. We finally managed to find a more European style swimsuit for Justin, and in better colors than the last one had been.
The hunt for pants took quite a bit longer, but we finally found pants that fit Justin well. The pant style here is currently skinny jeans, dropped crotch, and baggy thighs. Justin wanted mid rise waist, snug crotch, and relaxed legs. It was awkward. We also finally found a sweatshirt with a fitted body, and sleeves long enough. A backpack completed the job, and sundries like shoes, socks, underwear. Finally, the basics for continued travel. It looked like low season was starting here as well. Not as soon nor pronounced as the islands, but sure enough, things were getting quieter.
Back at the hotel to drop off our new finds before heading out to dinner, we heard more happy sounds! Either they were going for round 2, or the mirrors in the other rooms were inspiring other couples as well.
We slept very well indeed. I woke once to hear the door of the room next to ours open. Hmm, quite the late check in, especially at the end of the tourist season. I drifted off, only to stir to half wakefulness by the sounds of passion in the room next door. Glad they had the energy for it, after such a late check in! I rolled over and cuddled up to Justin. Once more I was wakened by the sounds from next door. Plastic bag being rustled, a scrubbing and washing sound, new sheets being spread on the bed. There was room service at 2am here?!? Hmm, things were starting to come together in a certain picture here..
The next day, we decided to stay another night. Justin teased me for my chioce of hotels, but he was ok with our adult hotel. Once I went down and enquired with the young woman manning the reception desk (wearing less makeup than the woman from last night) I learned the room we had was booked for that night. Thus we embarked on a tour of the hotel, getting keys for vacant rooms, and looking for one that suited us. Every room in the hotel appeared to be different. It was an average sized hotel for European standards, so it had four floors with four rooms each. We looked at about half of them! Here was a room in tan, with a giant round bed. Here was a room in red with black accents. The ceiling was velvet covered, and had tiny jewels glued to it. This room had a massive bath, and lace black curtains hanging all over the room. There was a large throne like chair, done in black velvet and silver trim. Every room was unique, and all were quite clearly adult-themed. Yeah, I sure did find us an adult hotel!
We eventually settled on the tan room with an enormous round bed. The balcony was quite nice, and the bed was comfortable. And if some of the guests of the hotel stayed less time than one might usually expect, there were a few other travellers such as ourselves, finishing out the tourist season, and taking advantage of a cheap hotel is a ritzy area.
Wherever you are, Be There 