We arrived back in Athens via overnight ferry on a chilly weekday morning. It was only 6 am when our van exited the ferry in the same system of organized chaos that is required when hundreds of cars, motorcycles and people get disembark from a boat in a short amount of time.
We were tired, but we decided the fatigue could be kept at bay if we stayed active. So, we decided to head east toward Flisvos Park, a popular park with a variety of playgrounds just next to the marina and stretching along the sea. We stopped to find breakfast in the neighborhood around the park. Once we get off the car, we realized how cold it was and that motivated us to find somewhere warm to sit and order some hot drinks. It was still early and many cafes and bakeries hadn’t opened yet, so it wasn’t as easy as we thought it would be.
After walking a few blocks, we arrived at a café with only outdoor seating. Luckily, it had a few glowing heating towers that looked like they were emitting more heat than they actually were. We crowded around for warmth, ordered breakfast and most importantly, some hot drinks.
Once the sun came out, it felt more like the Greece we had come to know over the past few weeks. Once again, we were under the gaze of the warm sun biting into the crisp air like peppermint. There were several playgrounds for children of various ages and the children got to work right away. Kids take their work very seriously. On this day, their work consisted of climbing, swinging, running, sliding, crawling, hiding and laughing.
As the sun climbed higher, the day became warmer and it almost felt like summer. One layer of clothing after another came off until we were down to just t-shirts. We took a stroll on the long promenade and stopped to take a photo of ourselves in front of the Greek flag flapping in the wind, stopping to admire the captivating beauty of the Aegean Sea one last time.
