Having experienced a very cold winter in the UK so far this year, what a relief it was to arrive in sunny Athens where the temperatures reached 17oC. What better way to enjoy this weather, than going for a walk by the sea. We took the tram to Palaio Faliron and then started walking. The marina in Flisvos was packed last Sunday.
Children preparing the boats, ready for their sailing lesson.
The yachting club restaurant might look empty at 12:00, but all the tables were reserved
It's a good place to come for lunch, with excellent food and lovely views of the sea and the boats.
We wandered around for a while and eventually reached
Neraida (Mermaid) a boat that is a museum now. The tour of the boat includes a film that tells you all about its history. It was appropriated by the British during WWII who used it as an emergency medical boat. After the war the British refused to give the ship back, so one of the Greek ship owners bought the boat for £45,000 in 1954. It was used as a commercial passenger boat for 34 years but was also used in various films, most notably in Sofia Lauren's first starring role.
We continued with our walk
a different view of Neraida.
It's very pleasant walking around this area
which is full of bars and restaurants.
The boats here are massive, rich men's playthings.
We eventually left the marina and starting walking on the promenade
enjoying the huge expanse of blue.
We stopped at the fair ground for a bit
I was dead chuffed to get the bubbles on camera
and then back along the promenade
where lots of people were having quiet moments.
Due to the horrendous oil spill in the area in September swimming is still not allowed in most parts of the Saronic Gulf. You can read about that here
After the main square in P. Faliron the promenade runs along the tram lines
past the chess players - you can see on the right hand side of this photograph two swimmers who are defying the swimming ban
we continued along the promenade which leads to the marina in our area and eventually back to where we started from - home.
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