A very long walk - Palaio Faliro To Alimos

We are back in the UK and it's grey and cloudy. Very different to what it was last week in Greece when we visited Flisvos Marina. We took a taxi to the entrance and

then started walking.

It was a Sunday and as it was a sunny day, there were lots of people around.

Poinsettias have been planted around each tree, as it's coming up to Christmas

We explored the little park that is situated between the marina and the main road

and then moved on to one of the many quays

the boats that are moored here are big

and some are huge.

The warship Averof which is a museum now

and still retains all of its guns.

We got to the end of the quay and then walked back and arrived at the Yacht Club

we were tempted to sit at the cafe but it was too early, 

so we moved on.

Lots of places to sit for a drink or a meal here

Neraida, another boat museum that we visited a few years ago.

The buildings here are built in a traditional style, and for the last few weeks they were filming for a feature film that is set in Smyrna, in Turkey. The filming has finished now

We had reached the main thoroughfare and it was packed with people

it's all bars and restaurants on this stretch and people were sitting outdoors enjoying the sunshine

We left the marina and started exploring another little park

 

which includes a park for dogs.

Soon though, we decided that we wanted to walk by the sea, so we turned right and joined the promenade

that links the marina with the main square in Palaion Faliron.

the sea was magnificent

and we could see clusters of sailing boats in the distance.

On our left the park, and we came upon the very busy part of it, with street stalls, bikes for rent, and a kids' playground

there's always people fishing on this stretch

looking back we could see Piraeus in the distance

an old submarine, now a monument to submarine sailors killed during WWII

Further along, another monument commemorating fallen soldiers and sailors who came from this area

We were nearing the end of this stretch 

and arrived at the square

the water fountain was turned off

quite a few people sitting on the beach

and then we took the road that would take us to Edem, the sea on our right and the tramline on our left

the beaches are not developed here which is lovely

roast corn and chestnuts

looking back

like the marina, lots of people around here

This time we stopped and bought some chestnuts

which we ate as we walked along

this used to be the chess playing pavillion and lots of people used to play. It's a shame that now it's used for just sitting around

We left the road to explore 

an outdoor gym

past the children's playground

this beach garden is lovingly tended by volunteers

and it's thriving... in the sand

We arrived at Edem and were desperate for a drink so decided to sit here before continuing on our walk

but it was packed, nowhere to sit. So, we moved on

to Skippers which was also very busy, but we found a free table right at the front. We sat here for about an hour, looking at the boats and chatting.

Then, it was time to head off home. We walked through the Alimos marina

which was very quiet and calm after all the bustle of Palaio Faliro.

The promenade in Alimos, so familiar, as we walk here most days

quite a few winter swimmers on the free beach, and we were almost home.