Down to the sea
We live in the Peak District, about as far from the sea as you can get in the UK, so we had always planned on going to a beach while we were in Athens. We caught a metro to the Peace and Friendship Stadium stop, not quite the end of the line in Piraeus, but close to the water and maybe the possibility of a bathing beach. The metro was certainly a colourful ride, and very cheap. Graffiti seems to be everywhere in Athens. We walked through a dusty uninteresting park and came to a marina where we stopped for coffee.It was an overcast morning but still warm. The water in the marina had a skim of oil over the top, not the place for a swim. Mairi had found a swimming beach, Freatida, on the map, so with a little walking around the houses and apartments we found ourselves on a stony shore where others were sunbathing and swimming. I am sure the water was not up to blue flag standard but we both had a quick dip and sat on our towels to dry off. Afterwards we walked onwards towards Piraeu...