Patra, Greece

I finally woke up, for the second time, after noon. I still had a buzz from the late night/morning drinking I had done and it would stay with me throughout most of the day (I think it finally went away around 19:00). With checkout being at 11:00, I immediately packed my bags and made my way downstairs to the lobby. Once there, I placed my bags against the computer desk, sat down, plugged in my iPhone to recharge the battery, and I researched the places I wanted to visit while in Patra. Originally, my plan was to leave my bags at the hostel and see the National Archaeological Museum today before I had to board the westbound train at 18:00; however, I was drained of all energy and did not feel like moving, so I stayed in the hostel – my loss, since the Archaeological Museum has a very impressive collection with many familiar objects that I had studied in Art History. I also sent an email to the Englishman staying in Athens that I had met back in Belgrade; the idea was to still try and get together some time today before my train journey, but with his lack of internet access and me not having a phone, it was not to happen. At 16:00, I finally departed the hostel and walked to the Monastiraki Metro Station; I passed through Monastiraki Square, hoping to maybe see the Athenian Englishman since he did type to me that he would be playing music in the “square by the Acropolis,” but I did not see him and there are a number of squares by the Acropolis. I rode the metro train to Larissa Station, walked inside the Railway Station, and confined the time and platform for the train I was to take. I then bought a mixed fruit juice and an iced tea at the adjacent cafe and waited until the train arrived at 17:43. I boarded the train and rode it until the fourth stop (at Ano Liosia Station); I then exited the train and waited for the next one, which would take me to Kiato Station. That train arrived after about ten minutes of waiting and I rode it to Kiato Station, crossing the canal between the Peloponnese Peninsula and the mainland, and passing by the historic city of Corinth. The train reached the station (the end of the line) and I, along with many other passengers, walked out of the station and to the bus to Patra, which was waiting there for us.

The bus departed at 19:40 and drove along the Peloponnese coast, with the mainland visible across the water for the whole way, to Patra, which we reached after 21:09, just when all the lingering daylight had had faded to black (the sun sets really late here in Greece thanks to their geographic position and selected time zone). I then walked from the station, to the hotel I had booked with yesterday (a very short distance consisting of a few blocks). I checked in to the hotel room, dropped my bags off, and then returned to the night in search of food. I ended up walking all around the center of Patra, getting a good feel for the city. I passed through Georgiou I Square and walked by an open venue with Greco-Hip-Hop performers sounding off with their rhymes. I finally ended up at a pizzeria and I ordered a pizza pie “to go” (it was a ham, pepperoni, and cream cheese pizza named the “Philadelphia”); once I received my pizza, I stopped at a nearby market stall and bought a bottle of water and a bottle of iced tea. I then returned to my hotel room, watched the end of ‘Home Alone’ and ate my pizza. Afterwards, I relaxed and eventually went to sleep after midnight.