In the lap of the Greek gods. Part 1.

When I flew into Athens airport last week, I had a few hours to kill before my hydrofoil left for Hydra, so map in hand and luggage chugging embarrassingly noisily behind me, I made my way to the museum in Piraeus.  It has some good reviews on Trip Adviser and I can't resist a museum, recommended or not.  After a hiccup in directions (I couldn't see any street names and the one sign to the museum is not in an obviously useful place) I turned up at 2:45 to see...

Opening hours 08:00 to 15:00

I'd researched opening times and somehow manage to miss that it shut at 3pm.  Nothing for it but to trundle back to the quay in a light drizzle. As I got close I could see that quite a crowd was waiting in the shelters, which I find quite reassuring when I'm travelling on my own, but as I got closer I realised that no one was waiting for a boat. Each well-insulated individual was surrounded by black bags and bottles - the waiting rooms had been commandeered by Pireaus' ever increasing vagrant population.  I'm sympathetic to their plight but didn't fancy settling down in their midst, so I decamped to a cafe and spent 2 hours drinking coffee.   But not to worry, I would be able to catch the museum on my way back.  But those bumptious divine beings on Mount Olympus had other ideas.