Six o'clock wake up for showers and getting ready. We head downstairs at 7:00 for a wonderful breakfast buffet. Everything from cheese, pastries, nuts, yogurt, various styles of eggs, bacon and sausage and more. I especially liked the dried figs. Definitely a super start to the day.
Our driver, Demetri, picks us up and we meet our tour guide Angeliki. We do a drive-by tour of the highlights of Athens, like the Olympic Stadium from 2004 (built of marble!),
Hadrian's arch, the Temple of Zeus, Syntagma Square, and other landmarks, and the National Botanical Gardens. We end at the Acropolis. The Acropolis towers over the city of Athens and its 4.5 million residents.
It's a beautiful day, in the 70's already as we begin the climb through olive groves,up to the Acropolis.
Our guide, Angeliki, is helpful and thankfully we have earpieces to hear her, as the area is very busy with other tourists. Tour guides are licensed and must have university degrees in history and/or archeological areas and several years experience.
The Acropolis (meaning top of the city)refers to a high rocky outcropping which holds 3 structures: the Parthenon - temple to Athena
- the Erechtheion
and Temple of Athena Nike.
Built of locally mined marble in the 5th Century BC, these monuments are huge and amazing. When built, they included color and statues of gold and ivory.
Much was destroyed or looted over the years, with many pieces now in the British and other museums. The maintenance and upkeep is a constant issue. Amazing to think of how they moved and carved these massive pieces of marble!
and the remnants of the Temple of Zeus. Only six columns remain of what was once a wonder of the world. No remains of fallen columns because the other ten columns were taken away or re-used. Note the yellow taxis - different cities have different colors.
We meander through some of the nicely maintained National Botanical Gardens where quite a few families and individuals are walking and strolling. Lots of bitter orange trees which bear beautiful but inedible fruit, mulberry trees and some familiar plants like pittosporum, bougainvillea, and oleander. Quite a few beautiful roses throughout the city too. We then find our way to the Parliament Building where we watch the quite elaborate Changing of the Guard ceremony which happens every hour.
They are guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier.
From here, we decide to wade into the Plaka area, a very busy commercial area with occasional ancient monuments or buildings. Fruit stands, souvenir sellers, antiques, pottery, jewelry, etc. Quite the contrast of ancient and modern!
The Tower of the Winds, one street over from the above square.
We check out the beautiful Athens cathedral (Orthodox christian)
and have lunch at Thanasis - a huge sprawling indoor/outdoor restaurant that Kim back in Houston recommended. We share a gyro plate which is quite delicious...not much beef on menus here, but lots of chicken and pork. There is pita bread under all of this. Tasty seasonings!
We browse some of the shops as we gradually make our way back towards the hotel. Farther from the busiest part of the plaka, things look less well maintained with some vacant buildings and graffiti.
We've been told not to worry about crime, as there is very little violent crime, just watch for pickpockets but we don't offer any easy pickings and have no problems. We do see some police presence in the very busy areas.
In addition to the graffiti, (which Angeliki says is not gang-related, but an expression of anger and frustration of the younger Athenians, about 40% of whom are unemployed), there are also many murals painted on the sides of buildings.
University education is free to those who qualify, but is very competitive and produces a great deal of pressure and stress on the young. It is paid for by taxes but often, those who complete degrees then leave the country for better jobs. They refer to this as a brain drain and is a difficult problem. We also learn that if you qualify for University by excelling in tests, the university chooses the students it wants to accept and pretty much tells them what they may major in. A student who wants to be a doctor but doesn't have the highest test grades may be accepted as a vetrinarian or nurse instead and really has no recourse.
Later our tour director spends quite a bit of time talking about the economic situation and how and why it came about. She is American but lives here about 7 months of the year, speaks fluent Greek and has many interesting stories about mythology and Greek history and culture.
Back at the hotel, we shower and relax a bit. Then wonder across the street to The Bread Factory to share a spinach pie and baklava. We sit and people watch as we eat, then head back to the 9th floor for some night photos of the Acropolis. My phone tells us we've walked over 6 miles today and it feels good to stretch out in our comfy beds!
Hadrian's arch, the Temple of Zeus, Syntagma Square, and other landmarks, and the National Botanical Gardens. We end at the Acropolis. The Acropolis towers over the city of Athens and its 4.5 million residents.
The Acropolis (meaning top of the city)refers to a high rocky outcropping which holds 3 structures: the Parthenon - temple to Athena
and Temple of Athena Nike.
Built of locally mined marble in the 5th Century BC, these monuments are huge and amazing. When built, they included color and statues of gold and ivory.
Much was destroyed or looted over the years, with many pieces now in the British and other museums. The maintenance and upkeep is a constant issue. Amazing to think of how they moved and carved these massive pieces of marble!
Our afternoon is free after the tour. While some opted for an excursion to Sounion by the sea, we have decided to explore a bit more of the city. Map in hand, we walk back to Hadrian's Arch
and the remnants of the Temple of Zeus. Only six columns remain of what was once a wonder of the world. No remains of fallen columns because the other ten columns were taken away or re-used. Note the yellow taxis - different cities have different colors.
We meander through some of the nicely maintained National Botanical Gardens where quite a few families and individuals are walking and strolling. Lots of bitter orange trees which bear beautiful but inedible fruit, mulberry trees and some familiar plants like pittosporum, bougainvillea, and oleander. Quite a few beautiful roses throughout the city too. We then find our way to the Parliament Building where we watch the quite elaborate Changing of the Guard ceremony which happens every hour.
From here, we decide to wade into the Plaka area, a very busy commercial area with occasional ancient monuments or buildings. Fruit stands, souvenir sellers, antiques, pottery, jewelry, etc. Quite the contrast of ancient and modern!
We check out the beautiful Athens cathedral (Orthodox christian)
and have lunch at Thanasis - a huge sprawling indoor/outdoor restaurant that Kim back in Houston recommended. We share a gyro plate which is quite delicious...not much beef on menus here, but lots of chicken and pork. There is pita bread under all of this. Tasty seasonings!
We've been told not to worry about crime, as there is very little violent crime, just watch for pickpockets but we don't offer any easy pickings and have no problems. We do see some police presence in the very busy areas.
In addition to the graffiti, (which Angeliki says is not gang-related, but an expression of anger and frustration of the younger Athenians, about 40% of whom are unemployed), there are also many murals painted on the sides of buildings.
University education is free to those who qualify, but is very competitive and produces a great deal of pressure and stress on the young. It is paid for by taxes but often, those who complete degrees then leave the country for better jobs. They refer to this as a brain drain and is a difficult problem. We also learn that if you qualify for University by excelling in tests, the university chooses the students it wants to accept and pretty much tells them what they may major in. A student who wants to be a doctor but doesn't have the highest test grades may be accepted as a vetrinarian or nurse instead and really has no recourse.
Later our tour director spends quite a bit of time talking about the economic situation and how and why it came about. She is American but lives here about 7 months of the year, speaks fluent Greek and has many interesting stories about mythology and Greek history and culture.
Back at the hotel, we shower and relax a bit. Then wonder across the street to The Bread Factory to share a spinach pie and baklava. We sit and people watch as we eat, then head back to the 9th floor for some night photos of the Acropolis. My phone tells us we've walked over 6 miles today and it feels good to stretch out in our comfy beds!
Thanasis! I want some! Glad you got there. Your pictures are great and I feel right back there!
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