Ancient sites and more

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We awoke very early and went into Athens aboard the coastal tram. We chose this day to visit the Acropolis since it was free and Sunday. We arrived at the Syntagma Square and walked to the Acropolis, which took about 45 minutes. The trek to the top was really not too bad and it was so exciting to finally be up there! We stayed up there for well over an hour, taking in all the views and the beauty of it all. I was amazed to actually see this famous place in person. We went back down to the Plaka for some lunch. We had some more Greek salad and my wife had souvlaki, while my daughter and I had some chicken gyros. After lunch, we went down the street and had some baklava and ice cream for dessert.

At about 3:00pm we went back towards Glyfada on the tram. My wife and daughter went back to the hotel in Voula, while I stopped by the Helliniko Olympic Complex. I wanted to see this for two reasons. First, I am a big fan of the Olympic games. Second, I am a big aviation lover and the complex is built on the old Athens airport grounds. There are still many remnants of the old airport, including the terminals, runways, and hangars. I found it sad to see this complex in such disarray. It appears to have just been left to rot since the games in 2004. There were some people hanging around and also a few people were flying model planes on the old runway. I heard that they want to make a huge park on the grounds but it has been put on hold due to financial concerns.

I spent about an hour wandering the complex and then caught the tram back to Voula where I met up with my family at the beach. We all went swimming in the sea even though the water was cold. We watched another sunset and then went into Voula for some dinner. We ate at the Pita Time again, where we had more Greek salad and chicken gyros. We had some dessert at a little bakery down the street. We were in bed by about 10pm so we could get up for our flight the next morning. It felt sad to have to leave.

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