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Temple of the Winds
In Hadrians Libary area. After a long restless night, we went downstairs to wait for our walking tour. At 9am, the lady told us the guide had called and wasn't coming, so she refunded our money, gave us a map, and some information to take the tour ourselves. So, off we went to see the Acropolis. We decided to check out Hadrian's Library and buy a combo ticket for 6 Euros to see the Acropolis and other sights. Lo and behold, everything was free on Saturdays! After seeing the library and the Roman Agora, we headed up the hill to the Acropolis. We'd met very few tourists up to this point and were wondering why, especially on a free day. As we neared the Acropolis entrance... we were deluged by tourists, mostly groups from Princess Cruises. There must have been 8 or 10 groups at the same time, probably from the monstrous cruise ship we'd seen the previous day in port. The Parthenon and the Temple of Athena were awesome, on a scale you have to be here to appreciate. Imagine towering statues of Athena and columns, made 2,000 years ago. After fighting our way thru the crowds and being careful not on the many
The Acropolis
Gives you some idea of the number of tourists and the scaffolding. smooth marble slabs on the ground, we plodded back out and down to see the ampitheaters, which of course were closed. They still use them for plays and concerts and such. Winding around the base of the Acropolis, we visited the Temple of Zeus. A bit disappointing since all that remains are a handful of very large columns. Our next stop was the Parliament building where they do the Greek version of "The Changing of the Guard." Besides being dressed rather unusually, in traditional Greek military outfits with tassles on their shoes, the two guards quite frequently marched from place to place in a very intricate style. They slowly lift a leg, straighten it almost horizontally with a snap, then step down hard. At various points, they stop with their leg out motionless for several seconds. Quite impressive! After they finish a circuit, they stop, standing under a small awning, while an officer goes up and inspects each one, rearranging tassles, uniform, etc., then wipe off each of their faces. Being lunchtime by now, we found a nice cafe in the Plaka area. Manoli and I both had Greek salads with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and great feta cheese...
The Parthenon
Approaching the Parthenon. Note the slick marble underfoot. at 4.80 Euros each. A very enjoyable and inexpensive lunch. After lunch, we headed back to the hostel for a quick nap, and discovered my bag had been delivered! Clean socks and underwear! Nothing was missing or broken. Kudos U.S. Airways, even though they lost it in the first place. After our nap, we wandered back down to the National Gardens near the Parliament building and strolled through, then checked out the Olympic Stadium, then back to the hostel to get ready for dinner. After strolling around a while, we decided to eat in the Taverna Neon Grill. I had a DELICIOUS mousaka and Manoli had a stuffed pepper and tomato plate. The stuffed tomato was great, but the pepper was a bit bitter. We also ordered fried feta cheese which was quite good. With water and a Coke, 19 Euros. After dinner we strolled back to the hostel for an earl night, since we had a 4:30am wakeup for the trip to Santorini.
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