Day Thirteen (Thursday)

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The last day of the land portion of this tour. I slept pretty well after our busy busy day. We actually got to sleep in a bit today. Breakfast was in a large room in the hotel. This was one of the best of the trip with scrambled eggs, bacon, rolls and orange juice.

At a little after nine we boarded Niko's bus for a short drive to pick up Vee. She gave us a bit of a city tour as we headed for our tour of the Acropolis. We had to park at the base of the mini-mountain but the climb wasn't difficult at all. Vee sat us down in the shade just below the entance to the ruins while she explained the history and significance of the site. Then we joined the huge crowds that entered. It was virtually impossible to stay together as a group with the thousands of other tourists shoving past. I must have missed 90% of Vee's commentary. I just followed the group as we hiked farther up the marble steps past huge blocks of fallen building material. Scaffolding and construction was going on everywhere. I'm not sure how much the Greeks plan to rebuild but it seems like there's enough rock laying around to build two Parthenons.

I didn't get to hear too much of Vee's tour guide spiel because of the whipping winds and being at the back of the group, but I did hear the legend about the founding of Athens: It seems that the villagers that were just settling in the area called on the gods for assistance. Poseidon, the god of the sea and waters, and Athena, the goddess of wisdom and truth, opted to intervene. They argued over who would be the patron of the city. Finally they decided whichever god offered the best gift would have the honor of having the new city named after them. Poseidon rose up high and heaved his trident down at Acropolis Hill. Water sprang up from that spot and the citizens were quite happy. Then Athena walked among the people to the top of the hill, stamped her foot on the ground and the first olive tree sprang up. The people were very impressed and so was Poseidon. He broke off one of the branches, examined its perfection then tasted the clinging fruit. The argument was settled and for ever after the olive branch has symbolized peace. The grateful citizens deemed the olive tree as sacred and named the city after Athena.

Just when we were within 100 yards of the Parthenon itself, Gail discovered Cassie and her friends were missing. We spent the next hour looking for them. I was able to take a few photos but really missed out on learning anything about this temple to Athena. Eventually we convinced ourselves that she was back at the bus. Another student thought she saw the girls head out of the complex when we got caught in a huge crunch of tourists near the entrance. It later turned-out that one of the girls decided she was afraid of heights and wasn't going up to the top. The other friends decided to stay with her. Noble idea but perhaps informing us of their plan might have been in order.

After the tour of the Parthenon and environs, we hopped back on Niko's bus for the last time. We took a city tour past the President's home, some of the government buildings, the financial and shopping districts then by some of the 2004 Olympic venues.

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Photos

The rocky climb to the Acropolis
When you stand at the base of the Acropolis and look up, the task can seem daunting. However, the path up to the site is a very easy climb. That and the fact that there are two million tourists in front of you inching their way up keeps you from getting exhausted. Considering how bright the sun was and the fact that we were in the Mediterranean you might think it was hot, but once again a nice breeze kept things relatively comfortable. Later in the day when we walked around in the city the heat got a little disgusting.
As we walked along Vee continued her commentary on the history and mythology of the Greeks. As usual I was at the back of the group most of the time so I didn't hear most of what she said. We stopped for a few minutes to take a gander at this well-kept amphitheater.

The Odeion of Herodes Atticus being set up for a concert
Like the one in Epidaurus this Amphitheater was being prepared for a big concert that night. A "Pink Floyd" tribute band was scheduled to perform. ZZZZZZZZZZ. Anyway, my research on the internet says that this was called the "Odeion of Herodes Atticus" and it was built in the Second Century. I assume that means it was built by the Roman conquerers who came here a thousand years after the height of the Greek's Golden Age.

And now it gets really crazy
As if the hike up to the summit wasn't crowded enough with tourists, once we reached the "Propylaea", or entrance we had to push our way through the crowds. The people just stood around gawking at the base of the Temple of Nike which is to the right and out of the picture. From this point in the way was a little tricky because of the steeper ascent over very well-worn marble paving blocks. As we walked through the Propylaea we could see construction scaffolds everywhere and mini-cranes set up to hoist up some of the fallen marble that once again seemed to be everywhere.

Athens, the white city
Since our progress up the last few steps to the summit was so slow, I had time to turn around and take this photo of the city below.

Ummm....Where's Cassie and her friends?
Just as we reached the top and stood below the impressive columns of the Parthenon, Gail noticed that Cassie and her friends were missing. Instead of listening to Vee's continuing narration we had to run all over the summit searching for the missing campers. We eventually gave up assuming they were back at the bus.

The backside of the Parthenon
If the wind we experienced on top of the Acropolis was typical I now know why the Parthenon fell down. It was wickedly windy on top, just as bad as Mycenae.

Detail of the friezes on the Parthenon
Work is being done everywhere on the Acropolis. This section was in the process of being restored/rebuilt with some of the chunks of rock laying all over the ground.

The Porch of the Caryatids
The figures holding up this roof are all replicas with the orginals being in the nearby museum. This porch is part of a building called the "Erechtheion". If you remember some of the cathedral sites we visited in Italy, there was, of course, the cathedral which was the main religious building, but there would also be a separate Baptistry building and another structure for the bell tower. At this Ancient Greek religious site, the Parthenon was the main religious temple but the Erechtheion was built for the performance of the many rituals necessary for honoring the gods. Inside the Greeks kept the remains of some of their early kings, but more importantly the remains of the marks Poseidon's Trident was supposed to have made when he hurled it at the mountain. The olive tree that Athena gave to the grateful citizens who subsequently named the city after her was also stored here.

Piles of History
While we were on the Acropolis I spent some time watching workmen moving piles of huge marble slabs using this mini-crane. It took three guys about 20 minutes to move one 3 foot by 5 foot block of stone maybe 20 feet. At the rate they're going the Propylae should be completed by 3010.

More history lies below the Acropolis
Looking over the side of the rocky summit of the Acropolis we saw these ruins below. Obviously one is some sort of amphitheater. I think it's the Theater of Dionysus. I have no idea what the other walled section might have been

Temple of Olympian Zeus
Better known as the "Olympieion", construction was started on this temple in 500 BC. The Greeks stopped work on it presumably because they felt continuing to build such a huge structure would infuriate the gods. When the Romans conquered Greece 400 years later they had no such qualms. It wasn't until Hadrian became emperor that construction was completed in 131 AD. The temple was destroyed by an earthquake in the Middle Ages. Most of the stonework and columns were taken away over the centuries as building material for other projects.

A parting shot of the Parthenon
Note just how rocky and inhospitable the terrain is on top of the Acropolis. I can't imagine Sophocles, Aristotle and Homer waltzing around up here in their open-toed sandals. There are humongous, uneven blocks of rock everywhere. I doubt that the goats that lived up here could go a whole day without tripping over some of these boulders. They'd be wise to post a medic up here on rainy days just for all the tourists losing their footing on all the slippery rocks. If this were in the U.S. lawyers would have shut this place down years ago.

Panathinaikon Stadium (Kallimarmaro)
When we left the Acropolis area, I pushed my way through the gawking crowds moseying their way off the hill. It was brutal. I'm not sure why the line was so slow in trying to exit but it seemed to take forever. I hurried back to the parking lot concerned about Cassie and her friends. Sure enough, they were sitting around on a stone wall oblivious to the anxiety they caused us. We hopped back on the bus to finish our tour of the city. The next stop was one of the 2004 Summer Olypmic venues called "Panathinaikon Stadium". This was the site of the archery competition and the finish of the marathon. It was actually the only Olympic site that was actually used during the Ancient Olympic games. It is still used for special events such as honoring the 2004 Greek soccer team that won the European Championships.

Changing of the guard - Greek Style
When we resumed our tour we drove past the very impressive President's Palace. In front there were two guards high-stepping their way down the sidewalk. By the time Niko stopped the bus and we got our cameras out, the guards stopped marching and stood at stiff attention. Next trip we will have to go this way on our own to take some better photos.

Niko and Jimbo
When the tour ended, Niko drove us back to our hotel. It was there that we said goodbye to our new friends, Vee and Niko. Vee was a great guide with a crazy sense of humor. Niko, after initially appearing to be a rather grumpy guy, turned out to be a truly great, accomodating, generous man. I sincerely hope that if/when we return to Greece on one of these EF trips Niko will be our driver again.

Another healthy lunch
As soon as we bid our goodbyes to Niko and Vee, Gail and Tyler suggested we look for some lunch. No complaints from me. Our Gang of Five was made a Group of Six with the addition of Mike who is always willing to chow down. There wasn't much of a discussion about where we wanted to eat - we went around the block and back to our Gyro joint of the night before. The little 5 table and maybe 15 chair place was full, but when the "chef" saw us back again he moved a few people, table and chairs around so that the six of us could sit down. We were given menus this time. The menus listed full Gyro meals which included salad, veggies and more. We didn't want all that. When we told the waitress we wanted "just Gyros" she took it to mean Gyros with no lettuce, Tzatziki sauce or French Fries in them. A darn shame but they were still excellent.

I still salivate looking at this picture
This is a somewhat blurry shot of the wrapped Greek delight we all enjoyed. I'm not sure what made the little sandwich taste so great - the warm, soft pita; the stinky,salty Feta cheese; the mild, red onions; or the brown, greasy mystery meat; but somehow all the ingredients combined to create a taste on par with the best Philly cheesesteak. And adding an Alpha beer to the lunch didn't hurt either.

International Meat of Mystery rotating on the skewer
I'm sure I don't want to know what kind of meat is used in the Gyros nor do I want to know how long it stays on that skewer or whether it is ever put away in the fridge at night. And I sure don't want to see what the cholesterol count is in one of those Gyros. I just want to sit down and eat two of them for lunch every day I'm in Greece. By the way, those things on the rotisserie are NOT chickens on the spit, they're lambs' heads. Something tells me some of that meat just might be part of the Gyro recipe.

More customers
While we were sitting down and enjoying our meal, most of the rest of the Wine Club sauntered up the street and peeked into "Our Place". We told them about the fantastic food and how cheap our bill was. So they decided to try. This sent the shop's staff into a flurry of activity. I had thought that only the chef and a waitress were working there, but suddenly 3 other adults came out of somewhere dragging tables while a half dozen little kids no older than ten came up the street dragging dining room, card table and folding chairs. Even a stool was brought over. Somehow they made room for seven more of us.

Downtown Athens
After lunch we headed down the street to the subway station. The subway was built for the 2004 Olympics. It is by far the cleanest one I've ever seen. There were very few people using it at 1:30 in the afternoon so we had a comfortable ride into the commercial center of Athens. This is the view we got as we came out of the subway stop. Lykavittos Hill is in the background. That blue cow is Athens' version of the same silly plastic animals virtually every city in the world now has on display. Local businesses pay to decorate them and then donate the thing to charitable organizations for an auction. Clever idea the first 50 times I saw one, now they've become passe'.

National Library
We proceeded to take a leisurely, somewhat uncomfortable walk in what was becoming a very hot day. On our earlier bus tour Vee had pointed out this part of town as being the center of where the action was. She said many shops and sites were within a short walk of the National Library. We decided to take a rest and get our bearings on the wall in front of the library. Fortunately for us as we were wandering around here I spotted a couple college-aged kids with a big cart full of ice. I was drawn to the big chunks of ice which looked so inviting on this blistering hot afternoon. They were reaching down through the quickly melting ice and pulling out Lipton iced tea bottles which they were passing out to passers-by. I grabbed one for myself and Gail's Mom then told the others to reach in before they ran out. It was the best tasting iced tea I ever enjoyed.