Blogs from Athens, Attica, Greece, Europe - page 5

My most dysfunctional day yet. I had a strange urge to by-pass the bus to the Cape this morning, mainly because I wanted to stay in the city on my last day. And, the guy at reception downstairs spoke so poorly about it, saying it was basically just one giant tourist trap, I didn't feel too guilty about it. The problem, though, was what to do when I was supposed to be at Sounion? I liked the area behind Syntagma, where I went yesterday, so I headed back there, mainly to go to the National Arts Gallery. While it was open, only one floor was for viewing, and not the best works at that. Disappointing. So headed to Kolonaki but didn't feel like it after all, and ended ultimately with a Big Mac at McDonald's. This ... read more

Got up early to catch the bus to Cape Sounion, but it was cancelled because apparently there's a fire that closed some of the roads. Disappointed, but just swapped some plans around. Hopefully tomorrow I can get down to the Cape. I started of all places at Syntagma Square and Parliament. This is the absolute heart of Athens, and is where the protests have been focused. Today also was the ground-breaking Greek vote, and on every street surrounding the square there were armored cars and police with machine guns. Didn't make me worried, though - more safe. Down the street from Syntagma is where all of the embassies are, and also where there are some wonderful museums. I started at the Benaki Museum, which is a private collection ranging from sculpture to paintings to pots, everything ... read more

Walked over to the Acropolis in the morning right when it opened, at 8:30. One thing I was surprised by: how slick the stones are underfoot. I guess from people walking over them for so long a period of time, they've literally been worn smooth. People were wiping out right and left. Went up through the Propylaia, which is basically the grand entryway, and you're hit right away with the Parthenon. Wow! In the morning light, the temple was beautifully lit, and there weren't that many people around yet. But I personally liked the Erechtheion better, which is a smaller temple off to the side. This is where the famous caryatids are, the female columns. Walked around the Parthenon a couple of times, and reluctantly went back down around 11ish. Saw the Theatre of Dionysius (which ... read more

Absolutely insane amount of travel today. Left Selcuk by 8, catching the direct train back up to Izmir's international airport. I got there really early so I was able to bump my flight nearly 2 hours ahead. Seems like a promising start, right? So I landed in Istanbul by noon. However, once I finally made it to the Turkish Airlines desk, the early flight I was hoping to catch had literally just left. My scheduled flight, and the only other flight for the day, was at 7:25. So I had a long lay-over. The nice thing, though, is that Istanbul's airport is basically like a giant mall. There's even a hotel. They have tons of restaurants, shops, Starbucks, you name it. So there wasn't any shortage of things to do. But, once I had waited all ... read more

today was our last chance to see something new or revisit something we really liked . . so we did both. after a leisurely breakfast on the patio we set off for the Ancient Agora but not before climbing to the top of Filopappou Hill and what a magnificent view of the Acropolis and the city of Athens. it's a leisurely hike up through a pine forest that is well stepped and maintained . . . kinda like hiking up to Bishop Peak. it's from here that in the late 17th century the Venetians bombed the Parthenon which was then holding all of the gunpowder and a direct hit blew the interior chamber of the Parthenon which has not been restored yet! from there we found our way to the Grand Promenade . . . a ... read more