It's all Greek to me -- ha ha!

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We began our trip to Greece by getting up at 3:30 am to catch our 6:00 am flight. This was followed by a 60 Euro ($100) cab ride to the airport that I don’t think I have quite gotten over! So anyways we arrived in Athens around noon local time and were greeted by + 30 degrees weather. Being from Manitoba +30 in October seemed truly unnatural. We found our way into the city and to our hostel easy enough, got settled in and went straight out to start some sight seeing. Our first stop after the tourist office was heading straight for the Acropolis. It was very hot and it was quite the climb to the top but it was worth it. Seeing the Parthenon up close was cool (even though it was covered in scaffolding and cranes). There was a lot of work going on so many of the temples were being reconstructed and the Temple of Athena Nike was nowhere to be seen. The view of the urban sprawl that is Athens was incredible and horrific at the same time (and I thought Calgary was bad!).

The next day was to be our only full day in Athens so we tried to jam in as much as possible. We started off the morning with the National Archeological Museum. I spent most of the time pointing out the artifacts that I had been questions on numerous exams. It was incredible seeing so many things that I had only dreamed of seeing. The pottery collection was amazing.

Next we headed to the National Gardens, which were not the urban oasis the guidebook suggested them to be. Although we did see a lot of Athens wildlife, which consisted of cats, dogs, pigeons, turtles, and lizards.

Beside the National Gardens is the home of the Temple of Olympian Zeus - the largest temple ever built in Greece. There were several Corinthian columns still standing and there was a family of very cute puppies living at the site that I think were getting just as much attention as the ruins. The site is also home to Hadrian’s arch that Emperor Hadrian used to mark the boundaries of his territory.

Next it was off to the Agora. We wondered through the ruins, admired the reconstruction of the Stoa of Atlas, and marveled at the Hephaestion, the best-preserved classical temple in Greece.

We ended the day with a quick stroll through the Keramikos (a site which contains part of the Sacred Way, a museum, and a large scale cemetery).

The next day we were off to Nafplio.

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Photos

Parthenon
Under construction

Erecthion
The Maiden's Porch