Athens sightseeing

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Today I saw the rest of the sights in Athens that I wanted to return to (after my initial visit here in 2012). I started at the National Archeological Museum where I concentrated on the displays dealing with the ancient Mycenaean civilization. I hope to visit the actual Mycenae site at some point and I was pleased to find a scale model of the hilltop fortress/city at the museum today. After the museum, I headed out to the Plaka section of Athens. It is an area of narrow streets, mostly pedestrianized, where little shops sell everything under the sun. There were big crowds there today, maybe more so because it is a Saturday. I had lunch at an outdoor table with a great Acropolis view. And then I walked up there. It is a substantial uphill hike, but the payoff is worth it. One approaches the top and enters through the entrance gate (called the Propylaea) and then, wow, there’s the Parthenon. I particularly wanted to see it late in the day with the western end bathed in the light of the setting sun. Disappointingly the west facade is covered in scaffolding, but I still felt good about getting to see the famous building again.

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