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Published: August 22nd 2009
Acropolis
View of the Acropolis while on the Tourist TrainAthens (Attica)
Weather: Sunny, northerly wind. 31-33 °C
Poli picked us up from the ferry in Piraeus on Monday night and took us out for dinner in Voulia, yes I had a Greek Salad amongst other things. We then went to her home in Voulia, homes in Greece tend to be multi storied apartments where the whole family live. Mum and I had one of the apartments to ourselves - it was very nice until Mum and Poli broke the front balcony door! I had the balcony from my bedroom so I could still sit outside.
Tuesday Poli dropped us off at the Metro Station and we went into Athens. The Metro is very easy to use; cheap, fast and clean. Trains run every 7 minutes so you don’t wait very long at all. The trip from Agios Dimitrious into Akropoli was 10 minutes and the station was located at the base of the Acropolis. Poli recommended that we visit the Acropolis Museum which had opened only twenty days ago. The queue was very long but there is one advantage of travelling with someone with a broken ankle - you don’t wait in a line ever. The museum
Acropolis
This is our lunchtime view! itself is an archaeological dig, this has been incorporated into the design of the building with glass panels in the floor looking down at the exposed ruins. The Acropolis Museum focuses on objects and the buildings of the Acropolis. The exhibitions were fantastic however you can’t take photos in the museum. The ground floor is sloped like the hill of the Acropolis and displays all the items found on the lower slopes of the Acropolis. The middle two floors feature statues and items from the various buildings and temples during the 5th - 7th Century. The top floor is laid out in the design and scale of the Parthenon. We had lunch at the Museum outside on the balcony facing the Acropolis, the view was magnificent. In the afternoon we went on a tourist train ride around the Acropolis and the Plaka. The Plaka is the oldest district in Athens and is closed to cars, however scooters are everywhere and I must remember to look the opposite direction for the traffic. We saw a number of different sites including Syntagma,
Hadrian’s Library, the American Archaeological Museum, The Agora, The Observatory and The Acropolis. The are many old buildings spanning different
Tourist Train
Stopping briefly in the Plaka. periods, the architecture is quite interesting. The tourist train ride is about an hour long and returns you to the Acropolis Museum, it is a great way to get an overview of the district so you can decide where you want to return to later. It was quite late at this stage so we decided to return to Voulia and return on another day. We went home but then went straight out again, everyone in Greece goes out in the evening for nibbles and drinks. Poli took us to Piraeus where we went to Pasalimani (it means Pasha Port or Turkish Port) and then onto Piraeus Sailing Club in Mikrolimano. The sailing club had excellent views of Piraeus and The Acropolis.
Wednesday was another busy day as we headed off to Cape Sounion with Poli to the Temple of Poseidon. The drive took us around the Attica Peninsula with its many fantastic beaches, lots of people were at the beach but we were busy sightseeing! The Temple of Poseidon has magnificent views and was once a significant settlement for the Athenians, the navy were often kept here as it was quicker to leave from Sounion than to sail from
Akropoli Metro Station
Even the Metro Station has the Parthenon Marbles on display! Athens. Sounion is also quite high so the Athenians would often use it to spot enemy ships or returning warriors. The walk up to the temple is very easy although the day we went it was very windy, I almost lost my hat a few times. We then headed to Lavrio for lunch, Lavrio is popular for Athenians to store their boats, quick access to Athens means they can go sailing any time they want. It is a busy port as Ferries also leave from here for some of the Islands. Not many yachts and boats at this time of the year - everyone is out enjoying the Aegean. On our way back home we stopped at Poli and John’s farm so we would see what John was growing. John met us out there and we sat and enjoyed some fresh figs and coffee as the sun set. I thought we would go home to bed but Poli insisted on going to Varkiza for drinks and nibbles - another very late night.
Thursday we did some shopping in Vouliagmenia as Kathy, who did not want a back pack in Australia decided she needed one in Greece! After some shopping
Mikrolimano
View of the Harbour and more coffee Poli dropped us off at the Metro and we headed into Athens to visit the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. We got lost several times around the Metro Station but there are lots of police around who very happy to give directions. The Museum was great, lots of examples of statues from different periods. There were two special exhibitions - Women in Ancient Athens and the Ancient Egyptians. The Jewellery Collection was amazing. After the Museum we caught the Metro to Monastiraki, which when they were excavating for the Metro they found old settlements from the inhabitants of this area of Athens, part of the excavation has been left on display for the Metro Travellers. There are several attractions as well as the Flea market, not that I brought anything - I refuse to busy Quicksilver or Paul Frank in Greece! A quiet night at home with Poli and John, it was difficult to convince Poli that we did not want to go out after dinner but we managed it with John’s help.
We have both decided that we could live in Athens very easily. Is this because it is so nice or dread of the
Temple of Poseidon
Approach to Cape Sounion, view across harbour to the Temple of Poseidon. flight home? Anyway Friday we are off to Istanbul.
Amy
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Marion
non-member comment
You have to come home, your desk is waiting for you