Athens Day 1

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Today was my first full day in Athens. I started out by walking to the Arch of Hadrian in the Temple of Olympian Zeus. These are two Roman sites that I had not heard of before, but I guess they are required viewing for tourists. Next I followed Rick Steves tour through Anafiotika. This is a quiet, old section of winding little pedestrian lanes on the side of Acropolis hill. It is quite picturesque. (See picture) Sunday is the biggest day for the Athens flea market, so I wandered past the various stalls to see what was for sale. The items seemed to fall into two categories: junk from the attic or trinkets for tourists. In the former category, I saw that several different vendors were offering used film cameras for sale. In the latter category, I bought a Greek flag for 3€. I ate lunch at one of the little souvlaki places that abound in the Plaka area. The old fellow at the next table struck up a conversation and we made a comical pair because he knows as much English as I know Greek, ie not much. I showed him how I could take his photo with my iPad and he was impressed. Then I tried to get him to take a picture of me, but he didn't understand what I was asking. (Eventually the waitress took my picture.) After lunch I toured the Ancient Agora. (See picture taken from an overlook) This was like the town square in Athens for centuries until it was finally leveled by one-too-many barbarian invasions around 300 AD. It's true that today the Agora is mostly rubble and trees, but excavations show the outline of where buildings and streets used to be and it is inspiring to think that I walked where Pericles, Socrates, Dionysus, and Alexander the Great all walked before me. From the Agora I circled around the Acropolis hill and took some more pictures, but did not climb to the top. I am saving that for another day. This evening I had a Greek salad for supper at a nearby restaurant. (See picture) I had honey and yogurt for dessert, and altogether I felt as though I had an authentic Greek meal.

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