All Good Things Must Come To an End

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The final day of the tour has arrived. As with everything in life, all good things must come to an end. Those of us who were staying at this hotel one more night had to remove their things from the room only to be reassigned another room later this afternoon. Thankfully, we were able to store our things in a locked room behind the reception desk until then. After breakfast, we boarded the coach one last time for our drive to visit the Acropolis. Once at the foot of the Acropolis, it was a relatively steady incline to get to the Parthenon. Since it was a warm day today, I knew this wasn't going to be easy. We got our ticket which also provided us with entrance to a few other sites around town. The views of a hazy Athens started to come into view the further we climbed. Our guide continuously stopped to give us some information on the history but I was too consumed with trying to stay cool to pay attention. The final steps leading to the top of the Acropolis were chocked full of tourists. Apparently, a few cruise ships docked in town today which accounted for the overwhelming number of tourists. Once at the top, we were free to wander around the site. The Parthenon was an amazingly beautiful structure. Its hard to imagine what it would have looked like back in it's heyday. After centuries of decay and neglect, there is a strong effort to try and piece most of the structures back together. Many pieces of the structures are simply lying around. However, they are roped off to prevent tourists from taking them as souvenirs. Scaffolding is everywhere as the restoration workers and archaeologists try and decipher where most of the stray pieces belong. Back on the coach, we made one last stop at the stadium for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. They didn't use this same stadium for the 2004 Olympics. However, they did use it for the marathons. The Stadium was much smaller than modern stadiums and the track had more of a stretched out oval shape. Since the gates were locked, we weren't able to go in and have a walk around. We just had to be content with having a look. Once we arrived at Syntagma Square, this marked the official end of the tour. We had the option of getting off here or taking the coach back to the hotel. Most people got off here to continue their sightseeing. I said my goodbyes to Erin and Roz. Once off the bus, I noticed that the Aussie Gossip Crew had stayed on the bus. I didn't get to say goodbye to them. I was very thankful that they let me tag along and hang out with them. Most everyone who got off the coach wanted to check out the changing of the guards at the tomb of the unknown soldier. The guard changing took place at the top of every hour. Since we just missed it, I decided to have a walk around the square. Syntagma Square was Athens' main square. It contained their House of Parliament, the luxurious Hotel Grand Bretagne, as well as numerous travel agencies and souvenir stands. I decided to have a snack at the McDonald's before checking my e-mail at the Easy Everything Internet Cafe. In here, I ran into Tina who was also checking her e-mail. Tina, along with Claire, the Aussie Gossip Crew, Sara, Erin, Roz, and Patrick were all headed towards Mykonos. I said my goodbyes to Tina and then headed over to the changing of the guard. The whole ceremony lasted about 20 minutes. It was nothing spectacular but the outfits the guards were wearing were quite amusing. They may have been practical for warfare centuries ago but look really laughable today. Not only were the uniforms funny, but the marching style was as well. It was all in slow motion as they had to extend their knee practically all the way up to their stomachs as they marched. They looked like wind-up toy soldier dolls. After this finished, I walked back to our hotel which was only about a half mile away. On the way, I ran into Lesley, Sara, and Mel. Lesley was catching a flight tonight to London before going home to Calgary while Sara and Mel were off to Mykonos. We exchanged hugs, said our goodbyes, and wished each other well. Back at the hotel, I got my bags and checked into my new room. On the way, I ran into Patrick who was freaking out about not having a way to get to Mykonos. I told him if he didn't make it to Mykonos tonight that he could crash in my room tonight. He was going to try and catch the Contiki shuttle later this evening. Needing to do some shopping, I decided to venture out again. I ran into Andrea and little Sara in the hotel lobby who told me of an official Olympic store where everything was on clearance. I made my way down to the Plaka. This is one of the oldest parts of Athens whose streets are pretty much closed to automobile traffic. It's a very touristy area with many shops selling the same type of things. However, there are quite a few restaurants and cafes here where one can stop and have a beer or light meal. I wandered around browsing in and out of shops looking for gifts and souvenirs to take home to friends and family. I found the official Olympic store which had almost everything half off. I basically was on hyper-shop mode darting from store to store picking up whatever I needed. While shopping, I ran into Michael and Claire who were also exploring the Plaka area. I chatted with them for a while. It's funny, but I think that was the first time I had actually spoken to Claire. In the end, I probably spent a good $200 on souvenirs and gifts. I made my way back to the hotel where I was informed that those who weren't leaving today were going to meet up for dinner at around 6pm. I also ran into Matt who was leaving for London to start up another tour. Matt was an awesome tour manager. He was very knowledgeable when it came to the history of the places we visited. He was also very good at mixing with everyone, making everyone feel like they were part of the group. I was saying my goodbyes to Matt when I ran into Michael and Claire. Michael was leaving as well to go home to South Africa. Both him and Claire were in tears as they had apparently developed a really close bond together. I went back to my room to drop off my bags and made my way back to the lobby to meet up with Sandra. We were going to check out the Temple of Olympian Zeus across the street. It was free for us to get in, as the tickets we received at the Acropolis were good for here as well. Some drama ensued as Sandra wasn't able to find her ticket. I tried to give her mine but the ticket woman caught on and starting yelling at us in Greek. Eventually, she found her ticket and we made our way in. We wandered the grounds, admiring the ruins and were impressed with the sheer size of some of the columns. While exploring, I picked an olive growing from one of trees to taste. I quickly spit it out in disgust! We ended up following a stray dog who was also having a good time exploring the grounds. The stray led us to an older American couple who came here daily to feed the stray dogs. After exploring the ruins, we met up in the hotel lobby with the stragglers to find dinner. We wandered into the Plaka and found a quaint little outdoor restaurant. It was Rob, Kevin, Andrea, little Sara, Sandra, the 3 Taiwanese girls, Claire, Big Dave, and myself. It was a nice chatty time as we all reminisced about our favorite highlights of the trip. Kevin, Rob, and I decided to share 2 bottles of red wine. By the end of the dinner, we were definetly starting to feel it. After dinner, we all walked together for a while shopping and looking for some dessert. However as with most large groups, people start wandering off to do their own thing. I looked around a few shops with Sandra and Kevin and purchased some Absinthe at a wine and spirits shop. We eventually started to make our way back to the hotel and said goodbye to a few more people. Sandra, Kevin, Big Dave, and myself all agreed to meet up at 5am to ride together to the airport. After sitting around in my room doing some packing, I was feeling a bit ancey. I actually felt like going out to have a drink or dance. I knew there was a club down the street so I went in search of anyone to go with. Rob always seemed like someone down to go out. I went to check out his room but his door was wide open but he wasn't there. Oh well, I figured everyone else was asleep so I didn't bother looking for anyone else. Still feeling bored, I walked back up to Syntagma Square to check my e-mails. While making my way back to the room to call it a night, I ran into Dave and Mandy who were being a bit playful in the hall. We chatted for a bit, bid our farewells, and wished each other a safe flight tomorrow. It was a very quiet ending to what was an awesome 3 weeks.

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Comments

[allie]

thanks!
you've really helped talk me into doing a trip like this, your story was great! thanks!