Archive for December 19th, 2011

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Athens, Greece: Day Three

December 19, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

metro train station sign for Victoria station

Our outing began at the Victoria metro train station.

the Acropolis hill from below

We were headed to the Temple of Hephaestus, but this turned out to be our real destination – the Acropolis and Parthenon.

hillside ancient ruins, churches in background

On our way up the hill, we passed the Sanctuary of Zeus, thought to be the oldest site of Zeus worship. One of those buildings is the Chapel of St. Marina.

stone walkway uphill with Parthenon in the distance

We were getting closer. It is quite a climb and we were going up the easy way (we came down the hard way). Any devout ancient Greek that made it up this hill to worship has my respect for their athleticism.

ancient wall with arched doorways

We came to the Odeum of Herodes Atticus, an amphitheater.

amphitheater seating

One bad aspect of being an off-season tourist is that some things are locked up tight.

the amphitheater from above

This is the view looking back down at the other side of the Odeum.

sign stating do not touch the marble

This sign makes you want to reach out and touch the marble, doesn’t it?

the Parthenon - colonnaded ruined building

Victory! We made it with only a little groaning, grunting and cussing from me. It was raining lightly which makes marble steps slick and dangerous. Not the best day to do this hike.

my face with the Erechtheion building in the background

Proof that I was there. The building in the background is the Erechtheion – a temple to Athena and Poseidon/Erechtheus.

my husband standing in front of the Parthenon

Proof that DaddyBird was there, too. The Erechtheion is to the right and the Parthenon in the background.

small cup, small pitcher of coffee

The Acropolis closed at 2:30 pm and it went from raining lightly to raining in earnest and we took a different route down off the hill. It was less than fun – steep, wet, slick – but we managed. Soaking wet, we stopped at a coffee shop for a snack and coffee. DaddyBird had Greek coffee (pictured above)

For the rest of the pictures of Day 3, click here.

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Athens Street Art

December 19, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

There is a large amount of graffiti tagging in Athens. It is not just in our neighborhood, but we saw it in the tourist area as well. Most of it is just ugly defacing of property, but occasionally there is a little art.

graffiti depicting the artist in action

stencil of riot policeman pointing gun directly at the viewer

graffiti  of military or riot policeman in full gear

Even the trains are not immune.

graffiti on the side of a train

So far, we have only seen the painting on modern buildings and structures. There appears to be a respect for ancient structures, leaving them graffiti free.