Posts Tagged ‘Acropolis’

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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, Greece: Day Two

December 18, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

narrow street bordered by 5 story apartment buildings

We wondered through the neighborhood…

small church surrounded by apartment buildings

…until we found a small souvlaki restaurant near this church.

Our intent was to have a small lunch, but the menu was all in Greek and we didn’t realize that the owner spoke English, so we pointed at the pictures in the menu and this is what we ended up with. Slightly more than a small lunch. Souvlaki is made very much like shwarma, but this happened to be pork.

two plates full of grilled meat, fries, bread, salad

We found the Victoria metro train station (nearest to our apartment) and took the train to the Monastiraki station.

church made from pieces of Greek ruins

This church seems to have been assembled out of parts of various other buildings.

street musicians, latino

I didn’t expect to hear street musicians singing in Spanish, but the day was full of unexpected delights.

the Acropolis as seen from the square in front of the metro station

When I turned around, there in the distance was the Acropolis. I was not prepared for this sight. It brought tears to my eyes. It brought the old Biblical Studies major and wannabe archaeologist in me to the surface.

store offering a stuffed aligator, guitar, typewriter, and a variety of other odds and ends

We walked through the flea market. (Anyone need a stuffed aligator?)

a bottle of Mythos beer and a full glass of red wine

We stopped for a drink and small snack…

Greek temple on a hill

…with the Temple of Hephaestus in sight.

two black and two grey stray cats

We finally found out where the stray cats were hanging out. They have been conspicuously missing prior to this.

Now that we have found and tested the metro train transportation, we’ll be able to get an earlier start and get up close and personal with a few temples in the next few days.

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