Athens

We left for Greece on May 2.  Our flights worked out perfectly - SFO to JFK and then JFK to Athens, in business class, no less!  We arrived at 9:30 in the morning, got through customs and immigration, found the metro into Athens and got tickets from the nice Greek man who spoke English!  We knew the name of the metro stop that we wanted, although the spelling was slightly different.  But, we got off at the right place, Lee knew which direction to find our hotel and they let us check in early!  It was warm, crowed with people and little shops, traffic was insane, and I definitely had some "culture" shock the first day.


Athens became our "home base" for travels around Greece.  We stayed at the Attalos Hotel a total of four times, and it became like "home" for us.  The staff was great, the rooms were great - nice and clean, and the view from the rooftop bar was amazing.  They served a great breakfast buffet, Greek style, each morning for 8 euros, which was a great bargain.

The food in Greece was fabulous - we became addicted to Greek Salads and had one nearly every day of our stay.  The Greek yogurt was amazing, and olive and citrus trees were everywhere.  We ate lots of fresh vegetables and seafood - and yes, we even ate octopus!  Tastes a lot like calamari, only chewier!

The Greek people were warm, friendly and welcoming and took great care of us.  We always felt safe.  Even though there is political and financial strife, we found that most of the Greeks are just like us - just trying to get by.


We shared most of our Greece travel with our New Zealand friends, Stephen and Craig.  Craig took some wonderful photos which he has shared with us.  Some of the photos have made it to our blog and we would like to thank him for sharing them with us.  We would like to give credit to Craig for these photos and apologize if we have missed any.  Thank you Craig!


The pictures below are in and around Athens, from all of the times that we were there.  Its a great walking city, huge and sprawling, with graffiti everywhere - it's not illegal there.  And the ruins you see at every turn are breath taking.  I was always amazed at the use of marble - the Greeks use marble like we use cement - streets, sidewalks, steps, etc.  Incredibly beautiful, and also slippery!  

Monistiraki Square - two blocks from our hotel.  A huge square with shops and restaurants and ancient buildings everywhere.  Quite amazing

The Athens Flea Market - hots of bargains to be had there!  Great people watching and interesting shops and kiosks.*

One of the small city streets in Athens, near Monistiraki Square*

Remains of the Ancient Agora, or marketplace, it was the center of the city for eight centuries - frequented by Plato and Socrates, etc.  The Agora was subsequently built upon and the ancient remains were only excavated beginning in the 1930s.*

Narrow residential street in Athens*

Narrow residential street in Athens with cars!  The streets were so narrow and the traffic so heavy that motor bikes often sped by you on the sidewalk!  Always startling!*

An incredibly exuberant bougainvillea - the largest one we have ever seen

We walked past this great bar that sported beer from all over the world and Craig popped in for a picture - quite amazing!*

Located near the National Gardens is the Zappeion.  Once the original headquarters for the first modern Olympics in 1896, it's now a conference and exhibition center.  

The Parthenon!  At the top of the Acropolis (Greek for "high city") this ruin is just amazing.  It's the most famous temple on the planet and a symbol of Athens Golden Age, nearly 2,500 years ago.  In addition to the Parthenon, there is also the Erechtheion, Propylaea and Temple of Athena Nike.  There is ongoing restoration at the site.

The Parthenon*

Temple of Athena Nike*

Sprawling Athens from the Acropolis*

Odeon of Herodes Atticus - while it's called a "theater", it's technically an odeon, used for musical rather than theatrical performances.  They still hold live performances here

Lee, Craig and Stephen at the odeon*

Pat and Stephen at the odeon*

The Temple of Hephaistos - completed in 425 BC - is built of marble

One of the remaining Triton statues which were the centerpiece of the Agora during the Roman Era*

A view across the Agora to the Stoa of Attalos - once an ancient shopping mall, now the Agora Museum*

The marble columns spanning the museum

The interior with ancient figures - note all the marble*

Some of the artifacts in the museum*

The remains of the Temple of Zeus*

At the Temple of Zeus, with the Acropolis in the background*

Craig and Stephen at the Temple of Zeus*

Athens National Archaeological Museum

The single best place on earth to see Ancient Greek artifacts, displayed chronologically.  We spent an entire afternoon there.

Following are some of the artifacts on display

Terra cotta frying pans from the Minoan era!

This particular ruin was among many recovered from the shipwreck of Antikythera, from 60 - 50 BC.  The part of the statue that is in perfect condition was buried in silt on the ocean bed - the remains show the result of centuries of sea erosion.  This exhibit

 was just amazing!

The view of the Parthenon from our roof top bar at the Attalos Hotel*

Cheers!*
Craig, Stephen, Pat and Lee with the Parthenon in the background - and tomorrow we leave for Paros!*

* Thank you Craig for these photos