Once again in the Greek capital
Trip Start
Sep 11, 2008
1
23
38
Trip End
Dec 12, 2008
Athens, Attica, Greece
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Well, the Stoa of Attalos, originally constructed around 158 B.C., was completely rebuilt in the 1950s and is, aside from its lack of colour, entirely faithful to the original. This building used to be a market, but is now partly a museum containing fascinating remains. Walking through its columned hallway really makes you feel as if you've gone back to ancient Greece, and I loved that! The site of the Ancient Agora also contains the Temple of Hephaistos, the best-preserved temple of ancient Greece.
On Monday, I took another bus ride, this time to Cape Sounio to visit the Temple of Poseidon. Cape Sounio is about 70 km from the centre of Athens on the southern tip of Attica. The coastal drive was beautiful - the sun's rays shone on the clear blue water, making the Mediterranean Sea sparkle as if millions of diamonds floated on its surface. The site was small but incredibly peaceful. After walking around the Temple, I sat on a rock and read my book for a few hours.
Although I had eaten dinner with some people from the hostel the last two nights, I had spent my days alone. the solitude was actually nice and calming. However, I was now in the mood to talk to people, but wasn't sure who I would meet in the hostel. It turns out a group of us were in the hostel at the same time, so we went out for dinner and then had a few beers on the hostel's rooftop terrace, which looks upon the Acropolis! Yesterday, a bunch of us walked around the city lazily as it was a national holiday and most shops were closed. We chilled out in the National Gardens for a while, and then back on the rooftop. By evening , four of us were left, and had a great evening of laughter, beer, and card playing!
This morning, I went to the National Archeological Museum, which was the last place on my to-do list. The museum has a remarkable collection of Greek remains, and does an excellent job of demonstrating the evolution of art and sculpture in ancient Greece, as it relates to the development of the civilization.
I'm now taking advantage of a little down time to update this blog (which is much overdue), and I will soon be making my way to the airport to catch a flight to Milan. Jack, my mom's fiance, was meant to be in Milan at the same time as me, but it now seems that he won't make it there until tomorrow at the earliest. However, he took it upon himself to find book me into a hotel room and have someone pick me up from the airport, so I get to have a night of luxury! I'm really looking forward to it :)
I'm staying in Milan for one night, and will take an overnight train to Zagreb tomorrow. Goran, my cousin's husband's cousin (confusing?) lives in Zagreb, and although we've never met, he's taking the weekend to show me around the city and surrounding areas. It will be nice to be shown around by someone local - I think it will make for a perfect introduction to Croatia!
I'm waiting to get to Croatia to find out about a few potential excursions and day trips, and will plan the rest of my trip from there. I can't believe half my trip is already over - I feel like the second half will fly by even faster!
So now you're all updated - I promise to be better about updating this blog more regularly :)
(Nov. 11 - Update: new photos!)
