A Dream Come True!
Trip Start
Jul 18, 2010
1
40
52
Trip End
Sep 14, 2010
Athens, Attica, Greece
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The following day we set out to see Athens - since we only had a day to do it we opted for a 'hop on, hop off’ bus tour that took us around the main sites. We rode through the city, past the ruins of the Temple of Zeus and Adrian’s Arch to the Acropolis. Athens was a lot cleaner and greener than we had expected, certainly a lot more pleasant than Paris or Rome to be a tourist in, and a lot quieter too – though the school holidays had just ended which probably made a big difference. The buildings were mostly of neo-classic design, with some early twentieth century apartment complexes with gardens on their awning-covered terraces as well.
As the bus pulled into the carpark at the bottom the Acropolis the anticipation and excitement was definitely building… We headed up the hill to Hedeon’s Theatre, a huge restored amphitheatre that is used for performances still today, and took in the views of the city from the top of the theatre. From there we continued up the hill to the Parthenon and the Temple of Nike, the main structures on the hill that makes up the Acropolis. Theses ruins were simply incredible to say the least, with their huge stone columns and marble stairs – we wandered around the hilltop, taking lots of photos and imagining the temples bustling with ancient Greeks worshipping their gods. It was another beautiful day and the sights of the temples and the surrounding city of Athens basking in the sunlight was breathtaking.
After returning down the hill from the Acropolis and grabbing some food we checked out the ruins on the south slope, which consist of many ancient roads and walls, as well as a smaller amphitheatre and some other ancient structures. We then boarded the bus again and headed back to the Temple of Zeus, where we hopped off and strolled around these ruins too – the huge columns were amazing! Back on the bus we continued through the city, travelling past the original Olympic Stadium, the National Gardens, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the area where Paul preached to the Athenians in Acts, and many other old buildings and monuments.
We decided to get off the bus again at a large mall, where we stocked up on some toiletries we needed and Matt bought a new wedding ring to replace his cheap steel one from Australia. At the top of the mall we had lunch with a view of the Acropolis, which seemed so amazing to us but must be so mundane to the Athenians. We then got back on the bus and continued through the city back to the stop near our hotel, where we rested and caught up on some internet time. That evening we strolled back into the shopping district and found a cute restaurant down an alley for dinner, then wandered through the streets until we found a view of the Acropolis by night. We absolutely loved our day in Athens, and it certainly lived up to our expectations, especially Lou’s, but we were happy that it was only one day and we were looking forward to heading out to the islands the following day.
We arose bright and early, well actually it was just early because the sun was nowhere to be seen, and got a cab down to the port where we boarded one of many huge ferries (think the Interislander) for our journey to Ios. The sun began to rise just as the ferry departed, and it was beautiful to watch it light the sky as we sailed away from Athens. A number of ferries left the port the same time as us, and it looked like we were part of a fleet or armada sailing off to battle.
