Athens, Greece

Nov.  6, 2018

We have arrived in Athens.  Due to several errors on my part, the hotel was not in the location I was expecting, nor was it “what” I was expecting in a hotel.  However, after the first night I became at peace with it and decided it would work out just fine.  The area was just a little sketchy at night for me.

Our first full day, we took a taxi to the coast to check it out.  I think we were both a little disappointed that it wasn’t more hustle and bustle going on and maybe, just maybe we were in the wrong spot.  Rick had picked it out and told the taxi driver.  I think there was some language barrier going on and we pretty much got dropped off in a dead area.  We walked for about 1 mile and came into town that appeared to have some restaurants so headed that direction.  Grabbed some lunch and then took a taxi back.

The following day we took the train to Acropolis which was an adventure in itself.  We were going to just do a Taxi but found out they were on strike.  So off we went and as you can see by the pictures, it was a little more difficult than we thought it would be.  I asked someone that actually was assigned to help people at the ticket machine.  She said we just needed 1 ticket for 2 trips.  She pointed to the gates and said go through there. Then it would be our third stop.  She said more than that, but that is all I got out of the conversation.  Then we walked around in confusion and I finally asked a man watching security cameras.  Walked over to Rick and he says, “well what did he say?”  I said, ” he said go down escalator and pointed in this direction and then something that sounded like “neko”.  I laughed and said “that is all I got”.  Rick points to sign that says, “Elliniko” and I said, “sure, why not?”  It truly takes a village sometimes with us, but it keeps it fun.  Ok, sometimes it is frustrating at the moment, but funny later.

Once at Acropolis we were simply astonished at all the beautiful monuments and artifacts.  Obviously they are still in the restoration process and we could see equipment lurking around.  There were so many pieces already numbered and lined up for what  I would assume was to eventually put them in their proper place.  The remaining structures include the Theatre of Dionysos, the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, the Propylaia, and the Temple of Athena.

Just to be able to walk around and visualize the depth of history that arises from this hill.  The influence by the Greek values and ideas.  Then to imagine the fiery destruction delivered by the Persians.  I can only imagine the hatred they carried in their souls to do so much damage.  That rage of fury from thousands of years ago and yet today, we still experience such hatred.  It is astonishing to realize how far we have advanced as a society and but also how much we have remained the same.

The history books simply do not do this place any justice.  I feel blessed to have personally seen the beauty that remains.  Not many of you know that in grade school I dreamed of being an archaeologist.  I wanted to be digging around in the dirt using small tools and delicately removing debris from prehistoric finds.  As I got older and realized I had very little patience, I knew that this would not be the career for me.  Just seeing these ruins brought back the dream, if only for a minute or two.  How I would have enjoyed just being there to see some of these items excavated.

Once done walking around the Acropolis we walked over to the Areopagus Hill and took in the view of the Thissio.  We took the path down and headed towards the Temple of Hephaesius and  Hadrian’s Library.   We walked around the streets of Parko Thiseio.

Our final day was spent at the Acropolis Museum.  I spotted some people actually working on some excavating underneath the Museum.  They will open the lower section soon per an advertisement.