Athens 1

We arrived in Athens 3 days ago now. Several people told us that 2 days in Athens would be enough, "you can do it all in 2 days." So far we have spent 1 day at the Acropolis, and surrounding areas. We spent one day at the archaeological Museum, and doing a bit of shopping. And the third day we went to Delphi. We still have so much to see.

So back to the beginning. We arrived Thursday afternoon after a long trip from Bangalore. It was long, not in duration but in the fact we left the house at 1:30am, our flight left at 4:15am, we had a 4 hour flight to Dubai, a several hour wait, and then another 5 hour flight to Greece. We arrived about 4 pm in Greece. We were exhausted. We went to the hotel, checked in, found dinner down the street, and then went to bed, we didn't even go to the rooftop to check out the view till the next day.

Friday we explored the Acropolis. It was amazing. That is all I can say about it. We walked from the hotel. Our hotel is less than 1 kilometer from the entrance, and although you do have to walk up the hill, it isn't bad. We went through the flea market area, and passed along the Agora. On the way we stopped at a couple of ruins--pictures to come later. Our first ruin visit was Hadrian's Library. From there we went to the Areopagus hill first, and then on to the main event. At the Areopagus hill, it was very slippery as the marble has been worn smooth from all the feet climbing. Also there were a lot of illegal vendors selling water, and later umbrellas for the sun and the next day for the rain.

After this we joined the hordes of people going up to the Acropolis proper. Our tickets were good for several days and multiple sites. So we didn't have to go everywhere all at once. This is good. We took several hours to explore just the acropolis, going around the Parthenon and the other building sites at the top. The only bummer is that the museum is closed so they can upgrade the exhibits and move them to the new museum at the bottom of the hill. Oh well, we'll have to come back I guess. After several hours, the troops were getting tired and hungry. So we decided to skip the Agora, and go back later. We had lunch at the Taverna Akropoli, with a view up to the top. The food there was probably the best we've had so far here in Greece.

Saturday was a good day to go to the museum. It was predicted to rain, and it did. We didn't get an tremendously early start, but from our hotel it was about a 1/2 hour walk to the museum. We got our fill of the various art forms of ancient Greece, and we saw Agamemnon's mask. Most of us ate lunch there, although I was having a bit of tummy trouble, so I skipped it. After finishing up there, we decided to split up. The girls wanted to do a bit of clothes shopping for things they could not get in India. I skipped that and took a leisurely walk around the base of the Acropolis, and climbed up to the Filopappus Monument. I saw Socrates's jail--where the artifacts from the museum were stored sealed behind concrete during the 2nd world war. It rained a bit when I was at the top of the hill overlooking the Acropolis at the Filopappus Monument, so, the pictures are not too good. I still have the memories.

Today we went to Delphi. This was truly a beautiful site. The actual ruins of Delphi are not that spectacular, as many of the statues etc., have been removed to museums. But the whole place was alive with wildflowers. This added to the magic of the place. It is at about 800 meters above sea level, so the air was crisp and cool. Sometimes the wind blew down off the snow covered slopes of Mt. Parnassus, and it was downright cold. But all in all it was lovely. The amphitheater and the sporting arena are in really good shape. One of the other temples is still mostly there (I believe it is the one to Athena). But a lot of it was destroyed by the Romans, or later people. We enjoyed a lovely lunch on the way back, and then all of us, except Cindy, fell asleep in the car. We were either so full from the meal, or not feeling well--Isha. It was about 4pm when we returned to the hotel. Maya and I decided to walk around a bit, so we went to the flea market area, and just wandered. In the evening a couple of the kids wanted to go to the Hard Rock Cafe, so we did, for an outrageously priced dinner. Well at least they're happy for a bit now.

After dinner, I came home and took some night pictures of the Acropolis from our hotel rooftop terrace. Check Flickr, they may be there.


Tomorrow a bit more exploring--and maybe I'll get to post the photos. (Day 1) (Delphi)