Well thank heavens the country didn't collapse while we slept! When we awoke this morning, we were a little nervous, but as soon as we got out on the streets, everything was quite normal! ...well except for the old gentleman who walked by us without a shirt and some extremely drooping shorts....
But we were feeling good about making the hike back up to Acropolis, hoping desperately it was open!
And it was! We even got there before the gate had opened, but were able to get tickets (for free since we're students outside of Europe!) and then chill for a bit. We even got to see a truckload of soldiers decked out in their berets and camo jump out with a Greek flag all folded up that they proceeded to march up the steps and disappear with, I presume to go raise it!
But after a few more minutes of waiting, we too were let in and it was so glorious being able to walk around without being shoved and jostled by boat-loads of tourists! Yay for being early!!
And it was simply glorious in general too....
We gasped as the Parthenon came into view and tried from then on to catch our breath as we walked through the complex....it was like a dream come true!!
Me about to enter the main gates of the Acropolis - the Propylaea!
SO COOL!!!!!
...view of the city and the Temple of Olympian Zeus!
...view of the Odeon of Herodues Atticus
...chillin' in the shade of the Parthenon...ya know, it's whatever...
...some of the massive reconstruction work can be clearly seen. Very cool stuff they're doing to keep this masterpiece standing!
The Erechtheion! Built around the 5th century BC by Phidias for multiple purposes - religious temple, monument, etc.
...Porch of the Caryatids!
...poor things, their necks must be so sore...
...my favorite part!! Here is Athena's olive tree that grew when she struck her spear against a rock. It beat out Poseidon's sea-water well and thus she became the protectress of Athens!
...the skill with which these buildings were made and each column was fit together so perfectly...well, it's mindblowing.
Temple of Athena Nike!
...and with that, our trip to where I had been wanting to go since 6th grade was complete!
Next stop: the Ancient Agora of Athens!
The Stoa of Attalos!
...one of the many sculptures that lined the covered walkway of the Stoa
...random tortoise in the Agora! Awesome!
Temple of Hephaestus!
...the temple stands basically as it did when it was built in the 5th century BC and honors the god of metalworking and craftsmanship...
...so the columns may be a little shifty, but I'd say it's looking pretty good for it's age!!
...I kind of forget what this was...I want to say it was something having to do with Agrippa, but I'm not sure. Still looked awesome though!
...still have excavations going on! Awesome!!
So after feasting our eyes upon some of the most spectacular ruins in the world, we decided we needed to just feast in general. Thus, we grabbed some more huge gyros and then splurged and got 2 desserts! Baklava and the decadent Greek donuts with honey...
...I'm salivating just looking at these pictures again. It was soooooo good!!!
But of course, that kind of feasting can only put one in a coma so we went back to the hotel and tried to rest our tummies until they were ready to venture out again. When we did finally go back out, the heat had really begun to set in so we tried to go see more sights around the Acropolis, but it was pretty tough and there wasn't all that much to see ruins-wise. The only one I really liked was Socrates' Prison which looked rather spooky and mysterious!
So, even though there wasn't much else we wanted to see (and since all the museums were closed on Mondays), Sabrina and I tried to just soak up the wind and the sun by strolling around the mount of the Acropolis and down in the Flea Market of Monastiraki near our hotel. We did a little shopping and a lot of perusing and just trying to enjoy being in Greece!
Finally we headed back to our room to refresh before dinner and then headed back out again to eat at the same restaurant we did last night. Sabrina had really wanted to try this grape-leaf wrap thing so we got that as well as a cheap dish of spaghetti. The grape leaves were SUPER delicious and the owner kept coming over joking with us and telling us how he never wanted us to leave because we made his restaurant look so pretty! What a charmer!! haha!
But eventually we did have to leave (he was very sad and took both of our hands making us promise to return again) and now we are going to try to catch some shut-eye before we have to part ways tomorrow! Can't believe I'm gonna be on my own tomorrow night! Let the real adventure begin, eh?!
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