A History Nerd In DC: My Big Fat Greek Adventure (Part 1)

I have a lot of pictures and a lot of stories, so I have a feeling it will take several posts to tell/show everything. Ok, let's start at the beginning. Kim, Kara and I left Dulles the evening of April 29th, and we arrived in Amsterdam the next morning.

Kara goofing off in the airport gift shop. I kind of regret that I didn't buy anything there.

We arrived in Athens that afternoon and took a taxi to the InterContinental Hotel. This is the view from our hotel room.

That hill in the background is Mount Lycabettus, the highest point in Athens, and that's where we'll be going next. Kim has a family friend (Stacey) that's from Athens, and Stacey and her cousin Artemis took us on a driving tour of the city. We first went to Mount Lycabettus, at the top of which sits the chapel of St. George (Ayios Georgios).

And there's a great view of the city.

That's the Acropolis to the right, and the sea is off in the distance.

We drove around some more, then went to the beach to watch the sunset.

The next day we planned to visit the Acropolis and do all the touristy stuff, but it turned out to be May Day, which is like a huge holiday over there. Everything was closed, even the Acropolis. But everyone puts these pretty flower wreaths on their doors!

So we took a little field trip out to the Cape of Sounion, which is about an hour's drive away. That's where the Temple of Poseidon is located. And wouldn't you know it, that was closed too! But at least we were able to get some pictures of it.

That evening we went to dinner in the neighborhood of Psirri, which I think is known for its nightlife. There were some musicians at our restaurant playing traditional Greek music, so that added some nice ambience.

Out on the town.

This picture is a little blurry, but it gives you an idea of what the neighborhood looks like. So cute!

The next day we started out at the Acropolis. And it's amazing. I wish we had more time there. You enter the site through a grove of olive trees...

Then you come face-to-face with the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (an ancient theater), and the Parthenon above it.

Here's the other side of the theater:

The entrance to the Acropolis is through the Propylaea, which was supposed to prepare the ancient Greeks for worship. Now it's occupied by tourists and stray dogs. (Seriously, dogs are everywhere in Greece.)

Now I have to confess my ignorance for a minute. I originally thought the Acropolis was just the Parthenon, but it's not. It's a whole complex of different temples dedicated to the goddess Athena. The Parthenon just happens to be the most famous one. Maybe now I'll have more tolerance for the ignorant tourists in DC....maybe.

The Erechtheion.

The Parthenon!

It's truly amazing seeing something that's thousands of years old, and is still in the same place it was back then.

To the left is a rock called Areopagos, which is where St. Paul preached to the Athenians. To the right is the Ancient Agora, where the Greek philosophers met.

The base of the Aeropagos.

From the Acropolis we walked to the Roman Agora, which was sort of a marketplace. All that's left are some columns.

We continued on to Athens' modern marketplace: Monastiraki.

Located in one of the squares is the Church of Panaghia Kapnikarea, built in the 11th century on top of ancient temple ruins.

We continued on the main avenue and came to the Parliament building.

We watched the changing of the guard, which is a lot more colorful than the soldiers at Arlington!

After a long day of walking around, it was time for a late lunch. Stacey's sister generously offered to cook a meal for us, so we went over to her apartment. So much food! It was like Thanksgiving. And they wouldn't take no for an answer when you said you were full.

Our adopted family in Athens.