Athens, Greece, August 29, 2011

I've heard all about the pollution and traffic in Athens.  I was pleasantly surprised by how they've been attacking the problems.  There was no smog and the traffic was bearable, our guide said the city has increased bus ridership, introduced new trains and encouraged people to use public transportation.  It appears to have worked.  It's a big city and there is still traffic but it was certainly manageable.

Today I'm visiting the Acropolis.  I'm so excited and feel so lucky to be here.  The weather is beautiful and not as hot as Italy but water bottles are still necessary.  Some pictures on our way to the amazing Parthenon.

There is always some restoration somewhere.  Just like people, the older you are the more maintenance required.

This beautiful little church in the middle of it all.

The harbor

Looking directly at the sun.

 

1.609 Euros per liter = $6.09 per gallon.  No more complaining from me.

These trains are the solution to those gas prices.

When booking the Parthenon excursion there were many warnings about the number of steps (80) to get to the top and that the marble road is slippery, uneven and steep in many places.  They weren't telling tales, it was a long steep way up but worth every huff and puff.

Starting the climb the first thing we noticed was the vast amount of dogs.  Our guide told us that in Athens they do not euthanize stray animals.  The dogs are spayed or neutered and then given a pink (for girls) or blue (for boys) collar.  The city and people of the neighborhood feed the dogs and everyone is happy.  They appeared to be fat, lazy and happy just the way all dogs should be.

It's a girl.

 

They appear quite comfortable.

An acropolis is a Greek word for hill, the Parthenon sits on an acropolis.  This particular one has become so famous it's now known as The Acropolis.  The Parthenon construction began in 447 BC.  The history of the Parthenon reads like a novel, originally it was a treasury, converted to a church, then converted to a mosque when the Ottoman's conquered Greece.  The most damage occurred when the Ottomans used the Parthenon as an ammunition dump and the invading Venetian bombs destroyed the roof and many of the columns.  There is constant restoration occurring and you can tell what is original and what is not by the color.  If it's a pretty white then it's not the original part of the column or building.

Walking up the steps and steep road you pass many other ancient buildings and the view of the city below becomes more and more beautiful.  Here are some pictures on the way up:

The Temple of Athena, notice the white marble.

 

Some rules.

Part of a column

Beautiful views.

The ancient theater

The Temple of Hephaestus

Another view of the Temple of Athena

The gate

Decoration on the top beam over the gate.

Bottom right is the gate and entrance to see the Parthenon.

Restoration work.

Working on the restoration.

The Parthenon

Restoration to save this magnificent building for future generations.

The workers

A dog on the steps leading to the Parthenon

 

The steep, slippery marble road

The magnificent Parthenon

Isn't it beautiful

View from the back without the scaffolding.

Wow

The detailed sculptures at the rear of the building.

Look Mom, it's me at the Parthenon. 

I can't believe it but that's really me.

I couldn't stop taking pictures of this magnificent structure, Gary had to almost pull me away, I wanted to gaze at it for hours but we would of missed the bus and the rest of the tour.  Here's some on the way down and a few more shots of the view.

The footing was a little treacherous.

The Erechtheum

Gary and the pretty ladies.

I bet those rock climbers are younger than me. 

The line to go through the gate and see the Parthenon.

Wonderful uniform

 From here we went to the Olympic stadium built for the 1896 Olympics, it was also used for a few competitions in the 2004 summer Olympics.

From the parking lot of the stadium.  You can see how high up the Parthenon is.

When we got back on the road, we were lucky enough to drive by the Parliament building and see the changing of the guard.

Changing of the guards at the Parliament Building

We had a delicious lunch at a local hotel, it was a buffet with stuffed grape leaves, Greek meatballs, tzatziki, humus and a wonderful salad.  Don't forget the Baklava for dessert.  Yummy.  

Free time for shopping and wandering in the downtown square.  

Lovely sidewalk cafe

An old church under renovation

This apartment building was beautiful and right in the middle of town with the big shopping square right across the street.

I think I saw a line of women waiting to be arrested by that officer leaning on the pole.

I loved this little street

We told the waiter, "two local beers please."  He said, "A large one for the gentleman and a small for the lady?"  I replied, "Who are you calling a lady?  I'll have a large one too."  He thought that was hilarious.

Who knew how good Greek beer is?

The outside of the church that was being restored, I didn't go in because my knees weren't covered.

We are on our way to the National Archaeologist Museum of Athens.  Our guide seemed dismayed at all of the ancient artifacts that have been stolen or pilfered from Greece.  She was particularly unhappy with Britain and the fact that they have many of the Acropolis marbles.  When Greece was occupied by the Ottoman Turks apparently they sold some of the treasures to Britain.  Greece has built a beautiful state of the art museum and want the marbles back, the Brits state that they acquired the marbles legally and won't return them.  In the 1800's when excavations were done at ancient sites many of the artifacts were taken by the richer countries that were financing the digs.  Quite the controversy!  

I could of wandered this museum for days and days. 

The details were amazing.

 

I wonder what this once held.

 

This is a bronze Zeus, around 460 BC

Amazing details.

 

So many gold artifacts.

 

With the price of gold these days, this is worth more than the building. 

She is gorgeous

The beautiful Aphrodite, Goddess of love and beauty.

Many of these carvings are funeral or tomb decorations.

Aphrodite repelling Pan with the help of Eros (the God of sexual love, Cupid is the Roman counterpart).  She has her sandal in her hand ready for him.  This is dated approximately 100 BC

 

On the way back to the ship our guide was asked about the current economic crisis in Greece.  Her explanation was the the rich did not want to pay their fair share of taxes, therefore the government reduced the wages of workers by 300 euros a month.  The country is also filled with economic refugees that have taken jobs from the Greeks.  Many came when Greek hosted the Olympics and never left.  She was clearly angry at the politicians and the state of her government.  I suppose no matter the country, the burden always falls on the middle class.  Like most countries, health care and education are paid by the state.  Greece is now charging tuition and it's angered many students.

Protesting the new government policy of tuition for students.

A couple more shots on the way back to the ship

Begging for money in front of Mickie D's and ashamed to show his face.

Yummy

New York College, really?

I loved Greece for the history, the beauty of it's islands and the genuinely friendliness of it's people.  One day is not enough, heck a month wouldn't have been enough.  We walked through the museum in an hour and an half, you can only imagine everything we missed. 

Another wonderful and successful day.  Tomorrow is a sea day, which we'll truly enjoy after our three full active days.  Again, I'll spare you the details of the sea day but we had one more night under the stars watching a romantic comedy with my sweetie and skipping formal night.  Something I didn't know, Princess pretty much served the same food on the buffet as in the dining room.  Therefore the food was good and we were in shorts and flip flops.  Next up is the last port, the beautiful city of Venice.