The Acropolis

Best bubble bath ever!

Cecilia and Andrew have a jacuzzi tub, killer bubbles. Do the bubbles look a little grey? He was number four in the bath water that morning.

Trains and more trains and metros and more metros.

The Parthenon at the Acropolis of Athens is a must. It just is. If you doubt you will make it to Greece soon, watch the NOVA show, The Secrets of the Parthenon. It is hardly to be believed. The Parthenon is actively being restored since 1975.  Every piece is unique, with milimeters of difference. The original building was built in just 8 to 9 years.

The Acropolis is a slab of blue-grey limestone which juts up from the Attica plain, 490 feet above sea level. Construction of the Parthenon began in 447 BC and was completed in 438 BC. Mike and I have been there a few times. We visited Athens for the first time in 2000 on a month long trip through Europe. At that time I was amazed to learn that Saint Paul had preached at the Areopagus, the hill directly next to the Acropolis, documented in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 17 verses 22 - 31.

I recall St. Paul as a bit of a whiner. “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.” Stuff it, Paul!

Another remarkable feature is how slippery the Acropolis is. The ground has been polished to a dangerously slippery sheen by millennia of footsteps. Ay! The broken hips, knee caps, and wrists. And it is uneven, sloping, curving and rolling. I am not sure what's the best footwear, probably bare feet, better for gripping.

As you can tell from our photos, thus far, we took our sweet time getting there. Although we were warned to be out of downtown by 4 PM, due to the "demonstrations" (aka riots), we were relaxed.

The metro stop is called Monastiraki.  It drops you at the main square of the Plaka, which is a beautiful, flea markety, touristy, neighborhoody area in the shadow of the Acropolis. We took ourselves to Thanasis, for chicken souvlaki, pita, tzaziki, greek salad and a cold beer (bee-ah). Sooooo good!

Our boys will usually happily eat chicken of some sort and french fries.

Get thee to Thanasis, 69 Mitropoleos,
northeast corner of Monastiraki Square

Panagia Pantanassa
Virgin Mary Queen of All

After enjoying our lunch which was serenated by various wandering musicians and very young Roma children, we started to wind our way to the Acropolis.



Passing the Roman Forum of Athens



So much graffiti.

One life fantasy, we buy and fix up this place...

Metamorforsi tou Sotiros
Transfiguration of the Savior

Getting very close now, just around the corner...

And the Acropolis is closed.

Good to know...in the winter it closes at 3 PM, no entry after 2:30 PM. We arrived about 2:20 and the guard said no way. Οχι!

Isn't it glorious?

Dominic chatted up William.

Change of plan! Off to the Acropolis Museum.

Icon seen on the way,
reminds me of my sister and her girls...

Michael pouted a bit at the realization a museum was in the works.
I love this photo, he is gazing down into the archeological site.

The museum is constructed over an existing archeological dig, that is exposed for viewing. I loved it!

You can look down at a neighborhood of ancient Athens from as far back as 3000 BC, where archeologists have discovered ancient roads, houses, workshops and bathhouses.

Inside the museum, the floors are transparent and the dig can be seen throughout.

There are no photographs allowed, which I was informed of after taking the above photo...a stone ball carved with magical symbols...super cool.

Peering into the past.

If you want to see ancient Greek works from the Parthenon, skip the Arcropolis Museum. Get thee to The British Museum! The exhibition housed in the Acropolis Museum is surprisingly small.  Most of the Parthenon's sculptures and relics were removed by Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin during the Ottoman Empire. From 1801 to 1812 he pillaged/legally removed about half of the sculptures and relics from the Parthenon and other Acropolis sites. The British Museum purchased them in 1816 for £35,000. Despite the size of the collection, it is definitely worth the visit.

Below the Acropolis is the theater of Herod Atticus built by the Romans in 161 AD.
 It is still used today for classical concerts, ballet, and performances.



A view of the theater wall.



Next to the Acropolis is the limestone hill called the Areopagus, the place where St. Paul preached. There are stairs carved into the hill that are VERY slippery. Watch yourself up there. 


The views are splendid.
The Agora and the Temple of Hephaestus.




View turning to the left...




Another turn...




And another.



William, headphones, Acropolis.

Mike and Dominic, sunset Areopagus.

I loved the 360 degree views.

Treasures of ancient Greece are still to be found.

The day continued. We walked back to Plaka, surrounded by a flock of street doggies.

Here all doggies have collars, stray or not. They have the fattest street pooches I have ever seen.

They are mostly congenial, but I am afraid of dogs.

William tamed them with the magic of loving snuggles and we had ourselves up to six temporary pets.

Something I love about Greece is that even wealthy elegant folk take in street dogs. In other countries I am used to seeing fancier people with fancier dogs.

All in all, a lovely day. We reversed our metro, metro, train, train, train and made it back for dinner. No riots other than what our young twosome managed.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Anna is on her way, traveling via London. We are keeping our fingers and toes crossed for her safe arrival, her plane is due to land 6 PM Christmas Eve...please stay tuned for tales of togetherness.