We arrived in Athens on time with no problems or anything. From there a driver picked us up to take us to the temple of Poseidon. We drove along the coast of Greece. It was absolutely breath-taking. There are thousands of small islands along the coast of Greece that pop up all over, making the coastline view amazing. We then got to the Temple of Poseidon. It was remarkable how high up it was and how intact it was. With the coast in the background and the ruins in the foreground, it was absolutely breathtaking. It baffled me first of all how they got the stones up this giant hill, in addition to how people travelled such a long distance just to pay homage to the god of the sea. After we were done marveling at ancient ruins, we headed back down the coast towards Athens.
We then stopped to have one of the best meals of my life. I know I talk about food, but seriously, this was the most amazing thing I have eaten. The meal began with a salad. I ordered a tomato salad that had olive oil and seasoning on it. The tomatoes legitimately tasted like candy, they were that delicious. Next we received fresh fried calamari. Because Greece does not require seafood to be flash frozen like they do in the states, the fish tasted fresher than any fish I’ve ever had. After our meal, we returned to the coast road. My face was glued to the window, the view was the amazing. We then drove to Greece's only fresh water hot spring. It sit next to a big pool, so people are swimming there at all times of the year. We then arrived in Athens, attempted to go into the middle of city, but then seriously failed, so just walked back to our hotel and went to bed so we could get up early and refreshed for the next day.
We started the next day off with, what else, the Acropolis. We stepped out of the Metro station and BAM, there it was. We started off walking through the ruins of the Theatre of Dionysus. It was pretty crazy to see. They have done a good job at restoring all of the ruins so you really get a wonderful idea of what it would have looked like. We then stumbled across another massive theatre that they actually still use to this day. After that, it was up to the Parthenon. It was remarkable. As you walk up these massive steps, you see the Temple of Athena to your right, the city sprawling across the hills behind you. You walk through the entrance and boom, there it is. Even with the scaffolding and cranes surrounding the structure, its still remarkable. The Parthenon stands on top of a massive rock formation that I can hardly consider a hill, so you can look out over the entire city. Its quite remarkable with the ancient ruins standing above a modern city. After I got my fill of the beautiful Parthenon, we moved over to another temple that is right next to it. Parts of it were completely intact still. It gave a good idea as to what the structure must have looked like back in the day.
After the Acropolis, it was down the hill to visit a Greek equivalent of the Roman Forum. There we saw an old market building which housed a museum with tons of old statues, pots, and other knick knacks they have found. There were ruins from different buildings that used to be in the area, including multiple temples, courthouses, and a few homes. On the top of the hill was an almost completely standing temple. Even the friezes along the top walls were still attached.
The pass for the Acropolis lets you into multiple ruins around the city, most of which we just stumbled across. None of them were quite as extravagant as the Acropolis, but they were pretty cool. During our wondering, though, we found ourselves in the flea market, where I bought some Grecian sandals, and we ate some delicious kebab pita.
Afterwards we headed over to the Parliament building to watch the changing of the guards. The guards there (who were all massively tall) have to wear these crazy outfits with pom-poms on their shoes and lift their feet, arms and guns in an overly dramatic way. It was a completely different experience than that in London at Buckingham Palace.
We then headed to the Olympic Stadium from one of the Olympics in the 1900s, which stands on the spot of the first Olympic stadium and was designed after it. We took a minor detour through the gardens next to the Parliament Garden, where we saw a goose attack a rooster, and saw the President's palace. We then went to our final ruin, but were too late to enter. It was an extraordinarily large temple, but we could see it pretty clearly from the surrounding area. Next to the temple was Hadrian's arch, which was pretty massive. We then headed back to the hotel for a little rest before going back out that night.
We took a look at the Acropolis at night, then ventured to find somewhere to eat. As we were aimlessly roaming around, a nice, old Greek man approached us and offered to show us a great place to eat. It was great. We split a delicious salad and some sardines, then I got my pasticcio, which is basically like an amazing form of macaroni and cheese.
The next day, we had the morning before our flight left. We were going to go to the Archaeology Museum, but found out it was closed. So instead, we headed to the new Acropolis museum. As you walk towards the door, you look below you to see an ancient town. Currently, they are still excavating it, but in the future, you'll be able to walk through parts of it. Inside the museum (you aren't allowed to take pictures), there are ruins from the Acropolis area. In the top portion they have all of the friezes and other statues that used to cover the top of the Parthenon. They had it laid out so it was in the same order and depth as when it was on the building. It was pretty cool to see. We then went to a restaurant our driver had recommended where we enjoyed some traditional Greek food. We then hopped on plane back to Milan.
In short, I'm in love with Greece. Everyone was remarkably nice, the food was outstanding, and the sites were fantastic.
Obsessed with Greece,
Jessica
P.S. I'd like to send a HUGE shout out to my wonderful grandma who made me some delicious lemon bars for my parents to bring over (along with the surprise of those yummy peanut butter chocolate bars).
After the Acropolis, it was down the hill to visit a Greek equivalent of the Roman Forum. There we saw an old market building which housed a museum with tons of old statues, pots, and other knick knacks they have found. There were ruins from different buildings that used to be in the area, including multiple temples, courthouses, and a few homes. On the top of the hill was an almost completely standing temple. Even the friezes along the top walls were still attached.
The pass for the Acropolis lets you into multiple ruins around the city, most of which we just stumbled across. None of them were quite as extravagant as the Acropolis, but they were pretty cool. During our wondering, though, we found ourselves in the flea market, where I bought some Grecian sandals, and we ate some delicious kebab pita.
Afterwards we headed over to the Parliament building to watch the changing of the guards. The guards there (who were all massively tall) have to wear these crazy outfits with pom-poms on their shoes and lift their feet, arms and guns in an overly dramatic way. It was a completely different experience than that in London at Buckingham Palace.
We then headed to the Olympic Stadium from one of the Olympics in the 1900s, which stands on the spot of the first Olympic stadium and was designed after it. We took a minor detour through the gardens next to the Parliament Garden, where we saw a goose attack a rooster, and saw the President's palace. We then went to our final ruin, but were too late to enter. It was an extraordinarily large temple, but we could see it pretty clearly from the surrounding area. Next to the temple was Hadrian's arch, which was pretty massive. We then headed back to the hotel for a little rest before going back out that night.
We took a look at the Acropolis at night, then ventured to find somewhere to eat. As we were aimlessly roaming around, a nice, old Greek man approached us and offered to show us a great place to eat. It was great. We split a delicious salad and some sardines, then I got my pasticcio, which is basically like an amazing form of macaroni and cheese.
The next day, we had the morning before our flight left. We were going to go to the Archaeology Museum, but found out it was closed. So instead, we headed to the new Acropolis museum. As you walk towards the door, you look below you to see an ancient town. Currently, they are still excavating it, but in the future, you'll be able to walk through parts of it. Inside the museum (you aren't allowed to take pictures), there are ruins from the Acropolis area. In the top portion they have all of the friezes and other statues that used to cover the top of the Parthenon. They had it laid out so it was in the same order and depth as when it was on the building. It was pretty cool to see. We then went to a restaurant our driver had recommended where we enjoyed some traditional Greek food. We then hopped on plane back to Milan.
In short, I'm in love with Greece. Everyone was remarkably nice, the food was outstanding, and the sites were fantastic.
Obsessed with Greece,
Jessica
P.S. I'd like to send a HUGE shout out to my wonderful grandma who made me some delicious lemon bars for my parents to bring over (along with the surprise of those yummy peanut butter chocolate bars).
