OK, so our final ferry ride was much better than the last one (we also took it easy the night before which helped things out heaps) And, just our luck, the taxi driver’s were on strike when we arrived at the Athens port. So, in true backpacker’s style, public transportation it was! Of course there was a bit of wandering around the streets being sent in opposite directions with our huge packs on before we found out actual place but we made it! And, what’s even better is that what was described as “12 person mixed dorm" (aka 12 beds with boys and girls), was actually our own mini apartment, complete with living room, kitchenette, balcony, 3 beds and…AIRCON!! Glorious!! Since we were there around 6 and didn’t even have the entire next day, we decided to venture out and see some sites before settling in. We went to the Acropolis Museum, which has a lot of statues and artifacts from the actual Acropolis. It’s also designed identical to the Parthenon, so you can get a feel of how it would have been walking around when the entire structure was in its whole. It also had amazing views of the Parthenon, as well as the city of Athens around it, which included other ancient buildings and landmarks.
After enjoying our cool rooms, we had an early morning ahead of us if we wanted to get in everything we wanted to do. Even though we were one of the first ones heading up the hills of the Acropolis, it was still scorching hot! We made our way up the hills and when we walked through the gate into the Acropolis, the sight literally took my breath away. These buildings are ginormous! It just blows my mind that they are so big, beautiful, and old. I think that many people have lost their imagination and creative thinking with all the technology that is available to us today, but people hundreds of years ago had to figure out how they could develop the big and beautiful buildings they wanted to, without the use of machinery or modern tools. We spent some time checking out the buildings, and the city around us, and sweating at the top. I got in trouble taking a picture of Ed with the buildings; they even made me delete it! But, I had some others still! :)
We then made our way to Hadrian’s Arch, separating the Roman city from the Greek city, a temple, and the Olympic stadium from the first modern Olympics before making it to the tomb of the unknown soldier to watch the changing of the guards. It was right on a square where pigeons gathered and people were standing there selling you bird seed so that the pigeons would come sit on you. No thank you!!!! We saw the soldiers in their traditional outfits, and watched the ceremony of them changing and felt bad for them in the scorching heat! A little cruise through the shops before heading back for our bags and plane to Italy!
This day helped Athens to redeem itself for me. If you ever go, I wouldn’t recommend staying down by the port (unless you have an early ferry!) and sticking close to the Acropolis and surrounding area instead. I wish I got to tour the 2000 Olympic stadiums (since we know I LOVE the Olympics) but I guess I’ll have to leave that for next time! J
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