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Thursday, August 17, 2023

Mediterranean Cruise, Greece, and Italy 2023: Week 1 Greece

 

Monday 7/24: 1.3 miles, 1.3 total, 

Tues 7/25: 5 miles, 6.3 total

After a quick drive from Yakima, we flew from Seattle to Frankfurt, which was a relatively easy flight of about 9.5 hours.  We spent a couple of hours with a layover in Frankfurt.  Our next flight was supposed to be 3 hour flight to Athens, which ended up being 4.  After leaving the airport we caught a train into Athens that required a transfer to another train halfway through.  We got off of the train and then couldn’t figure out how to get to the other train.  We asked a few locals who were nice, but kept telling us to get on the bus.  After taking a deep breath (and watching a fight almost break out between drivers), we found the other part of the train stop where the connecting trains passed.  The train was almost a half hour late, so by the time we arrived at the Athens train station and walked to our hotel it was already past 9pm.  We dropped our bags off and then went out to get some gyros for dinner.

Wed 7/26: 11.5 miles, 17.8 total

In order to beat the heat and crowds, we made our way over to the Acropolis early in the morning.  First we stopped at Mars Hill, which is a rocky outcrop at the base of the Acropolis.  This is where the Apostle Paul introduced Christianity to the Athenians. Even arriving early at the entrance, there was still a long line to enter the Acropolis.  Once it opened, we made our way in and spent our time winding our way up to the top, listening to a Rick Steves podcast along the way.  The view from the top is amazing!  It is awesome to think how the Greeks built the Parthenon at such a scale and accuracy with limited tools.  Even though it was 9 in the morning, the temperature was already over 90 degrees.  The heat starting radiating off of the rocks and the crowds started getting larger, so we decided to make our way down.  

Monastiraki Square, Athens

Cats everywhere!

Mars Hill with the Acropolis in the background

Theater on the Acropolis

Climbing to the top of the Acropolis

Erechteion



Parthenon




Looking down on Mars Hill

Looking down at the Acropolis Museum


 



 



Once we got down we learned that they were closing the Acropolis at 11am due to the heat wave.  The high for the day was 106 degrees and it felt like it!  For part of the afternoon we wandered around the streets of Plaka, a neighborhood at the base of the Acropolis, looking at different souvenir shops and using their air conditioning!  We also ventured over to the ruins of the Temple of Olympian Zeus.  At one time it was the largest temple.  Now, there are only a handful of enormous columns that remain.  In the late afternoon we toured the Acropolis Museum, which was recently opened and contains many of the artifacts that were found on the Acropolis and its slopes.  It was amazing to learn of all of the groups over the last 5,000 years that have conquered or held that hill and its importance in the history of the world.  For dinner we went to a restaurant and had some great Mousaka and Greek Salad.  By this time we were overheated and exhausted and went back to our hotel.

Plaka neighborhood

Temple of Olympian Zeus

Acropolis Museum


Uncovered ruins at the Acropolis Museum

Looking for dinner





















Thurs 7/27: 11.8 miles, 29.6 total

Our first stop this morning was the ancient agora, the old center of Athens.  Most of the site was in ruins, but the temple of Hephaestus was still in great shape and there was also a rebuilt stoa that had a museum inside.  Afterward we ventured over to the site called Kerameikos, which was an ancient cemetery.  It was fascinating to see some of the old headstones.  By this time it was getting very hot, so we took a lunch break. After lunch we headed over and visited Hadrian’s library and the Roman Agora.  We were worked over and decided to head back to our hotel for an afternoon siesta. 



Ancient Agora with Acropolis in the background

Hephaisteion




Stoa of Atallos



Kerameikos

Hadrian's Library

Greek Salad for lunch

Hadrian's Library

Roman Agora


Water clock



 




































In the evening we decided to walk over and climb up to the top of Filopappou Hill, which is just southwest of the Acropolis.  From the top we had a beautiful view over Athens at sunset.  Once the sun set, we continued our walk and did a complete loop around the Acropolis.  We then finished off our day with an excellent dinner of Greek food at an outdoor restaurant with a magnificent view of the Acropolis lit up at night.  
Excellent parallel parking




Acropolis at Sunset

Athens at sunset



Dinner by the Ancient Agora



View from the restaurant

Fri 7/28: 12 miles, 41.6 total

We started this morning with a long walk over to the archaeological site of Lykeion, which is where Aristotle had his school.  There wasn’t much to see, but as one of the information signs said, this location had more of an impact on western civilization’s teachings and thoughts than perhaps anywhere else in the world.  Our next stop was the Panathenaic stadium, which hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and the 2004 Olympics.  Afterward we wandered through the National Garden and over to Syntagma Square, which is right in front of the National Parliament building.  From there we watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  

Lykeion, school of Aristotle

Olympic Stadium

Olympic Stadium

National Guard

Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

After lunch we toured the National Archaeological Museum, which contains some of the best Ancient Greek artifacts in the world.  Since we were so close, we then decided to hike to the top of Lycabettus Hill.  Normally people come up to the top for sunset, but we decided to come up mid-afternoon, right in the middle of the blazing sun.  It felt like a death march going to the top.  The view from the top made it worthwhile.  We then descended back down to Syntagma Square, walked down Ermou Street (which is the most famous shopping street) and then to a restaurant for dinner.  By this time we were exhausted from the heat and walking.  

Academy of Athens

National Archeological Museum

Mask of Agamemnon



Artemision Bronze

Athena

Antikythera Ephebe

Comedy Mask

Athens and the Acropolis from the top of Lycabettus Hill


Ermou Street

Saturday, 7/29: 5.0 miles, 46.6 total

After grabbing a quick breakfast, we got on the metro and headed out to Piraeus to get on our cruise ship.  We only had to walk a bit from the metro stop out to the cruise ship terminal.  Since we had done all of our paperwork online, check in took only a few minutes and then we were on the ship.  Our room on deck three has a giant window.  We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the ship and taking a long nap. After dinner we went to a show that featured a cellist named Wendy Law.

Our ship, the Celebrity Constellation in Piraeus, Greece

Our stateroom

Bread at the buffet






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