Athens, Greece

Athens, Greece (Stop #4 on the Cruise):

Our next stop was the city of Athens to visit the ancient Acropolis and the site of the Parthenon, The Propylaia, The Erechtheion, and Athena Nike temple (where the word Nike comes from).  Athens is a huge city.  Once you have climbed to the top of the site of the Acropolis you can see just how big Athens is.  Building after building that spans past what the eye can see.  It took about 15 minutes to climb to the top.

Below you will see columns sculpted as women called The Caryatids.  It is amazing that their slender necks allow for such weight.  The statues are said to be fakes as the real ones are in a Greek museum and a couple of the other original Caryatids were taken to Englad by Lord Elgrin.  The Greeks are very adamant that the statues should be returned to Greece.

The Parthenon began construction due to the wishes of Pericles who built it to dedicate to the Greek goddess Athena.  The Acropolis was badly damaged by the Venetians in 1687.

Here is an image of the city of Athens.  Like I said, huge.

Panathenaic Stadium.

We had about 45 minutes to visit the Plaka or old town of Athens.  There were typical souvenirs and food here.  Our tour guide explained that the owl was the Greek symbol of wisdom (we recognize that today) and an owl with blue eyes was to ward off the evil eye.  Greece is known for its reasonably priced gold and silver and there was a lot of jewelry for sale.

aliexpress.com

At one point I was looking at jewelry and one of the shop keepers was very aggressive with his approach to get me to look at his jewelry.  He was even pulling my arm saying, "come into my shop." Although I don't think he meant any harm, I don't like being pressured or grabbed at so I headed the other way.

Below you can see the Acropolis.  I was all the way downtown where the old town is and you could see it clear as day.

Before we got back on the ship, we grabbed some Greek food to go.  I love Greek food.  It's a healthy lifestyle of eating with many vegetables.  I got some grilled chicken and vegetable dish (I forget the name) and Brandon had lamb chops with grilled vegetables and they both came with piles of french fries, like everywhere else in Europe (not so healthy).  Everything was so fresh.  We also shared some fresh homemade Baklava.  And let me tell you, this was the best Baklava I've ever had.  It was served warm which I think makes all the difference.

Favorite Thing about Athens:

Besides the Acropolis, it would have to be that amazing Baklava.

Next Stop:  Santorini, Greece

What's your favorite type of Greek food?

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