Day 2 - The Parthenon Needs No Introduction
The big day arrived. The crux of the trip started with perfect sunny skies and the mildly intense sunshine on your skin. We planned for extensive walking to reach the Acropolis ("the high city"). Our private tour guide knew it all from the history and creation of the temple, Parthenon, to the cultural meaning for Athens. We quickly learned that Marina chose to wear a yellow winter coat, which she probably wanted to appear as bold as her personality.
The Parthenon is jaw dropping by reputation, and there's no other way to describe it. The idea that ancient Greek workers contructed this temple in only 9 years is mind boggling! Their use of tools and pulleys were inspired by the goddess Athena, who they were constructing this temple to honor. Being there made it feel like the ancient gods were in my presence.
The Athens government recently contructed The Acropolis Museum for safe keeping pieces of the Parthenon while they remove its most important characteristics. The actual remains are sparce, but some of it has already been restored to original quality for viewing at the museum.
Just before leaving the Acropolis museum, my mother-in-law's old student recognized her in the gift shop. Unbelievable odds to see that happen! He was just off the cruise ship that dropped him near by for the afternoon. Still, he had to be here at the same window of one hour that we were also visiting, and he hasn't seen her otherwise for 20 years. Opa!
Our tour guide led us through a walking tour in downtown Athens for a huge sampling: candy, honey, liquor, meat, cheese.
Lunch at Kuzina was pretty amazing. "Real" greek salad never contains any lettuce. Cut veggies, feta cheese and dressing. Period. Also, greek wine is only getting better with each meal. Kuzina served us chicken with roasted tomatoes and baby potatoes before dessert. There's going to be a lot of ice cream on this trip!
This was actually a long day of activities, and a few tour members even slept on the bus ride going back. Our route took us past another remarkable site that got your attention though. The original home of the modern Olympic era, which had an eye popping view from the entrance.This is the Pan-Athenian Stadium, which held the original games in 1896.
