Greece – HurricaneMaine

Athens, one last morning

After making sure I was recovered and packing for my trip back to China, I set out to explore near the Acropolis one last morning. What a difference two days make. It is warmer, calm wind, and sunny. I toured on one of the coldest days and glad I was able to make use of the beautiful morning.

I walked to the Acropolis and climbed up Mars Hill/Aeropagus which is where St. Paul once preached. What a great view! I noticed another Archaeological site and went to explore.

I did not enter the archaeological site as the pass was expensive considering I only had a few hours before leaving for the airport and included places I have already seen. This is the site of the Roman Agora and I walked around the perimeter.

A house within the confines of the site.

I’m glad to stretch my legs before the many hours flight back to China.

Greek island tour

Despite having intestinal issues overnight and lack of sleep, I believed I was getting better and decided to continue with my planned cruise. Once arrived I wasn’t feeling great and saw how packed the general compartments are. It is worth the money to pay double for the VIP lounge which I did.

Places to lay down, personal service including drinks.

I did try ouzo which tastes like licorice.

The island of Aegeana.

From the Apollon which is 5ooo BC older than the Parthenon.

Pistachio trees are the biggest produce from this island as well as olives. These are pistachio trees.

Peloppoinase mountains on Athens with snow.

Mother of aegenae statue.

Monastery on the island is just beautiful.

Zeus and Aegaena were in love but she needed to be hidden away. Their son is Ercos who became the first ruler. Zeus made inhabitants of the island out of ants as the legend goes. Hercules is the most famous Greek from this island.

We were to visit hydros which is a small beautiful island but tough ranges made docking impossible. At least it was calmer than the day before which caused the tour to be cancelled.

The island of Poros

The next island was a chance to walk around and visit shops. I bought a pair of silver post earrings in spirals which is good luck in Greece. Here are some views of walking around which I was able to do after drinking ginger ale unsuccessfully which gave me a little time before the next wave of sickness.

A rough day. I slept about 4 hours of the trip and made many trips to a bathroom but still glad I went as it was nice to walk in the sunshine in such a beautiful place! I will have to come back when it is warmer and hopefully not feeling poorly.

History tour of Athens

The gods visit us disguised as strangers.

Odysseus.

After purchasing a hop on hop off tour I decided to walk to the acropolis as it is close to my hotel and the first stop where your ticket must be activated. Along the way there are spectacular sights.

I arrived early and explored the hill of the muses that is near there.

Socrates prison. This is the alleged prison where he was believed to be housed.

Polipponas monument. Beautiful view of the acropolis here.

There are many places to visit on the hill but most pictures just look like any national park. This actually is an area where people bring their dogs in the morning for a walk. Beautiful trails and a lovely place to walk and enjoy nature.

The Acropolis

This ancient citadel dates back to the 5th century BC.

The Parthenon.

Ruins of the temple of Rome and Augustus.

National Archaeological museum

The museum is huge and has many antiquities.

From the paleolithic age and shows fascination with male anatomy.

Gold leaf death masks and body for children buried found in a Mycenaean site.

Aphrodite and Eros from the sanctuary at Delphi

Minoan culture from Crete is evident in pottery and metals. They were revered in Egypt and Greece.

The spring fresco wall painting is the only one still existing depicting the Theran landscape before the volcanic eruption.

Statue of a kouros. The statue is larger than life and enhances the musculature. A kouros is a statue of a standing male.

Funerary stele from after the Peloponnesisian war when there was unrest and poor prosperity leading to a plague. Many funeral stele were found from prominent families. Here two children have died.

Funerary stele. The person seated is the one that died, in this case a young mother.

The planospheric astrolab. This device talked astronomical movements and therefore also time. The gears were used to line to different constellations.

This sculpture shows incredible detail to the muscles and look on the child’s face. 5th century BC

A larger than life boxers arm showing bandages to protect the knuckles. 2nd century BC. The arm was cast separately from three rest of the statue of the boxer.

The Benaki museum

This museum is beautiful and houses cultural artifacts from Greece.

The inside of the museum is just gorgeous.

Wood carved distaffs for the spinning of wool from the early 1900’s.

Glass ampullae along the top made from molds. The grape ampullae is beautiful.

Poles extend on both sides through the stirrups to carry nobility through streets.

A reception room from 18th century Macedonia.

After the museum I wandered back to the acropolis to pick up a bus to the Riviera area.

The changing of the guard for the tomb of the unknown soldier.

Mosaic floor of the House of the Roman Mosaic from 200 AD.

In constructing the metro they came across this bath complex during the time of emperor Hadrian after the temple of Zeus was constructed.

Views from the bus tour along the Riviera beaches. I met a kind Egyptian man on the bus ride. He lives in Virgina and we talked about living in different places. If I would have known that where I was headed to eat would give me food poisoning I would have continued with the conversation with him on three next bus. But my hotel read close by…

First afternoon in Athens

Happy New Year! I flew from Cairo to Athens and not only received a complete meal (2 hour flight, why can’t the US do this) but they have away these 2020 wishes as I left the gate in Athens.

I arrived mid afternoon, checked into my hotel, and bought a couple of tours online. I had done some research but did not actually book tours before arriving. Since I have only two whole days here in Athens I chose to use the hop on hop off tour with entrance to attractions for one day. It is cheaper this time of year. I’ll have to start early.

I also bought a one day multi island boat tour. Usually they include a stop for swimming but it is winter now. There is a luncheon and dance show. You can also learn traditional Greek dance. Looking forward to this tour.

As a vegetarian usually there is a choice on airplane food or at least most of which I can eat. Not this flight. There was cheese but also a large amount of meat. One flight attendant found an extra vegetarian sandwich. Since I hate throwing away food, I first offered the meat to those around me, but then decided to wrap it up and bring it to the hotel when no one accepted.

My goal was to find a deserving kitty or dog to give the meat to. There are not as many cats visible here as there were in Egypt.

I started touring places that would not be included in the hop on hop off tour. I found a small church where buildings have been built around it.

Ekklisia Agia Dynami is a Greek orthodox church.

Next is Syntagma Square which is on front of the old palace (where parliament currently is). It is the central square in Athens.

From here I noticed the national garden. I love to walk in nature. I also noticed the first cemetery of Athens on the other side.

On the way to the garden. You can see the snow on the peaks in the distance.

One of the entrances to the national park.

I do like looking at old cemeteries and I’m sure I’ll find some cats there. I followed paths out one of the sides of the park to get to the cemetery. The word “oikos” means house which is used to announce the family name on the crypts.

And yes I found some deserving cats for the meat from lunch.

I love the narrow streets that I walked through.

Statues…

The stadium of the first modern Olympic games: Panathenaic stadium. This is a reconstruction from the 1800’s that recreates the ancient stadium that originated from AD 117.

Metropolitan church of Athens. This is an 1800’s cathedral church with Greco-roman styling and phenomenal architecture.

More exploring tomorrow!