Athens - Jewel of the Seas Greek Isles
September 24, 2018 found us in Athens, Greece. We woke up with the sunrise as I had planned a DIY day for us.
We walked off the ship, through the terminal, and straight to the waiting taxis. Don’t worry there’s plenty (as seen on right hand side of photo above)!
Our taxi driver was Cris and these are the notes from the taxi ride:
All houses made of cement and inside marble
Most of the country’s population is split between Athens & Piraeus
June - August busy season
Most corrupt place in world according to him
45 euro to Acropolis
Tourism is the main industry
During the drive Cris tried to heavily push us to use him as a guide for the day and we just kept declining. He seemed to get angry about it.
We stopped at this viewing point that he said was halfway to Athens
He finally dropped us off less than a block from the entrance to the Acropolis
Immediately after the entrance are several artifacts on display. The history there truly comes alive if you look for it.
Per Wikipedia:
The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historic significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word acropolis is from the Greek words ἄκρον (akron, "highest point, extremity") and πόλις (polis, "city").[1] Although the term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as "The Acropolis" without qualification. During ancient times it was known also more properly as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Cecrops, the first Athenian king. While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as far back as the fourth millennium BC, it was Pericles (c. 495 – 429 BC) in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the site's most important present remains including the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike.[2][3] The Parthenon and the other buildings were damaged seriously during the 1687 siege by the Venetians during the Morean War when gunpowder being stored in the Parthenon was hit by a cannonball and exploded.
I mean...I can’t even fathom something that old...even standing there in the midst of it...when you close your eyes and just feel the air around you...it’s crazy...and you are now a part of that history...walking there.
We got there early, mind you, so notice how “few” people are there
The crowd coming in as we’re leaving. Remember how light it was earlier? Get there early y’all!
We exited the Acropolis and I asked an employee how to get to the museum. She told me to just walk down this cobble road, turn left at the Main Street and it would be on the right in about 10 minutes. When we bought our entry tickets to the Acropolis I saw the “museum” listed as one of items the ticket covers
I just loved all the flowers and bushes and colors and trees on the way.
Eventually we came to the museum on the right and walked down the stairs to the entry. At the base are open excavations to look down into
I pulled out our 30euro each tickets and we went inside. We went to scan our tickets to enter and the employee standing there for assistance said those tickets don’t apply here
Soooo back we went to see how much the museum entry is. 5euro each. Oh well. We figured since we were already here we’d go in. Lesson learned tho. Read the print carefully!
Views from the windows inside:
We were growing pretty hangry about this time after being in the heat and walking for a a few hours so I suggested we make our way to the plaka
So a little back story here but when I was little I would go stay summers with my grandma in Illinois. We would sit on her porch and listen to the church bells from the cathedral next door (remember the bells in proposal video). Her nickname for me was Lulu. When we stumbled upon this cafe I knew we had to eat there.
It amazes me how many ruins are just everywhere! That...and graffiti.
After spending hours gallivanting all around Athens absorbing the history and culture we hopped in a cab and he sped us back to the ship.
Sunset that night was magic:
We walked off the ship, through the terminal, and straight to the waiting taxis. Don’t worry there’s plenty (as seen on right hand side of photo above)!
Our taxi driver was Cris and these are the notes from the taxi ride:
All houses made of cement and inside marble
Most of the country’s population is split between Athens & Piraeus
June - August busy season
Most corrupt place in world according to him
45 euro to Acropolis
Tourism is the main industry
During the drive Cris tried to heavily push us to use him as a guide for the day and we just kept declining. He seemed to get angry about it.
We stopped at this viewing point that he said was halfway to Athens
He finally dropped us off less than a block from the entrance to the Acropolis
Immediately after the entrance are several artifacts on display. The history there truly comes alive if you look for it.
Per Wikipedia:
The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historic significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word acropolis is from the Greek words ἄκρον (akron, "highest point, extremity") and πόλις (polis, "city").[1] Although the term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as "The Acropolis" without qualification. During ancient times it was known also more properly as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Cecrops, the first Athenian king. While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as far back as the fourth millennium BC, it was Pericles (c. 495 – 429 BC) in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the site's most important present remains including the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike.[2][3] The Parthenon and the other buildings were damaged seriously during the 1687 siege by the Venetians during the Morean War when gunpowder being stored in the Parthenon was hit by a cannonball and exploded.
I mean...I can’t even fathom something that old...even standing there in the midst of it...when you close your eyes and just feel the air around you...it’s crazy...and you are now a part of that history...walking there.
We got there early, mind you, so notice how “few” people are there
The crowd coming in as we’re leaving. Remember how light it was earlier? Get there early y’all!
We exited the Acropolis and I asked an employee how to get to the museum. She told me to just walk down this cobble road, turn left at the Main Street and it would be on the right in about 10 minutes. When we bought our entry tickets to the Acropolis I saw the “museum” listed as one of items the ticket covers
I just loved all the flowers and bushes and colors and trees on the way.
Eventually we came to the museum on the right and walked down the stairs to the entry. At the base are open excavations to look down into
I pulled out our 30euro each tickets and we went inside. We went to scan our tickets to enter and the employee standing there for assistance said those tickets don’t apply here
Soooo back we went to see how much the museum entry is. 5euro each. Oh well. We figured since we were already here we’d go in. Lesson learned tho. Read the print carefully!
Views from the windows inside:
We were growing pretty hangry about this time after being in the heat and walking for a a few hours so I suggested we make our way to the plaka
So a little back story here but when I was little I would go stay summers with my grandma in Illinois. We would sit on her porch and listen to the church bells from the cathedral next door (remember the bells in proposal video). Her nickname for me was Lulu. When we stumbled upon this cafe I knew we had to eat there.
It amazes me how many ruins are just everywhere! That...and graffiti.
After spending hours gallivanting all around Athens absorbing the history and culture we hopped in a cab and he sped us back to the ship.
Sunset that night was magic:
Comments
Post a Comment