The Acropolis and Other
Sights (Friday)
On our way to the Acropolis...
We had to walk through the market
area, so we took a few pictures along the way. Here you can see
the Acropolis off in the distance. The cars here in Greece are
all small. Even the trucks seem to be smaller than most American
SUVs. You really have to be very careful crossing the street
in this city since the vehicles (cars, trucks and scooters)
zip along at amazing speeds. |
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As you can see, it's
a bit crowded in the streets and they are quite narrow. It's
such a nice day that even the Greek cats
were out and about enjoying the weather and looking for food.
This one was the brave member of a group hiding in the bushes.
Such a skinny kitty! |
| Further walking brought us to this nice market area where people
were milling around. Here, there were no cars zipping around,
so it was safe to rest for a bit and people-watch. |
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| Right in this market area was a small Byzantine
church that was open for viewing and use. It was nestled right
in the the middle of the marketplace. According to what I read,
when this area was built up, there was a huge controversy as
to the fate of many of these smaller churches. Fortunately for
us tourists, they survived. I took a couple of pictures of Yener
here; he's excited since we're FINALLY on our way to go see the
Acropolis. |
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Here's a photo of me in front of another ruin site. Right about
now, I'm wondering if we'll ever get to the Acropolis. I'm hot,
I'm getting tired, and I'm still a bit cranky about my luggage.
I decided to trust Yener's sense of direction and he did manage
to get us to the entrance. |
| So we get to the entrance gate and buy our tickets. The ticket
admits you to several sites on and around the acropolis, so it
was worth the price. As we began to climb up the stairs leading
to the sites, I realized that this trip is not for the weak or
meager. There were no guard rails to keep from falling...no ramps...the
steps were uneven and crumbling in place...some were so smooth
from wear that they were slippery! We stopped for a bit to rest
and we saw this theatre. As you can see, this is still an active
place for the arts We didn't get to see a performance there,
but it's nice to see that is is still used. Onward we climbed... |
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After the Acropolis,
Yener began talking about an Agora and how we had to see
it before we got some food.
After a bit of walking, we saw it! It
was pretty inside and the flowers that grew around it were
the same shape as the eight-pointed
start shapes I saw on the Agora windows.
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We finally made it
to the Temple of Hephaistos we saw when we were on the Acropolis.
Once we climbed up the hill you see behind him, we got a good
look at the structure with a group of French tourists. Moments
later, a solitary rain cloud decided to open up on us. Fortunately,
it lasted only a couple of minutes. |
| After all this walking, it was time to eat. We
found this restaurant which seemed to have a good amount of business,
so we ordered dinner there and ate outside in their shaded patio
area. It was too nice of a day to be stuck inside. |
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Here, you see pictures of the the meal and the
wonderful local refreshing adult beverage we enjoyed:
- Greek salad with feta cheese (it was wonderful!)
- Fried Calamari (yes, I tried some. Sure it was ok, but
it's just not my thing. Yener inhaled it.)
- Lamb souvlaki with rice and french fries
- You can see part of Yener's stuffed cabbage rolls on my
plate too since the calamari filled him up.
It was all very good food and I felt 100% better afterwards.
Now if only I could get a replacement for my poor worn-out feet! |
On our way back to the hotel for a well-deserved rest, we saw this
TINY church. I think it's as big as my old apartment in Ypsi and
it looked like it was still in use.
We were wandering around that
night (I was getting VERY grumpy about being
tired and
in the
same
clothes
for
three days)
when Yener
decided
we should book some tours for the weekend. We stopped into a travel
agent and booked a tour for Saturday and a different one on Sunday.
Both included lunch so we wouldn't have to worry about feeding
ourselves.
Later that night, my lost
luggage was finally delivered to the hotel! I have to tell you
...vacation is SO much more fun when you have fresh
clothing!
We went down to the steam room and relaxed a bit both there and
in the TINY sauna across the hall. It was relaxing and at the same
time, it was a bit of an adventure because you never know who will
be there with you.
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