Athens

When I was a child I can recall reading every bit of fiction set in ancient Egypt and Greece that I could find. I loved Greek mythology and at one time could just about name all of the Greek Gods and Goddesses and I knew their stories as well. I have always wanted to see the pyramids in Egypt and the Acropolis in Athens. Political climates being what they are, the pyramids will have to remain on my "wish" list for a while longer, but Athens was on our cruise itinerary and I could hardly wait to get there! We booked a private tour with our friends, the Pittman's, so we boarded our mini bus and set off.

First stop: Olympic Stadium!

Government Building - Susie and I were especially interested in the uniform!

NOT the Parthenon, but another ancient structure that we could see in the distance.

We climbed up the hill to the acropolis. THIS is the Parthenon! Extensive work is being done
to restore and stabilize the building. As you can see, it's massive. Dedicated to the Goddess Athena,
the patron deity of Athens, construction began in 447 B.C. 

An interesting anecdote: In the mid-1400's when Greece was part of the Ottoman
Empire, the Parthenon was turned into a mosque for a brief time.

It was also used to store munitions and was ignited by the Venetians. As you can imagine,
the ensuing explosion did significant damage. A British Earl removed some of the surviving
statues which can now be found in the British Museum in London.

Erechtheum - This Temple is also on the Acropolis, along with several other structures.
This temple has one side dedicated to Athena and the other to Poseidon.

We walked down from the Acropolis through the Agora (market) and found a great restaurant for lunch.

The people in this cafe could not have been nicer! They just kept bringing us more
and more wonderful Greek food!

We have had a wonderful time on our cruise! Scott and I disembarked in Venice where we caught a train to Milan, then changed trains and went to Tirano, Italy. Our goal: to board the Bernina Express train through the Alps to Switzerland. We made it and the story and photos are a subject for our next post!