Athens with Anita!

Sorry again for taking so long to write but I have been in Athens for the past three days.  Anita came to visit!  YAY!!!  I took the bus to Athens to meet her there on Fri. and we had a weekend packed with sightseeing.  We stayed in the best situated hotel in Syntagma Square.  Within walking distance to everything we wanted to see.  Of course the first thing we did was set off for the Acropolis.  What a magnificent sight.  You can almost see these buildings from any point in the city.  They hover over Athens as if looking over and protecting a heritage of thousands of years.  The history of Athens is what has really taken my breath away.  As you walk up the marble stairs to the Parthenon (in the picture) and the Temple of Athena Nike you can only imagine what it might have looked like at the height of the ruling Greek era.  It is truly unbelievable how this structure was made without any of the luxuries we have now in the world of architecture and construction.  We stayed there for a while walking around and taking pictures (I will post more pictures because we took A LOT).  Then we headed down and back up a hill (in the top pic) just under the Acropolis that offers the most beautiful view of the city.  We sat for almost an hour talking and enjoying the view.  Athens is HUGE.  Something like 60% of the population lives in this city.  Houses creep into every crevice of every mountain, and the Acropolis looks down on all of them.  To be honest, the city is a little too packed for my taste.  I am glad to have the opportunity to live in a smaller more laid back town like Patra.  Athens is rich with history and archeology but is also filled with tourists, traffic and strangely enough, stray dogs.  After a long day of walking we had an early dinner and went to bed.  I introduced Anita to veal souvlaki and a Greek Salad, that I have to admit, did not live up to its Patra standards.

The next day, Saturday, Anita and I went off by foot, in the rain, to see the archaeological museum.  We wanted somewhere to get us out of the rain but where we could continue to appreciate the antiquities of the city.  The museum was impressive but filled with pottery, bronze artifacts and Greek statues that we admittedly got a little sick of after about an hour.  After this we hit the department store!  Anita talked me out of buying $250 shoes (I am going through shopping withdrawals) and all we left with were some underthings that I needed since we JUST got a washing machine (FINALLY!).  After two days of walking and sightseeing we were tired and had an early dinner and hit the sack.

Our hotel was right next to the Parliament so on Sunday morning Anita and I woke up to catch the changing of the guards.  It was an elaborate ceremony.  The soldiers, dressed in the funniest outfits, marched down the street right in front of us led by a band.  The soldiers wear funny little shoes that have pom poms on the top and wood bottoms that make a loud stomping noise as they march away.  Once at the front of the parliament they do a series of rituals (that we couldn't see b/c we were behind a crowd of people) and then march off.  It was fun to be a part of.  Afterwards we walked back to the Acropolis to see some more of the ruins that we missed the first day and then Brian came to meet us.  The three of us walked through the National Gardens that were massive but didn't offer a whole lot to see.  There was a small zoo that entertained us for a while with peacocks, billy goats, bunny rabbits & donkeys and there was a pond with a ton of turtles that was also fun to watch.   What we really wanted to see were the Greek Baths!  We kept walking and ended up at the Temple of Zeus.  This was one of my favorite sights in Athens.  It is only a small portion of what the temple might once have looked like but you can still understand the enormity of what it was and it has a presence that is magical.  Here we found some baths!  We had fun deciding how they might have looked like and what the Greek men and boys might have done there....oh the stories.  After, we kind of stumbled on the Ancient Olympic Stadium that housed the very first modern Olympics.  It is beautiful, all in marble, and so well preserved.  There was some sort of set up for a concert of some sort that kind of ruined the view, but it was still cool to see.  After we walked to the War Museum (which was closed!).  Later we met a friend of my cousins for coffee and then off to dinner.  I am going to write more on this tomorrow.  I think I have caught up as best as I could for now!  Please keep checking in, I promise to be much better at writing from now on!  XOXO.