It's all Greek to me!

The early morning of Athens is very peaceful, as we arrived there at 3am. The acropolis looked very majestic sitting on its high mountain showing off its beauty. The lights are placed just right so that it looks like it is shining and alive with people, like it was in its glory days. After we got some shut eye for a few hours we decided to get a bite to eat, we thought it appropriate to get gyros. Rusty was so excited to have one, as this is one of his most favorite meals. When he ate it he had a huge smile and a look of satisfaction. After our bellies were full, we weaved our way through the markets and the many vendors. As we arrived at the bottom of the hill of the acropolis I was full of excitement. It has been my dream for a very long time to go to Athens. I was really interested in Greek mythology when I was younger, and this city was always intriguing to me. So my wish had come true, only it was better because I was able to enjoy it Rusty. As we were making our way to the top it started to sprinkle, it was very refreshing because it was quite hot. As we were sitting, enjoying ourselves under an olive tree gazing at the Parthenon, I began to think about how old this structure is, and that it is amazing that it has lasted so long. Since its building in 438 B.C. it has seen Athens go through tough times and golden times. It is the epitome of its glory days, and believe me it lives up to that, even 2500 years later! I could literally spend days up on the acropolis and the ruins around it, it just fascinates me. It is interesting to think that this small country used to be a great nation, and very powerful. Now they sit in cafés drinking coffee and smoking their cigarettes. No disrespect, but it is amazing to think that their ancestors are written all over our history books, and movie after movie has been made about them.    

I can say that Greeks are very warm, kind people and I noticed that when they said “you’re welcome” they would put their hand over their heart. It made the saying so much more meaningful, I’ll have to remember that one. We had a really fun time exploring the city, shopping in the markets and saying “Efharisto!” (it means thank you) whenever we had the chance. It always made people smile when we said it. If there is one tip I could give about traveling to foreign countries is to try and learn as many phrases you can, it will 1. Make you able to communicate and 2. The people will be warm and kind to you. Greece is definitely a place that everyone needs to see, make sure to put it on your list!

Although still pathetically white, we are starting to become more brown from our time in the sun. The sun seems to be particularly hot in Athens.

Our new guilty indulgence- Strawberry McDonalds milkshakes. They are relatively cheap (1 Euro) and oh so yummy.

Scrumptious gyros, they are the cheapest food you can find around, and arguably the best!

We nabbed some pears from a tree near the temple of Zeus, no lightning bolts yet, and they were super good.

We arrived at our hotel at about 5am, we had been hanging out at the bus station from about 3am (waiting for taxis fairs to drop). When we got to hour hotel, we found we had a superb view of the city, the Acropolis was all lit up and the city was so quiet. Most of the shop keepers were just getting things ready for the day. It was really kind of magical, it seemed like the city was ours alone. Unfortunately,  we were very tired and went back to sleep for a few hours to find the city bustling as usual, devoid of its morning time charm.

Chelsea was on a mission to find a pair of gladiator style sandles for a good price. Athens has quite a lot of shopping, so midday while it was hottest we perused air conditioned stores, giving the ruins a break for a time.

A butterfly that Chelsea befriended ironically outside the church of the metamorphosis below the Acropolis.

In pans cave below the Acropolis, these caves were sacred to the ancient Greeks, so we climbed all around them.

The Acropolis, right next to the temple of Athena

On the back side of the Acropolis

Chelsea's favorite statues

This is an example of one of many former busts that were found near the houses of the ancient Greeks, this bust, although missing its head, still bears its ubiquitous genitalia that passers by would rub for good luck.

We found a tortoise near an ancient theater and feed it flowers, a lot of flowers, we hope they were ok for him to eat.

For some reason in Athens we kept tripping over everything. When I saw this sign I wanted to take a picture and as I was walking toward it, I tripped and almost face planted. Chelsea could not stop laughing, because of the irony.

The view at night from our balcony.

Old Byzantine era church with original fresco's over 1000 years old. 

The base of a pillar at the ancient agora

Chelsea finally found her gladiator sandles for under 20 dollars, she has been wearing them proudly every day since. 

Old Greek Orthodox church building. These churches are really cool, they are little tiny buildings all over the city. This one was near our hotel, we hung out there a few nights, people watching and listening to street musicians.