The Port of Piraeus is around seven miles from Athens so again a ship tour is the best option. We have been told it is quite difficult
to get around this city so seeing we have just a day, this way we will see all the sights we learned about as children. Athens uses Euro as
its currency so we were a little used to this by now. Our first stop was the Acropolis and The Parthenon which is a milestone in classical
Greek history. First view of this magnificent temple area is a little overwhelming and we climbed the beautiful marble walkway, all the time looking around at the relics
of buildings that had many beautiful columns still standing. The city views from up here showed what a sprawling metropolis Athens is!
It was interesting to see so many stray dogs around here and apparently the local people bring food and enjoy having
lots of dogs around in this area. Lots of reconstruction work is being carried out here and they use the original stones and undamaged artwork to recreate the
magnificence of this historical place. The number of tourists that visit this site is just amazing but the tour groups are well organised and our tour
leader was most informative and helpful.
One of the important buildings of note is The Erechtheion. It is located in the Acropolis itself and has as its highight
six Greek maidens carved as pillars on the outside. They are reproductions with the originals housed in the Acropolis Museum.
The Parthenon is an incredible design as it is perfectly proportioned.It was commissioned by Pericles and then built by Pheidias. It has been used as a church, a fortress and an amunition dump.
Its reputation of construction has made it an example for other architects to follow. It is said that many other buildings such as museums and public buildings have been modelled on this
amazing construction.
Walking around the Acropolis gave us the opportunity to see the stadium down below with its rows of seats and arena. The Theatre of Dionysos was another site that
reminded us of times long ago. Visiting sites like this is a real event even though hard work climbing over walls, blocks and being mindful of the cobblestone walkways. The history that
our guides shared along with the free time to explore made this visit one to remember!
After a couple of hours we had to say farewell and walk down to the entrance area that had a small shop that sold many souvenirs. Of course we had to purchase some,
just a reminder of this incredible place. The picture of The Acropolis and Parthenon that I have included here shows the magnificence of the buildings a long time ago
and certainly pays homage to the architects and builders of time long ago.
Once again we were on our coach heading for the Olympic Stadium and just admiring the street scenes that we were passing by. One of the timely activities we came across was the changing
of the Guard and the soldiers looked so professional in their classic uniforms. As we neared the port we decided to leave the tour and do a little local exploration ourselves. A local church looked
very interesting and the shops were full of items we could buy if we had the room to carry them....just down the road we came across a magnificent church - full of mosaics and statues.
This church had the most wonderful pictures and stained glass and it took time to look at it all. It was a little unusual though as it had a painting of chickens right outside the front door!
Well, it was time to find an Internet cafe and send some messages home and after doing that was time to again board the Marco Polo and have a late afternoon tea while
watching the lights of Athens as we sailed onto our next destination.
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