Acropolis!

Acropolis

Today we headed for the Acropolis, high on a hill in the center of Athens.  Not going to lie, it is a hot, steep walk without much shade - totally worth it.  There is not much left and restoration is on going everywhere.  The tourists are packed on the hill and employees have whistles they blow whenever one gets too close or tries to touch something, gets funny after a while.  The marble and uneven surfaces are surprisingly slippery, not sure I'd like to try this after a rain.  The Parthenon was my favorite building.

Parthenon and Me

There were great views of all of Athens from the site.  Then we had to walk down, ugh.  On the way down you come to Areopagus (Mars) Hill, where ancients gave speeches.  Then on to the Acropolis Museum, where all the good stuff is kept (statues on Acropolis are replicas, real ones are in museums to protect against further damage).  The museum was a nice break, air conditioned, real bathrooms and interesting. The museum is on an archaeological site itself, there are plexiglass floors everywhere letting you look into the excavation below.  You cannot take pictures in most of the museum.  My favorite exhibit was the Caryatids, maiden sculptures from the Erechtheion.  

The Porch of the Caryatids, Erechtheion

Pastitsio

A completely random internet search led us to a good little restaurant nearby.  I was tired of gyros and kabobs, so I decided to try a Greek dish - Pastitsio - which was really good, but not the best choice on a hot day with more walking to do....still good.

Then we walked to Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus.  It was a really pretty site and it wasn't very crowded - strange since it is free with your Acropolis ticket. I loved the one collapsed column they left on the ground, showing how many marble blocks made up each column.  We saw the Zappeion Building and wandered through the National Gardens (not very nice).  The gardens ended at the Parliament Building.  We happened to catch the changing of the guard at the Greek tomb of the unknown soldier, the outfits and ballet-like high steps involved have to be seen (and pitied, a lot).  I am up to 545 pictures taken so far on this trip.

Temple of Olympian Zeus