The Acropolis.
Well know one we can say we haven’t seen our share of ruins, but when in Athens the main attraction is the Acropolis. The boys like to say that they are ‘ruined’, but there is know way they are missing this site.
The Parthenon maybe considered the perfect and most magnificent ruin in the world, although a whole museum was carried away to England by Lord Elgin . The Parthenon was completed in 438 B.C. but they cannot tell when construction began.
Arriving at the entrance gate we pay our fee (Brendan is FREE yahoo!) and start the walk up.
Easy walk up and the views are spectacular. We are able to see the Temple of Zeus and the original Olympic Stadium which we plan on visiting later on.
Upon reaching the top we see the enormous structure of the Parthenon. Its larger than I imagined and its under mega renovations which is a shame for picture-taking but understandably it’s needed.
One thing we noticed is that we cannot just walk where we want to as the restrict your movements. We here whistles blowing from security guards as they tell people to either get off a rock or stand back from a monument. At other historical sites I other countries we have not seen the restrictions they have in place here. Walking around we take a few pics and video before we walk back down to scout out a lunch place.
After a quick meal we walk over to the Temple of Zeus followed by a brief visit to the original Olympic Stadium. Both sites are fantastic with the stadium being restored which was a highlight of the 2004 Olympics. Kevin is a history junkie and he loves the old stadium. Another check off destination on hs bucket list.
The Zeus Temple still is in its original condition with very little restorations and must have been an impressive site when it was in its full glory.
As we walk back home we see a street performer who juggles in front of stopped traffic and we have not seen this before. He’s very good and a few drivers toss him some money and it sure beats someone washing your windows when your stopped at a red light.
Continue to walk around the city and decide on a little place for dinner in the main tourist area of Plaka. Dinner of course consist of fresh seafood and then we walk over to see the Acropolis lit up at night.
Tomorrow we discuss taking the metro again to the ocean port to checkout the sites
Acroplolis at night
