After an initially negative impression yesterday, we are starting to really like Athens - you have just got to turn a blind eye to the mass of graffiti over nearly all the buildings around the city.
Athens could be summed up by the tour bus driver this morning - "This is stop 3, the Acropolis Museum. It is a beautiful museum and we recommend you see this museum. It is closed today"
After an absolutely beautiful breakfast at the hotel, we set off on the red bus firstly to the Acropolis and Parthenon. This is one of those "pinch me" moments in travelling when you can hardly believe you are seeing something so iconic in the flesh. It cannot be described adequately in its size and the massive stonework - along with the temple of Athena Nike and the treatre of Dionysis on the Acropolis site. Sorry Bronwyn (and Mrs Higgins), Greece is essential to understanding ancient history and the history of our whole cultural and political development.
Simply awe-inspiring. We spent the whole morning there, then went to a great cafe near Hadrian's Arch (Hadrian seems to be popping up everywhere!!) where we had a georgeous Greek Salad and more of that iced Cappacino (boy, have we got some ideas for Vince at Toast when we get back!)
It was getting warm (still not so much a shower of rain on the whole trip) so we headed for the National Archeoligical Museum of Greece where the most incredible collection of pre-history and classical Greek artifacts and statues are housed - some dating back to 14th and 15th centuries B.C. As a history buff, I found this absolutely mind-blowing in both scale and presentation - almost too many statues and reliefs to take in properly.
Back to the hotel for a break before heading out for the night-life of Athens!!!
Trivia: The Parthenon was built between 447 and 432 B.C. and has eight columns on the ends and 17 on the sides, each slightly convex so they appear exactly straight when viewed for a distance ................ and we think we're clever!!!!
Pictures: * a gold foil death mask form 5th century B.C - in the Archeoligical Museum
* An antique ruin at the Parthenon!
* earthenware vase (6th century B.C) .. and another ruin
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