After a quick breakfast at the buffet, we grouped up and headed out on our tour. The bus took us from the port of Piraeus, through the city, to the ancient stadium. The sun was warming things up, but created a vibrant blue in the sky that we became used to in Greece the last time we visited. On our previous trip in 2011, we never made it to the stadium. So, it was cool to get up close this time. The stadium was completely restored to how it looked in ancient times so that it could be used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. It was really interesting to see an actual newly renovated stadium made out of marble. It will make it easier from this point forward to imagine the ruins we see in their former glory.
Oh, the tour bus farm. Giddy up!
We stopped by the Greek Parliament. It was just as we remembered: dogs everywhere resting, but no political protesters out front for entertainment this time. It was pretty quiet.
The view was very clear, as you can see, in every direction.
As the day went on, the crowds developed as expected. We toughed it out climbing all the way to the top of the Acropolis. It was apparent how much work has been completed since 2011. Wow!
A site like this will never cease to amaze me. Not only are the ruins physically imposing, but they pack a tremendous historical punch as well.
A cool panorama taken on Katherine's iPod. The Parthenon is amazing!
The Greek flag almost posed perfectly for this shot. Almost..
This little lookout area is where Andrew (K's bro), Katherine, and I had our first view of Athens. We didn't think we would come back this soon.
The caps of some Ionic pillars.
Our tour got us back to the ship before 1:00 pm, so we had some time to rest up before dinner. Everyone did well in the hot sun and we were ready to relax. After lunch at the buffet, Katherine and I headed to the theater to see the movie Malificent with Angelina Jolie. I was surprisingly impressed. This is not a movie I would normally be interested in, but it was actually really good. I might even watch it again at some point.
Katherine enjoying the sunset.
Tonight's dinner was a Greek menu with the servers dressing in traditional Greek style. Katherine started with spanakopita, and I had the fisherman's soup with snapper, mussels and vegetables. We both then had a classic Greek salad. For my main course I had the mixed grill with loukaniko Greek sausage, roasted lamb chop, lemon chicken and grilled beef tenderloin. Katherine had vegetable moussaka. While what came to the table was certainly not moussaka, but just a bowl of grilled vegetables, it was still really good. Of course, we all had baklava for dessert.
Our super cool stateroom door.
Tomorrow we are heading to Turkey. It will be another sunny day and the ancient Ephesus site better be ready for us.
Posted with Blogsy
No comments:
Post a Comment