Day 30: Athens, Greece
Segway Tour
Our ship tour wasn’t scheduled until 1:00 pm, even though we arrived at 8:00 am, so we scheduled a private tour for the morning. Lauren and Bob were able to join us again. This time we decided to do something a little different: a Segway tour of Athens.
A cab picked us up at the port at 9:15 am and drove us to the base of operations where we got in a little practice on the machines before heading out. Lynda and I had done a Segway tour in Philadelphia the previous summer, so this was a refresher course for us. We were lucky in that it was just going to be the four of us with our guide, Rania. Small groups are great.
We cruised around the base of the Acropolis, and Rania took us to a place near a conservatory that had a great view. We got some good pictures there, then she showed us some more ruins that I knew we wouldn’t see in our afternoon tour. This was a great supplement to the Acropolis tour that we would be taking later. Plus, it was just plain fun. The great thing about the Segways is that you can really cover a lot of ground, much more than just walking. They’re pretty easy to use too. I got good at taking pictures on the fly with one hand and one eye while trying to make sure I didn’t run anyone over at the same time.
Unfortunately, graffiti in Athens has been taken to a whole new level. Some of it is really artistic, but some of it is just plain old graffiti. It’s a shame that there is so much of it, but they seem to respect the ancient ruins as I didn’t notice any there.
We drove through some restaurant and shopping areas which was kind of crazy as there wasn’t always a lot of room for maneuvering. We went to Constitution Square, through the Flea Market, and near the Plaka shopping area.
The small groups of the private tours are so much better than the large ship tours. Sometimes the ship tours are more convenient, and they guarantee the ship won’t leave without you even if you’re late. But small tours are where it’s at.
Acropolis and Plaka Tour
We made it back to the ship just in time to catch our bus for our afternoon tour.
We had a little driving tour of Pireaus, which is the port city (suburb basically) of Athens. With no traffic, it’s a 20 minute drive to the heart of the ruins. Along the way we saw numerous stadiums used during the 2004 Olympic Games.
At the bottom of the Acropolis is the Theatre of Dionysus. Many concerts, plays, and ballets are still performed there. It would be an amazing venue. We could only see the Theatre from the walk up as it was closed to the public.
The path and stairs up to the top of the Acropolis is all made from marble. The walkway is very slippery from being worn smooth after centuries of use, so you have to be careful. The temples are also made from the same marble. When you look at them, you’ll see some white and some off-white stone. The white is new marble, patches of restoration.
Many of the structures on Acropolis are being restored, so there is a fair amount of scaffolding, which does take away from the experience some. But future generations will benefit from the work being done now. Built in the 5th century BC, it’s hard to wrap the mind around just how old these structures are. The fact that they’re standing at all is amazing.
The Parthenon is the largest temple and was built as a dedication to the goddess Athena, from whom the city of Athens gets its name. The Erechtheion is the building with the statues of women as pillars. I can’t remember the name of the entrance gate, and then there is the building dedicated to Nike, the God of Victory. I love it all.
The view from up there is fabulous. You can see a number of sites of ancient structures, and the more you look, the more you find. You also get a great view of the city of Athens.
After the Acropolis, we drove around some more. We had a quick photo stop at the Panathinaiko Stadium which was where the first modern Olympics were held and where they had the archery and the finish line for the marathons during the 2004 Olympics. It’s made entirely of marble and is quite impressive.
Other sites we saw from the bus but didn’t stop at was the new Acropolis Museum, the Science Academy with the statues of Plato and Socrates out in front, the Parliament Building with the soldiers out guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and Hadrian’s Arch and the Temple of Zeus.
Finally, we had some free time in the Plaka area, which is an area of shops and super cute restaurants with café seating. We quickly were able to get some ice cream and Lauren and I got a couple of gyros. Hey, when in Greece….
The bus then took us back to the port, arriving at 6:00 pm. It was then we discovered our mistake. Our all-aboard wasn’t until 9:30! We would have definitely stayed in Athens longer and just caught a cab back to the ship. We generally try to maximize our time in ports and experience as much as we can. If we’re in port, it’s not to sit on the ship. This turned out to be the exception. Lynda was tired from the double tours, another round trip into town would have taken too much time for the amount of time we would get for it, and there was the free Wi-Fi at the port. Lauren was looking forward to spending some time chatting with friends, and I wanted to get my Jerusalem post up. So that’s what we did. Took it easy knowing we had already had a great day in Athens.
A sea day tomorrow. I have three ports of photos to sort through and this blog to write to keep me busy. I don’t see it getting done in one day, but I’ll get a healthy start on it, anyway. I’ve been trying not to fall behind, but this last two weeks of the trip may be my undoing. After this sea day we have four days in a row in ports. I expect I’ll get a little backed up on my posts then. I’m still enjoying doing the blog, and I’ve been loving the feedback I’ve been getting from people, so I’ll keep putting them out there as soon as they’re done.
Next up: Malta
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