Trip Map
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Flag of Greece
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Greek EU license plate |
Thurs., 5/3/18
We flew without incident from Estes Park to Frankfurt on Lufthansa and then on to Athens, arriving Friday, May 4, a day earlier than the start of our tour.
Fri., 5/4/18
We were picked up at the airport by an OAT driver who took us to the Herodion Hotel in downtown Athens. The hotel is a block from the New Acropolis Museum and we see the Parthenon atop the Acropolis from the rooftop bar. The location is wonderful.
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Parthenon on the Acropolis at night |
Parthenon on the Acropolis at night
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Sat., 5/5/18 - Athens
Our tour guide, Alexandra, met us at 9:30 AM and took us on a walk around the Acropolis hill and into the street art area, the flea market area, and left us in the Plaka to roam on our own and wander back to our hotel.
We rested and then went out to find a really nice “family” restaurant, one “owned by my parents and served by my brother’s,” etc. We had a small (not) Greek salad, a 500 ml local beer, bottled water, and Souvlaki, one pork and one chicken on skewers with pita bread and tzatziki that was all delicious.
Sun., 5/6/18 - Athens
Our same driver, Costas, transported us to the tour group hotel, the Hera, at 11 AM. We met some of our fellow travelers, had another orientation tour, and had lunch at Sabba’s Restaurant and tried some more Greek food while sitting with a view of the Acropolis.
Mon., 5/7/18 - Athens
At 9 AM we met our local guide for the day, Katia. She was excellent. We walked up to the Acropolis and she had us stop several times, in the shade, to give us information about the history of the Acropolis. The entry at the top was a mass of humanity, with many school groups and tour groups, but she got us through fairly efficiently. Marge and I enjoy walking around and hearing the descriptions of the buildings and looking at what is still standing and imagining what it must have once been. It is an experience - one of our favorite places!
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Parthenon
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Looking down on the Odeon of Herodes Atticus |
Mars Hill, where St. Paul gave a speech to the Athenians
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Temple of Hephaestus
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Temple of the Erechtheion |
Caryatids at the Temple of the Erechtheion |
Back of one of the Caryatid originals (in the New Acropolis Museum) showing details of the hair
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Sacred Olive tree (replanted many times, of course) - part of the myth of Poseidon and Athena competing for the control of Athens. Poseidon threw his trident into the earth and saltwater bubbled out. Athena threw her spear and an olive tree grew from the spot. People could live on olives but not on a saltwater fountain so Athena won.
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Typical restoration supports |
The Parthenon - east facade |
The Parthenon - east facade
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The Parthenon |
The Parthenon - the columns are angled inward for perspective - they will appear straight from a distance
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The Parthenon - always being restored
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The Propylaia |
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Theater of Dionysos from above
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Seats in the theater |
We walked back down and entered the New Acropolis Museum. We had also been in this museum before but Katia provided new perspectives. One of the reasons for the construction of the museum was to try to influence England and the British Museum to give back the marble sculptures that Lord Elgin stole between 1801 and 1812. With some form of permission from the then ruling Ottoman pasha, Lord Elgin paid to take rubble from the ground but also got the workmen to dismantle the pediment and friezes and metopes on the Parthenon and other buildings and took them back to England. His ship sank going back to England and the marbles suffered further trauma. So when England declares that it saved these antiquities from weather and earthquake ruin in Athens, it is obvious that Elgin damaged them in other ways.
The third floor of the museum has glass walls and is built to parallel the Parthenon. Some original and many replicas, produced by the British Museum, are displayed as they would have been aligned on the Parthenon. Greece and England are still arguing about the possession of these marbles, also called the Parthenon marbles.
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New Acropolis Museum
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Top floor New Acropolis Museum lit by night
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Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus |
Church of Saint Marina on the Hill of the Nymphs
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Mural on the side of a building
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Seen in the distance from the Acropolis
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The day ended with a trip briefing at 6 PM after which we walked to a small restaurant in the Plaka for a dinner of 10 different starters. All were interesting and tasty.