Cruising the Mediterranean - Part 4 Athens

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Our 2nd port of call was Athens, Greece.  This was our longest and most challenging stop.  Again, we used some recommendations on CruiseCritic.com and pre-booked a private tour with Ekol Travel Turkey & Greece.   We were joined by another wonderful couple that we had met on our Roll Call.

We booked everything online and Ekol was easy to work with.  Our tour guide was an energetic young Athenian who tried very hard to show us a great day.  The downside was that we were in a small taxi with 5 people and after an 8 hour day in intense heat it started to get pretty crowded. 

And when I say intense heat I mean 106F (41C).  I see these other bloggers posting lovely pictures of them visiting Greece.  They are stylishly dressed and their long, curly tresses are perfect.  I don't know how they do it.  I was a hot, sweaty mess!

Athens is a massive city and the various ruins and sites are scattered throughout.  Our tour was scheduled to be 8 hours. 

Our driver dropped us off of at our first stop, the Acropolis.  We got there pretty early but it was already getting crowded.  There aren't any audio-tours or signs to explain what you are seeing and we hadn't done any preliminary work or hired a tour guide, so I was a little concerned. 

At the ticket booth, we ran into a local guide who offered to take us up and explain the sites.  It was about 50 Euros each, we were in a group of about 7 and she did an okay job.  The Parthenon is the centerpiece.

  

  

I have to be honest.  I'm not sure if it was the intense heat, the large crowds or the construction cranes but I had a hard time connecting with the ruins.  It's one of the wonders of the world and I feel bad that I wasn't more moved.  

I think TE was a little more into it than I was.  I'm so sorry, readers.  I probably should have let him do the Athens post. But check out those views. 

Our next stop was the Temple of Olympic Zeus and Hadrian's Arch.  Along the way our guide pointed out various other important spots in Athens. 

Then we were off to the Panathinaikon Stadium where the first Olympic Games of the modern times were held in 1896.  I confess.  I stayed in the taxi while the others got out and looked around. 

Then to the Presidential Mansion to watch the changing of the guards.  The Greek Evzones are an elite historical infantry that guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Palace.  They take their job very seriously and it was fascinating to watch. 

 

Then we headed up to the highest point in the city to check out the views.  You can tell I was starting to have a sense-of-humor-loss because the numbers of pictures were dropping. 

Next, we were dropped of at a corner of the Plaka or market area for lunch.  We had a terrific Souvlaki and a gyro.  We tried to walk around and explore a bit, but did I mention it was hotter than the surface of the sun? 

By this time, I was in a sort of heat trance and just stumbling around mumbling something about "no more hot rocks."  Luckily, our next stop was the Acropolis Museum.  The only thing I noted was that it had air conditioning.  I found the nearest seat and parked it until my body temperature got a bit closer to normal.  It looked like it was very well done and TE could tell you more as he actually explored.  

The AC perked me up enough for a quick stop at a gift shop and a bakery for some Baklava. 

I think we squeezed as much as we could out of the day.  In spite of being a Texas girl, the heat definitely affected our experience immensely.

I don't think that Athens will be on the Return List.  It's a massive urban  area with everything that comes with it like graffiti and traffic.  There has been some recent unrest in the city and that was evident by the sight of a few riot police scattered about.   But there was never a time that we didn't feel safe (other than from heat stroke.)  However, we will definitely visit Greece again. 

I can tell you that ALL of the people that we met were amazing.  Most of them spoke fluent English and were very welcoming.  From our tour guide, to the restaurant staff, to the shopkeepers, even the soldier overseeing the guards at the Tomb, the Athenians were friendly and wonderful to interact with.  

Next stop... Turkey!

xoxo

Selena

Part 5
Part 6

This is not a sponsored post.  All photos are ours.