Athens July 21, 2014

Athens, Day 2

The goal for the day was to be at the Acropolis entrance when it opened at 8 am. The days have been sweltering by 10 am so we wanted to have hiked up the hill and be finishing up by then. 

I had mentally prepared myself for a huge climb up to the actual site, after the entrance so I was happily surprised when I arrived ready to purchase my ticket and  I realized that the main climb up was already behind me. There are steep hills to be climbed getting to the entrance and I thought that was just the beginning when in actuality that was 85% of the climb. Yay!

We were pleasantly surprised at the lack of people with the same idea. It was more crowded than we would have preferred but as we left and the tour buses full of tourists arrived we realized what a great decision we had made. 

The Acropolis site was amazing. Unfortunately the Parthenon is 50% under scaffolding but still amazing to see. The Caryatid statues are now my favorite sculptures. It's so amazing to see favorite works of art in their real life location. I felt lucky to be there. The 360 degree view wasn't bad either!

We went to the Acropolis museum to get information about the evening hours and their restaurant with the nighttime view of the lit up Acropolis. We were informed that it was Monday and they close early on Mondays. Of course. We neglected to consider the fact that that bit of information might be necessary.

We shopped our way back to our loft where we had a short Mesimeri (Greek siesta) and then we spent some time packing up our backpacks which had exploded all over the loft.

I found a restaurant, with availability, that had a nighttime view of the Acropolis and booked a table. It turned out to be a great choice. The food was great, although we paid for the view. They even had GF bread for Carrie and I! We arrived in time for a dramatic, fiery red and orange sunset. Post sunset we enjoyed our dinner while waiting for the lights to come on. Photographing the sight was difficult for a multitude of reasons.... Not looking like a total tourist being the main reason! I took the opportunity to (mostly!!!) just soak up the moments, taking in the sights, smells and sounds occurring around me.

Thank goodness the late evening walk back home was all downhill. It had been a long day of climbing.