We lost the Felters!
Friday, September 16th: Athens, Greece
It was time to be tourists! The daylight hours are getting shorter here with the sun rising around 7 AM and setting 12 hours later at 7 PM. As we walked to the Amalia Hotel to catch our tour bus, we walked back through the park to the Philopappos monument with the sun cresting above the mountains.
We arrived at the hotel, boarded the bus around the corner from Hadrian’s Arch and then made our way to the Acropolis. Our tour guide was a little bossy, but had a tough job herding 40 tourists around the busiest landmark in Athens while flipping back and forth from English to French.
We learned a lot about the Acropolis (the rock), the Parthenon (the temple), the other ruins (the Odeon theater, etc.) and the related Greek mythology. The Parthenon has been undergoing restoration for over 40 years and there were people actively working on the marble, which came from Mount Pentelicus on the horizon of Athens, while we were visiting. The site was truly remarkable with panoramic views of the modern city below.
During the tour an older couple didn’t make it back to the acropolis meeting point in time, so for the rest of the tour, our guide shouted “Felter…is anybody Felter!?” Personally, I would’ve given up shouting long before she did.
After the Acropolis tour, we drove around the city to view the other ancient remains peppered throughout Athens. We made a quick stop at the Panathenaic Stadium, which hosted the first modern Olympic Games and is the end point of the Athens classic marathon. It also serves as the last venue in Greece for the Olympic flame before it is passed onto the host country. After this point, Michaela and Liz took a quick nap on the bus.
We arrived at the Acropolis museum and explored the archaeological finds and artifacts dug out from the Acropolis. Our tour guide showed us how the statues changed over time from idealism to realism. And we saw parts of the original Parthenon carvings of Greek gods that were later destroyed by the Christians. Some of the plasters were replicated from the pieces that the British currently have in their possession.
After the tour ended, we were starving. We walked around Plaka and ate at a fairly touristy spot. We shared a gyro plate, Greek salad and tzatziki.
We took the long route back to the AirB&B to pass through the market.
We were all exhausted and hung out at the AirB&B for the next several hours. Then we made a Greek salad and picked up chicken gyro pitas from our local square.
Accommodations: AirB&B, Filopappou, Athens
