In 2012, when we did our trip through 20 countries in Europe, Athens was very much in the plans. Unfortunately, things were not the best at the time in Greece and we decided to skip it. So today, 6 years later we were ready to discover Athens.
We only had one day so we went back to our favorite way to see a city in a short amount of time, which is the Hop-on Hop-off bus.
We found a city bustling with energy and activity and could not see many remnants of the crisis that the country went (and some Greeks still say it is going) through.
The highlight is magnificent Acropolis, perched high on a hill and visible from many parts of the city. It is majestic and the views of the city from there are breathtaking, specially at the end of the day when the sun is setting. The actual site closes at 8pm and the sun goes down st 8:50pm, and as we were very lucky to have the sun out, we witnessed absolute magic around the Parthenon. We were able to appreciate different Acropolis moods as the sun shifted in and out of cloud cover.
We also loved the Stadium area where we walked the National Gardens and saw the Panethenaic Stadium which was built in the 19th Century on the site of ancient Athens and hosted the first modern games. It is made of granite and it is grandeur.
One of our favorite things to do in a city is just walk around, see the people hustle and bustle, watch the colors and smell the smells and it is hard to beat the Monastiraki area. I just could not stop taking pictures. The colors are vibrant and the street art is raging. We ate lunch in a local restaurant and just people watched and talked. We then walked many streets and saw the flea market. Highly stimulating.
Zeus is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, who rules as king of the gods of Mount Olympus so it is fitting that there is a Zeus temple in Athens. It housed the statue of Zeus, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Known as the Olympieion, construction began in the 6th century BCE and it included 104 columns. Today only 16 columns remain (one is lying on the ground) and it does not take much imagination to realize this was a monster of a building.
Nearby is the Arch of Hadrian which was erected in 132 AD as a gate between the ancient city and the Roman city of Athens.
We saw the Agora Market that spreads many streets from the safety of our bus.
We walked through Plaka, the oldest neighborhood in Athens, and saw hundreds of shops from kitschy tourist to the workshops of some really great artisans. There are ancient Greek and Roman ruins scattered around as well as some beautiful 19th century and older buildings and several Byzantine churches.
We enjoyed the sunset on a massive rock in the Acropolis and finished the day with dinner in God´s Restaurant at the pedestrian street of Makrigianni, at the foothills of Acropolis.
We will be sad when we leave Athens tomorrow and will be reminded that
“In Greek you don't really say "I miss you". You say "ÎŧÎŋĪ ÎģÎĩίĪÎĩΚĪ" (mou leipeis) which is closer to "you are missing from me”” !
Make Life a Ride !
Facebook post with some photos of the day
Click HERE to see all the photos and videos of DAY 8 !
Click HERE to see all the photos and videos of the Acropolis on Day 8 !
We only had one day so we went back to our favorite way to see a city in a short amount of time, which is the Hop-on Hop-off bus.
We found a city bustling with energy and activity and could not see many remnants of the crisis that the country went (and some Greeks still say it is going) through.
The highlight is magnificent Acropolis, perched high on a hill and visible from many parts of the city. It is majestic and the views of the city from there are breathtaking, specially at the end of the day when the sun is setting. The actual site closes at 8pm and the sun goes down st 8:50pm, and as we were very lucky to have the sun out, we witnessed absolute magic around the Parthenon. We were able to appreciate different Acropolis moods as the sun shifted in and out of cloud cover.
We also loved the Stadium area where we walked the National Gardens and saw the Panethenaic Stadium which was built in the 19th Century on the site of ancient Athens and hosted the first modern games. It is made of granite and it is grandeur.
One of our favorite things to do in a city is just walk around, see the people hustle and bustle, watch the colors and smell the smells and it is hard to beat the Monastiraki area. I just could not stop taking pictures. The colors are vibrant and the street art is raging. We ate lunch in a local restaurant and just people watched and talked. We then walked many streets and saw the flea market. Highly stimulating.
Zeus is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, who rules as king of the gods of Mount Olympus so it is fitting that there is a Zeus temple in Athens. It housed the statue of Zeus, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Known as the Olympieion, construction began in the 6th century BCE and it included 104 columns. Today only 16 columns remain (one is lying on the ground) and it does not take much imagination to realize this was a monster of a building.
Nearby is the Arch of Hadrian which was erected in 132 AD as a gate between the ancient city and the Roman city of Athens.
We saw the Agora Market that spreads many streets from the safety of our bus.
We walked through Plaka, the oldest neighborhood in Athens, and saw hundreds of shops from kitschy tourist to the workshops of some really great artisans. There are ancient Greek and Roman ruins scattered around as well as some beautiful 19th century and older buildings and several Byzantine churches.
We enjoyed the sunset on a massive rock in the Acropolis and finished the day with dinner in God´s Restaurant at the pedestrian street of Makrigianni, at the foothills of Acropolis.
We will be sad when we leave Athens tomorrow and will be reminded that
“In Greek you don't really say "I miss you". You say "ÎŧÎŋĪ ÎģÎĩίĪÎĩΚĪ" (mou leipeis) which is closer to "you are missing from me”” !
Make Life a Ride !
Facebook post with some photos of the day
Click HERE to see all the photos and videos of DAY 8 !
Click HERE to see all the photos and videos of the Acropolis on Day 8 !
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