The day began at 3am in the morning, which is not how I usually like to start my day. Chantal and I were clearly seeing the effects of jetlag. This was the start of my birthday but we weren’t technically able to do anything at this hour. We decided to read through the first few pages of our guest book from the wedding, we might share some of the very heartfelt and funny comments. After reading some of the guest book I decided to connect to the wifi network and check emails and messages.
We decided to go back to sleep and try to wake up when the sun was rising. We slept until around 6:30am to get ready for breakfast downstairs (it was included in the hotel price). Suffice to say the buffet breakfast was outstanding. There was a large selection of foods available, a bread stand, and coffee stand.
After consuming our weight in food, we made our way back up to the room to prepare for our day. We had already planned this day weeks in advance. Today was ‘go see all the old stuff day’ or as Chantal nicely put it ‘there’s nothing like spending a birthday seeing things that are much, much older than you are’.
We exited the hotel and immediately realised that the morning weather was not what we were used to in Australia. It was quite a brisk morning. We checked and it was 16 degrees. Now at attempt number two of leaving the building (now with jeans and a jacket) we made our way towards the Panathaic Stadium, around 3km’s from our hotel.
Along our way we admired the scenery, as people bustled their way to work or otherwise. After a few stops looking at the things around us, we eventually made it to the Panathaic Stadium. We took a couple of photos and acknowledged the fact that this was the site of the first modern Olympic games and then immediately left. It wasn’t that we didn’t appreciate the design or importance of this site, but it was what we expected a sandstone stadium to look like (we’re so cultured right?).
On our way we passed the Parliament House and beside it, the National Gardens. The National Gardens aren’t a botanical gardens, there is less importance placed on the types of plants grown but rather a focus on the structure of the gardens which incorporates Greek culture. In fact, the gardens are very beautiful and we had a lovely stroll through the arches and down the pathways.
But more importantly, we found our first cat!
It appeared just as we entered the gardens and we were both so happy to finally see a cat (having missed our cats at home whom we haven’t seen for over two days…we are so pathetic). The cat was so friendly and just wanted to hang out with us. Suffice to say I was quite content in just spending the day with the cat instead of the plans we’d already made.
We continued our trek towards the Temple of Olympian Zeus, passing a few more cats along the way. The pictures of the temple do not do it justice. We were astonished at the size of the pillars and we took a picture of Chantal for size just to demonstrate the scale of the pillars that make up the temple. From here we were able to make our way to the Arch of Hadrian. For those who don’t know the Arch of Hadrian marks the end of ‘old Athens’ and the beginning of ‘new Athens’. We weren’t sure which side was old and which new…
We continued our journey towards the Acropolis but not before stopping for a (much needed) coffee. We spied ‘Greek coffee’ on the menu and gave it a go. It was explained to us that this is much like Turkish coffee where there is a layer of ‘sludge’ down the bottom which we shouldn’t drink (the sludge is just unfiltered coffee). I was a bit worried I wouldn’t like it but we wanted to try it out. Surprisingly it actually tasted really nice, a little like a coffee flavoured tea.
Back to our journey, we finally made it to the Acropolis. There is a lot to see in this area, from the Theatre of Dionysus to the Parthenon at the top. Everything was awe-inspiring, seeing the history and reading the efforts of its conservation. We were impressed to see that the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (a theatre structure much like the Theatre of Dionysus) is actively used for musical events.
It’s a fairly long walk up to the Parthenon but it’s well worth it. We passed many other historic and important objects and landmarks but none so astounding as the Parthenon.
We first entered via the Propylaea, the ground was extremely slippery as the whole site is marble. Through the pillars we could see the colossal Parthenon and beside it the Erectheum. Between the two is the ruins of the old Temple of Athena.
The view left Chantal and I breathless – plus it was pretty windy.
The view of the city from atop of the Acropolis was incredible. I took so many photos trying to show the 360 degree view that was the astounding visage of Athens.
We made our descent, seeing a number of dogs on our way. It appears city dogs are in as high a number, if not more than the city cats. We then walked towards the Library of Hadrian before discovering the Taverna Acropolis where we had a tasty Greek meal of lamb and souvlaki with Greek tzatziki in the company of 6 cats. We are not even kidding you – it was like a fantasy dream.
Having our bellies full and with our noses running from whatever bug we must have caught on the plane, we headed back to the hotel. We did so via the Flea Market and we can confirm rows of brightly coloured penis bottle openers just like we saw in Bali. We even passed a demonstration (and promptly avoided it after spotting a Police bus – a literal bus with “Police” written on the side of it).
We got to our room and promptly crashed again, forgoing dinner for a nap. We woke up at midnight…
Chris and Chantal 