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Changing of the Guard
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One of this summer's main events was spending two weeks in Greece. Making my grade-school Greek mythology geek's dreams come true! First stop was a few days in the capital, Athens. The red eye flight from Porto was useful in that we could take advantage of a full day. Not to mention the gorgeous blood-red sunrise as seen from the sky.
After getting our bearings, the first step was to caffeinate. I'm not a coffee drinker, but when in Rome Greece, you gotta try the Greek coffee at least. We stopped in a shady plaza near a church. Despite it not even being 10 o'clock, the heat was already setting in. It was going to be a sweltering two weeks. My first experience with Greek coffee was grainy and bitter; certainly not enticing enough for a second experience. And this is where someone else's addiction to Frappes began. But with the heat, it was a no-brainer. Frappes seemed a more vacation-y beverage than just coffee over ice.
On Day 1 our big plan was to visit the Acropolis Museum. I really had high expectations, since from the little research I did, people raved about the museum, especially the upper floor, meant to resemble the Parthenon. The thing about high expectations, though...For me, it was disappointing. There was no audio guide to help you get into the experience. The displays to me seemed chaotic, although I'm sure there was a method to the madness that I just didn't understand. And as far as the top floor Parthenon, it was cool that they had so many copies of the detailed imagery, but since I was expecting to be blown away, I simply wasn't.
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Erechtheion (Temple to Athena), Acropolis
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The Parthenon, Acropolis
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Similarly, our morning at the Acropolis wasn't the best either. Although we had tickets, we still had to wait in line for ages just to get in. The heat was hard to bear. In fact, around the time we went, they ended
up closing the Acropolis and other major sites during the hottest hours
of the day, because a tourist had passed out standing in line. Yikes! And
we went at 8:30 in the morning, but still it was toasty. And packed. I
would recommend going in the evening when I bet it is less crowded
albeit potentially no cooler. Also, they had said that a fountain would be available once inside: a necessity under that pounding sun. But there was no fountain. At least there was a vending machine with cold water, which in Europe is limited to affordable prices (50 cents).
But I don't mean to be such a downer. It was really cool seeing those ancient stones, imagining going thousands of years ago to ask a favor of the gods, and being absolutely awed. So much history! Once again, the lack of map and audio guide was a bummer. However, you can count on Rick Steves to guide you and put you in the historical mood! In fact, one of my favorite historical sites in Athens was the Agora, and it's probably thanks to Rick Steves' audio guide (as well as a break from the heat--we went around 7pm). It was expansive, including a myriad of ruins and buildings, with a museum in the reconstructed Stoa.
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Stoa in the Ancient Agora
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Another one of my favorite Athens moments was a special treat: cocktails on a rooftop bar. There are tons of options when it comes to rooftop bars and restaurants, more so than in any other place I've visited, assumedly for the Acropolis views. We went a little too early for sunset, but enjoyed our fancy selves just the same. Afterwards we had a good dinner for the same price as those two cocktails, but hey, once-in-a-lifetime trips deserve a splurge or two!
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Booze with a View
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