CELEBRATING IN ATHENS!

August 4 - 5

 Our Cedar Rapids' flight was delayed due to crew issues and then mechanical issues.  But no worries, because when we got to Chicago the flight to Frankfurt was delayed so we made it.  Our 8 hour flight from Chicago to Frankfurt in business class was a good one.  When we arrived in Frankfurt we had time to spare to board our flight to Athens.

We landed in Athens about 1:10 pm (5:10 am CT) and were picked up by a driver to take us to our hotel - Academia, a Marriott Autograph collection hotel.  We both had naps!  We ate at NYX, our hotel's rooftop bar/restaurant which gave us our first view of the Partheon up the Acropolis!

The comforts of business class

Our hotel, Academia

Fruit and champagne greeted us in our room.

Dinner on the rooftop

Our first view of the Partheon on the Acropolis

The end of a very long travel day.

Saturday, August 6

We slept beyond the 8:30 alarm that we had set, but managed to get up in time for our breakfast at the hotel.  We headed out without much of a plan.  On the way to the Parliament to watch the changing of the guards we decided to join the Hop-on Hop-off bus to take in the sites of Athens.

Stop 1 for us - Acropolis

Acropolis Rock is the highest part of the city.  As we walked up the hill on a very HOT afternoon we saw the Theater of Dionysos.  It held classical Greece drams and comedies by great playwrights.  It seated 15,000.  At the top we walked through the Propylain, the grand entrance to the summit temples and Partheon.  We saw the Temple of Athena Nike.  There has been a temple to the goddess of victory at this location since prehistoric times.  The highlight on the Acropolis is the Partheon - temple to the virgin goddess Athena.   Next to it was the Erechtheion.  It's design combines temples to two gods, Athena and Poseidon.  The myth was that they battled for patronage of Athens on this spot.  Athena won.  

Theater of Dionysos

Temple of Athena Nike

The Parththenon

the Erechtheion - two temples in one

temple for Athena and Poseidon.

Back on the bus after a sandwich and frozen lemonade at the Acropolis. 

Stop 2:  Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian's Arch

The Temple of Olympian Zeus to the ruler of the pantheon was the largest on the mainland Greece stated in 515 BC, but didn't finish until AD131 with Hadrian the Roman Emperor.  To thank Hadrian the Athenians built a two story arch next to the temple, Hadrian's Arch.  

View of the Acropolis and Hadrian's Arch

Some columns from the Temple of Zeus

Hadrian's Arch

Waiting for the bus.
HOT and TIRED!

Back on the bus and we missed the stop to the ancient Olympian Stadium.  Oh,well. 

We had supper back at the hotel in the bar.  We are TIRED!  

Sunday, August 7 - Board the Cruise

We slept in at the hotel and had a late breakfast.  We had a transfer lined up at 12:15 to take us to the cruise port to board the Norwegian Cruise Line's ship - Jade.

Sunday, August 14

The cruise ended and we left the Jade about 9:00. Our transfer took us back to the Academia Hotel in Athens.  The room was not ready so we went to the Parliament to watch the big Sunday 11:00 Changing of the Guards complete with band and other marching guards.  Then we walked through the National Gardens and had an afternoon nap.  

Dinner at Athena Cooks - Greek salad, sea bass and steak.  We Walked back through a square near the Parliament.

Monday, August 15

We had a scheduled walking tour in Athens including the Acropolis, Plaka and the Agora.  

Acropolis

Walking through the Place (Main Street) and the Agora (meeting place, forum) which has a best preserved temple.

We had lunch at an outdoor restaurant near the Agora and went back to the hotel for afternoon naps.  

Dinner at the Greco Project of chicken souvlaki with pita and greek salad.  We watched the changing of the guards at the Parliament on our walk back to the hotel and ended the evening with drinks at our hotel's rooftop to see the Acropolis.  

We LOVED our time in Athens!