Athens, Greece

Athens was the focus of our first five days in Greece. We met up with our friends at the hotel we were all staying at on the afternoon of our arrival. We hung out and toured Athens charming streets and many ruins, including, of course, the famous Acropolis.

It’s hard to comprehend how old some of the ruins are…going back centuries…

We visited the Acropolis museum (very well done) on a guided tour, before we climbed up to see the Parthenon and The Temple of Athena Nike, The propylaea (grand gateway) and The Erechtheion, another temple.

One day we went on a tour that took us away from the city and through the countryside. Our destination was a lovely seaside town, Nafplio.

We stopped at the Corinth Canal to view this “shortcut” dugout from the Ionian Sea to Aegean Sea. It was dug in the late 1800’s. It’s an impressive sight but no longer serves the bigger ships of today.

We also stopped at the Mycenae acropolis and walked under the stone gateway called the Lion Gate leading up to the acropolis in Mycenae. It is supposed to be the oldest know monument sculpture in Europe, carved in 1250 BCE.

It is here in Nafplio where we ate our best lunch. We ordered a traditional Greek fare: moussaka (made with eggplant and tuna). It was delicious. We ate in an outside cafe, along the harbor overlooking giant yachts. 

Back in Athens we saw small, charming outdoor cafes, markets, many ruins, lots of churches, cypress trees, graffiti, cats (yes, stray cats all over the place and people feed them).

There is so much ancient history in this area…it was interesting to hear and learn, but hard to comprehend and remember it all. 

Greece is a beautiful country…friendly folks too… with so much to offer. As usual we saw only a small portion of it.  

We definitely would go back if the opportunity presented itself, but then we say that about most places we visit. There are so many beautiful places in this big, wonderful world. We are grateful we can travel to see a few of them.

“It’s a funny thing coming home. 
Nothing changes. 
Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. 
You realize what’s changed is you.” 
Eric Roth