Tag: The Propylaea

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.

The Acropolis in Athens. Acropolis means any fortified citadel built on an elevated area of an ancient Greek city.

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

The propylaea (grand gateway).
The Temple of Athena Nike.
Approaching the parthenon.

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.

The Erechtheion, is a smaller temple/shrine to Athena Polias, Poseidon, and the mythical king Erechtheus. The six female statues support the roof. The originals are now in the Acropolis Museum in Athens.
The Parthenon.
The first modern Olympic stadium in Athens, 1896.
The Arch of Hadrian. Hadrian, a roman emperor, was an admirer of Greek culture, with a lot of influence and recognition.

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.

The narrow Corinth Canal –  cutting through the isthmus to create a shortcut for ships at the time.

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.

These lions (missing their heads) carved in this stone gateway is called Lion Gate at Mycenae.

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.

Savouras Fish Tavern in Nafplio.

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. 

Sweet kitties everywhere.

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).

“The most famous, centrally located old church in Athens is Panagia Kapnikarea. Built around 1050 AD, it sits right in the middle of Ermou Street (the city’s premier shopping thoroughfare).”Google
The fish market is part of Athen’s Varvakios Agora. An agora is an open public space used for public gatherings and commerce.  
An octopus for sale at the fish market.
I loved seeing all the different olives in this stand.
We stopped at Mokka Special Coffee shop near the market square for a specialty Greek coffee.

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

Streets lined with stores and small cafes.

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

Hadrian’s Library.

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.

This fun graffiti ( among a lot of not so fun graffit). Notice the cat house in the left corner. People put out food and water to feed the stray cats everywhere.
“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
A lot of colorful bougainvillea plants thriving and growing tall.