So after two very busy days of doing a lot of sight seeing in Athens and the surrounding area we needed a small break. So on Friday we slept late; enjoyed a slow and relaxing breakfast and then mom and I headed out into town while ward took advantage of the hotel gym. It just so happened that on this day it was the Greek national Holiday (like our July 4th) so everyone was off from work, many stores were closed in the morning, there was minimal traffic, there was a parade, everyone was caring Greek flags, everyone was in a much more relaxed and happy mood and lots of children were dressed in traditional Greek attire. So mom and I had a leisurely walk through the city, saw some more of the sites around the town, explored the national garden, viewed some of the parade and saw a great air show. In the afternoon we met back up with Ward and went to the National Archeological Museum. It closed at three but we still had a couple of hours to view some of the exhibits. It was interesting to see it after we had spent the day with Tony because a lot of the artifacts were from places we visited with him and he had already given us a lot of information about them. Again, the history of this area was fascinating.
On Saturday we had planned to go out to another island but because of the holiday weekend we couldn’t get tickets out of the city on one of the boats. So instead we rented a car and went to the town of Delphi. I was about a two hour drive out of the city which started out kind of ugly, taking us through quite an industrial area, but then as we climbed higher into the mountains it just got prettier and prettier. On our way there we passed through a little ski town. It was adorable and so cool that you could be in your t-shirt in the town where it was like 60 degrees and then just a short distance away you could be in the snow skiing.
When we got to Delphi we spent some time in the museum but it was such a beautiful day that we just wanted to be outside so we took our guide books and headed out to explore the ancient ruins of the temple of Poseidon and the temple of Athena and the gymnasium and stadium near those two. These were definitely the best ruins that I saw. Everything was so intact and you could really envision people living there. The temple of Poseidon was massive and right behind it was a huge theatre. Then if you walked further up the hill you came to the stadium where they had there games. I’m assuming it was like track and field. At the gymnasium, this is where the people exercised and trained, there were the ruins of a covered track and a swimming pool.
After visiting these sites we took the switch back road down the very steep mountain down to the new town of Delphi which was on the water. It was really cool to see how the ancient Greeks stuck their temples in the side of really high mountains to resist attacks but were still really close to the water. The landscape in this area was breathtaking.
We ate ice cream (mom got baklava) along the water while the sun was setting and then started our long ride home. We made great time getting back to the city but then it took us almost a half an hour just to find our hotel in the city. Driving in Athens is a nightmare and I would never wish it upon anybody. We survived though and got back to the hotel in time to go to the lounge for wine and snacks.
So that was our last full day in Athens and I have finally informed you about my full week there. I didn’t leave until late on Sunday night so I just hung out at the hotel and did some shopping on Sunday and then got the airport early.
Sorry this took me so long to get out to all of you but I hope you enjoy the pictures, they are the best part and I highly recommend going to Athens on vacation; just plan on eating late, having stray dogs beg at your table and missing a few ferries and you’ll have a great time.
Love to everyone.
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