Athens, Greece

Hotel Hermes is a very comfortable hotel at a reasonable price. The room are bright, with nice comforters. The only problem is the bathroom. They have a hand-held shower head that can be attached to the wall. The problem is that when you turn on the water, the shower head may come off the wall and hit you on the head, spilling water everywhere if you are not careful.

The hotel is very conveniently located. It is 3 blocks away from airport bus terminal and two streets away from Syntagma metro station. The Placa and the Acropolis is within walking distance from the hotel. One untold feature is that you may go up to the roof. Here, you may have an excellent view of the Acropolis, which is a sight to see at night.

See www.hermeshotel.gr.

The Parthenon was built around 438 BC and dedicated to Athena Parthenos. This was the patron goddess of Athens. The temple is made of marble and built in the Doric style (i.e. the tops of the columns have the simplest design). There are pictures of giants, amazons, and the Trojan War on it. On all four sides of the building are figures of gods, beasts, and humans from the religious festival of ancient Athens called the Procession of the Panathenaea. The east side of the temple shows the birth of Athena, while the west side shows a fight between Athena and Poseidon. There are other important structures near the Parthenon. The Erechthenon was built around 420 BC. It was dedicated to the worship of the gods Athena and Poseidon. It was built in the Ionic order (i.e. the tops of the columns have curlicues called volutes).

The temple of Athena Nike was built around 420 BC in the Ionic order. You can see four columns and scenes of conference of gods on one side and scenes of battles on the other sides.

The Gateway of the Acropolis was called the Propylaea and was made around 437 BC. It has a row of Doric columns and two rows of Ionic columns in the center. We all found the structures and views from the Acropolis impressive.

Costa, from our tour group, went behind one of the roped-off sections near the Parthenon to take a picture. There were people in plain clothes who were shouting at tourists who got to close to the structures. We warned Costa that if he got shouted at or was thrown out, we didn’t know him. His picture did turn out nicely, though, and surprisingly he did not get into trouble. The museum near the Partheon is worth a visit. On our way down in the middle of the rubble we saw a small turtle, which was pretty cool. We had no idea where it came from, as there was no water around.

Hadrian’s Arch was built in 132 AD. The arch has some interesting engravings on it. On one side it says,”This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus.” On the other side it says, “This is the city of Hadran and not of Theseus.” This means that if you stood on one side of the arch you were in ancient Athens, and if you stood on the other side you were in the modern Roman city of Athens.

We walked farther to get to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, where we saw the ruins. The temple was built by Emperor Hadrian around 132 AD. It is considered one of the largest temples in antiquity. Today, only 15 of the 104 marble columns remain. In 1852, one of the columns broke down, and the parts still stand where they fell.

When writing about what happened next, all I could think about was the quote, ”For half the population, all you have to do is bat your eyelashes or cry.” You will see why in a moment. After saying goodbye to Luke from our tour, we headed to the stadium built for the 2004 by train.

When we got there, there were only a few people there. Allie and Kelly commented on how the complex was not as impressive as the one in Sydney, nor was it well maintained. It looked like it was unfinished or left abandoned in its own. It did not look as good as the complex I saw in Barcelona either. We snapped a few shots but found out that the Olympic complex was closed. An older couple asked us if we had found a way in, and we had said no. We walked a bit and saw a truck with a couple of maintenance workers come by. Kelly and Allie asked them if there was a way to get inside. They said sure and pulled us on the back of the truck and gave us some bags of chips from the boxes they were hauling. We had no idea where we were headed, but we ended up on the other side of the gate. I guess the boss saw we were on the back of the truck and he screamed at the workers for letting us on. We got off and kept walking and took some pictures of the Olympic stadium.

On our way out we saw the older couple who we earlier told there was no way to get into the main complex. They were headed out, disappointed that they had come all that way and could not get a chance to see the main complex. Say what you will, but being cute does help, especially for Kate and Allie.

On the train we discussed how we would get back to the airport. We decided to take the train. The train to the airport requires a separate ticket. Kelly and Allie had made up their minds not to buy the ticket. They said if they got caught they would cry and pretend that they did not know what is going on. That would probably work for them. I, on the other hand, purchased a ticket. I don’t think that defense would work as well for a guy, and I didn’t want to see the inside of a Greek prison for a train ticket. I said goodbye to Kate and Allie, as their flight was about 2 hours later then mine and they wanted to got to the Acropolis again.

The easiest, cheapest way to see the main sights of Athens is to take the public tourist bus no. 400. The cost is 5 Euros, and it runs from 7am to 9pm. A round-trip takes 90 minutes, and you may hop on and off at the stops you like. The tickets is valid for 24 hours and can also be used for other public buses and metros, except the buses to the airport and the suburban lines.

Our first stop was Panathinaikon Stadium. The stadium was rebuilt in 144 AD upon an older 4th century BC stadium by Herod Atticus. The stadium was used in the 2004 Olympics for end of the marathon race. Next, we stopped at the National Gardens, which was created by the first king of Greece for his wife queen Amalia. Here, there are many trees to provide shade from the heat. As we walked we saw the Zappeion. This was a large building built in the 19th century that is now used as a conference hall. In front of it we saw a group of guard doing some sort of practice. There are many other stops the bus goes to, such as the Pantheon, Hadrian’s Arch, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and the national museum.

The Plaka is the oldest section of Athens. There are many tourist shops filled with mostly the same souvenirs in each shop. There are some great restaurants in the Plaka. You have to sit at an outside table for the experience and people-watching. This is similar to the cafes in Paris, where the more important people sit at the outdoor tables. While we were here, we walked into some shops, then picked a restaurant to eat.

We had wanted an outdoor table, but everything was full. Instead we went to a restaurant with an indoor garden. Inside they had some Greek dancing and music. They had some pretty good food. I tried and liked the mussaka and had to have a drink of Ouzo before I left Greece. Mussaka is an eggplant dish. Ouzo is traditional Greek liquor which comes out of the bottle clear. You have to mix it with some water to properly drink it. When it is mixed, it turns cloudy. It tastes like a shot of Black Sambuca or liquorish and is a pretty strong drink.

Everyone enjoyed their meals and drinks. The Plaka has some good views the Parthenon and other monuments, which we were treated to as we walked back to the hotel at night.