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One thing that I’ve noticed about Greeks is that they love to smoke. They smoke on the streets, in crowds and in the cafes. Thank goodness the cafes are mostly open air. In addition, the air in Athens is not healthy. The streets are narrow and clogged with vehicles. The smoke and exhaust of the city combines with the humidity from the ocean to create a permanent haze that hangs over everything. While we have enjoyed the energy and diversity of the city, we will be happy to be out of here and away from the smog, noise and hustle and bustle of the big city.
Today is our Acropolis tour. It was a solid 20 minute walk to our meeting point. Our route took us through Monastiraki Square and up the hill towards the site. Our guide was named Orestes.
He turned out to be informative, funny and charming and said that he had been in grad school for seven years studying archaeology and history.
Thank God it was Monday. The Acropolis was packed and according to Oestes, it was practically empty. He said that on a busy day, you move about a foot every 15 minutes. Egads. We started in the museum. It is beautiful and modern and includes a copy of all of the ruins from the actual Acropolis. The history of the Acropolis, Athens and Greece is a kind of messy one and includes conquering and being conquered almost constantly since the beginning. At turns, there was a lot of purposeful damage done, statues torn down and changes to the Acropolis itself. Then in the early 1800’s a British diplomat to the Ottoman Empire, the current occupier of Greece, decided to stop and see the building. He was quite wealthy and worked out a deal with the local head poobah ($) to purchase and remove as much of the Acropolis as he wanted. He brought a small army of workers with him and was able to remove several statues and friezes. When he got it all back to England however, he was disheartened to learn that his wife was having an affair with his best friend. Then he ran short of money trying to pay the taxes on his new goods and was forced to sell everything to the British Museum where it now resides, to the chagrin and resentment of the Greeks to this day. The interior of the museum is almost an exact replica of the actual Parthenon. The replicas are true in detail and size but are actual casts of the original.
We spent at least 90 minutes touring the museum and learning the history of the site and then headed next door to the real thing. The history is expansive and detailed. Our guide talked non-stop for about five hours. The buildings are amazing and stunning in size and scope. The Acropolis site is amazing in itself. It sits high above the surrounding terrain with a fantastic view of the surrounding city. We had a great time and learned a lot but were happy to get off our feet when we were done.
The next order of business was lunch. Oestes recommended a site in Monastiraki Square so we headed out. Had a nice meal of mushroom souvlaki, needing to try and work a few veggies back into my diet. I ordered halvah for dessert and it came with a lovely orange syrup. Too much to eat but of course, you get a free dessert with a meal, so we each a small piece of orange cake. Mmmm.
We happened to be in the part of town where the fresh market was located and where they sell fish, meat, prepared foods and fruits and vegetables. We bought some meat and cheese for a quick dinner and a loaf of bread at the bakery down the street. Then we made the long walk back home. My feet are aching and my legs are tired. It’s time to rest.
On the recommendation from Cristina, our food guide from yesterday, we decided to have a cocktail at sundown from one of the rooftop bars in town. It’s a thing that people, especially young lovers, do. It was a place called the Attic and it had a superb view of the Acropolis and the sun setting over the mountains to the west of town. The smog just makes the sunset that much more intense. We had a couple of drinks and a shrimp saganaki that was superb. The sun goes down extraordinarily quickly here and it cools down about 10-15 degrees immediately. It was delightful sitting and watching the sun go down and the lights come up on the Acropolis. The drinks were more expensive than other places but the view was worth it.
Got a decent buzz on and then returned home. Had a snack of local meat, cheese and bread and began packing for an early departure for Naxos tomorrow morning.