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| A now headless statue inside the Parthenon complex walls |
| Erin's Athens Journals 5-5-02 Our 2nd day in Athens was Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday. Nothing was open except a few restaurants aimed at tourists, and even national monuments like the Acropolis were off limits, so we took our time getting ready. Our hotel room was swarming with mosquitos. When we'd first walked in with our stuff, I'd noticed a few dead mosquitos squashed on the walls, but that didn't prepare me for the night of hell! From the time we lay down until the time we got up, there were multiple bugs hovering over us, buzzing in our ears, and taking bites of me! Several times early in the night, I'd turned on the lights in an effort to find and kill the offenders, but would kill 3 or 4 and still have plenty left when the lights went out again to be back buzzing in our faces. It got to the point around 2am where I pulled a spare sheet over my entire head, though it was hot and stuffy under there. I could still hear them buzzing over me, but they couldn't bite any more. So after a miserable and mostly sleepless night, both of us got a slow start. The free breakfast with our room was only a few slices of bread with coffee or tea, so we left still feeling hungry. All the same, we gamely headed off to Acropolis hill to see what we could get to. We took a few photos from the side of the hill heading up, and once atop the hill, could see the rest of the ruins as well as a 360 degree view of Athens, down to the sea. It is a HUGE sprawling city! It was a very warm sunny day, so we stopped several times while wandering to rest up and cool down. We climbed a hill to a monument that overlooks Acropolis Hill and offers even better views of the city & ruins, then circled down to find lunch on the other side of the hill. We found a fast food place that offered pretty cheap sandwiches and some yummy slushy drinks that were just right for our parched throats, then walked back toward the hotel. Both of us were still tired from our recent traveling days and sleepless nights, so we decided to head back to the hotel to work on journals, nap, and read for relaxation. Rather than sit in the bug room, we took advantage of the shaded porch garden to type. For dinner, we headed to a nearby area where cars aren't allowed, and found a bustling shopping & restaurant center. It was charming, and in one of the jewelry shops, a particularly interesting ring caught Glenn's eye. He loves elephants, and this ring featured three in a great design. We admired for a while, but as he doesn't wear jewelry much, we eventually decided against it. As it was Easter, the special that night in every restaurant was lamb. We found a nice place where we could sit outside and each ordered the special, while listening to the guitar duo playing and singing from inside the restaurant. It was a wonderful evening! Afterward, we shopped a little at the tourist shops and headed back to the hotel. |