Greetings from Athes

Chloe and Anneke at the Parthenon, Athens

At 2:30 a.m., we were up and on our way to the airport.  This airplane was festival seating and we lucked out and got the fourth row from the front.  When we landed, we took the Metro to our hotel right by the Acropolis.  The sidewalks were filled with street vendors and confusing crowds.  After we checked in, we got a taxi to the Parthenon on top of the hill. From there we got on a tram which drove us around nearby Athens. We thought we were going in circles, so we got off to get a late lunch. A woman who was selling table cloths offered one to us for five euros. Anneke decided she wanted one, but the price was now 90 euros. We said no, but she continued to pester us until we left.

After lunch, we went shopping and bought some clothes. We headed back to the tram stop and hopped back on. We rode up to the summit of the Acropolis to go to the Parthenon. Without taking  Good Friday into account we tried to enter, but it had closed early. We noticed many unleashed dogs near the entrance. Anneke wanted to “put them in her suitcase and bring them home” because she was worried that they were stray animals.

After we came down from the Parthenon we tried to go to the New Acropolis Museum but this was also closed. We were disappointed, but remembered that we had also seen ruins on the tram. We had seen Zues’s temple, Hadrian’s Arch, the building in the center of ancient Athens, the ancient agora, and the stadium built for the first modern Olympics in 1887.

Tomorrow we leave for the island of Skiathos.