Αθήνα

Here's the link for Barcelona (in case you missed it): http://michelleandstewartanderson.blogspot.com/2009/04/barcelona-ciutat-comtal-city-of-counts.html

I find it interesting that the name for Athens in Greek is "Athena." Apparently, the name used to be plural, but that form of Greek isn't used now. So, in English we use the plural and in Greek they don't anymore. *shrug*

During our stay in Athens, we started learning to read the Greek letters. I think it would be fairly easy to pick up...reading at least (not necessarily understanding). It almost sounds like Spanish...it was driving me crazy!

This was our first view of the Parthenon on the Acropolis.

The back side of the Theatre of Herodes Atticus, Acropolis

Theatre of Herodes Atticus
When you hear about "Yanni at the Acropolis" or any such thing, this is where it takes place. As you can see, the bleachers have been completely redone.

Theatre of Dionysus, Acropolis

Acropolis
We saw poppies everywhere in Athens, but especially around the ruins.

Propylaia, Acropolis
There were TONS of people at the Acropolis...mostly tour groups. It becomes impossible to take pictures without people in them. You'll see a common theme on my trip from here on out. You just get tired of waiting for people to move. I'm not THAT patient.

A view of the Agora and the Temple of Hephaestus from the Acropolis
The ruins in Athens were definitely worth seeing. They were amazing!

A view of Athens from the Acropolis

The Temple of Athena Nike, Acropolis

The Parthenon, Acropolis
Note the use of scaffolding...again.

The Acropolis
This is another common site in Athens. There are stray dogs everywhere! Most of them are found by ruins, and most of them are sleeping (with the exception of one...).

The Parthenon, Acropolis

A view of Filopappos Hill from the Acropolis
Access to this hill is just across the street from the Acropolis.

A view of the Temple of Olympian Zeus from the Acropolis
The arch at the left of the picture is Hadrian's Arch.

A Greek flag on the Acropolis, with Lykavittos Hill in the background

A view of Lykavittos Hill from the Acropolis
This is just one of many ways to spell the name for this hill. That's a common theme...multiple spellings.

A stray dog sleeping near the Parthenon, Acropolis
There was a dog in Monastiraki Square who curled up in a corner near an ATM and fell asleep. A lady came by and put pieces of meat in front of his nose, even tapping his nose to wake him up, but he seemed uninterested. He kept sleeping. Molly would not sleep through something like that. In fact, she wouldn't even require the nose-tapping.

The Temple of Athena Nike

Detail on the Temple of Athena Nike

A view of Athens through the columns of the Propylaia

The Monument of Lysikrates
This was not a stray dog.

Hadrian's Library
I don't know what the church next to it is called.

Hadrian's Library
I liked these bright white rocks on the ground.

Hadrian's Library

A poppy at Hadrian's Library

Hadrian's Library

The Roman Forum with the Acropolis in the background
The building visible on the Acropolis is the Temple of Athena Nike.

The Roman Forum with more stray dogs

The Roman Forum
I tried to get this puppy to come to me, and he started to, until he saw that I had no food.

The Roman Forum and the Tower of the Winds

The Church of the Holy Apostles, Agora
The orange tree in the foreground reminds me that there are streets lined with orange trees all over Athens. I tried jumping up to grab an orange one day (because they looked so yummy), but I was too short...or just unable to jump very high. A guy walking by told me that I couldn't eat them anyway because they are sour mandarins. He said he just wanted to let me know so I wouldn't waste my time. It was depressing to find that out. :(

Inside the Church of the Holy Apostles, Agora

The ceiling inside the Church of the Holy Apostles, Agora

I believe this is part of the Middle Stoa, Agora
Notice the Temple of Hephaestus in the background.

The Temple of Hephaestus, Agora

A statue of Emperor Hadrian, Agora

The Temple of Hephaestus, Agora

The Temple of Hephaestus, Agora
This was my favorite site in Athens. Although the Parthenon is famous, this was even better. It wasn't crowded, and the building is nearly intact. It's pretty impressive!

Detail on the Temple of Hephaestus, Agora

A view of the Acropolis from the Agora

Black olives growing in the Agora

A flower in the Agora

A statue of a giant from the Odeon of Agrippa, Agora

The Kerameikos
This was another of my favorite locations. Although there are no large structures here, it was very peaceful and fun to walk through. I saw a total of two people there (other than us).

A reconstructed monument in the Kerameikos

A reconstructed monument of a bull in the Kerameikos

The Kerameikos

The Kerameikos
As I was walking around, I spotted this tortoise. At the end of my walk, I had counted a total of 14 tortoises.

The Kerameikos
The stream was FILLED with tadpoles! And you know what tadpoles become... :)

The stream in the Kerameikos

The other side of the stream in the Kerameikos

Another tortoise in the Kerameikos

Kapnikarea Church
This church is just in the middle of a (mostly pedestrian) intersection.

A big, Greek Orthodox church

A random church
I thought it was kind of cute.

A view of the Acropolis through Hadrian's Arch

The Presidential Palace

One of the guards in front of the Presidential Palace

The harbor
We could see the sea from many places, so we thought we'd try and find it. Unfortunately, we only found the harbor with a lot of gigantic boats. We didn't know how far we'd have to walk to find a beach, so we gave up.

Agios Georgios Church on Lykavittos Hill

A view of Athens from Lykavittos Hill
I made sure the Acropolis was in the background of this shot. :)

Socrates' Prison, Filopappos Hill
Again, this is one of many spellings.

Filopappos Monument, Filopappos Hill

A view of the Acropolis and Lykavittos Hill from Filopappos Hill

A view of Athens from Filopappos Hill

The Ancient Deme of Koile on Filopappos Hill
This is an ancient road. It was not far from here that we encountered the "not nice" dog. We were on our way to see some other ruins on Filopappos Hill and noted that there were several dogs sleeping on the path. One of them was walking on three legs (obviously the 4th was injured). As we were walking toward them, I commented that the poor thing had a hurt leg. All of a sudden, he bares his teeth and starts barking. He was coming towards me, and I thought he was going to charge. Suffice it to say that we did not see those ruins.

A view of the Acropolis and Hadrian's Arch from the Temple of Olympian Zeus

The Temple of Olympian Zeus
This was another favorite site. Again, there was nobody there. I love the fallen column left there. This must have been a remarkable structure when it was in its prime.

The Temple of Olympian Zeus

The Temple of Olympian Zeus

The Zappeion, National Gardens
Another stray dog, who looked up as I was taking the picture.

A cute bird that came to visit me while we were sitting in the National Gardens
He had come to see me before, but I didn't have my camera ready. This was the best I could do with the time he gave me.

The National Gardens

The most delicious gyro you will ever eat!
We ate gyros the first night we got to Athens, but this one was the best! Apparently, the place we got it from is famous for gyros. One our roommates (a Chinese girl studying GERMAN in Hamburg) told us about it. It was cheaper than the first place and tastier (not that the first one was bad). Oh, and we saw NO gyros made from lamb. All of them were made with chicken or pork (both of mine had pork).

The location where we purchased the best gyros! - Monastiraki Square
Unfortunately, this strange street performer decided to set up right there too.

An amazing street performer, Monastiraki Square
I actually wanted a picture of the puppy, but this guy was pretty cool too. He played "Laura's Theme" on crystal glasses. It was incredible!

The guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
I'm told those shoes are really heavy.

The changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The National Archaeological Museum
Note that I'm lugging my backpack with me. This was our last day in Athens, and my shoulders sure felt it.

Sounion Kouros sculpture, National Archealogical Museum

A 5th century BC bronze statue of Zeus, National Archealogical Museum

A gold hairnet with the image of Athena, National Archealogical Museum

Varvakeios Athena sculpture, National Archaeological Museum

Poseidon of Milos sculpture, National Archaeological Museum

Sculpture of Aphrodite, Eros, and Pan, National Archaeological Museum
This was my favorite sculpture in the museum.

A detailed box in the National Archaeological Museum

The Olympic Stadium
Rachel thought that Barcelona and Athens should switch Olympic stadiums, but Stewart made a good point. He said everyone tries to make their Olympic stadium look Greeks, but the Greeks already have enough of that look. They want to look modern. Of course, this is all speculation.

The Olympic Stadium

The Olympic Stadium
There is an interesting story about arriving here. We had extra time our last day, so we decided to go see the Olympic Stadium. We got on the metro, but at one stop the conductor came on and said a bunch of stuff in Greek. Everyone got off, except us...and some people sitting across from us. A guy getting off (who didn't speak English) told us we had to get off. Apparently, the line wasn't running between that stop and the stadium. This man was very helpful. He helped us get the right tickets and get on the right bus.