Athens - the big city. The marina was a beehive of activity when we arrived on Saturday... charter boats and private boats alike were loading up provisions and preparing their escape for the holiday week. There was no berth assignment and no one met us when we arrived. We picked a place we liked at the end of the pier and checked in at the office. We watched all afternoon as a comical parade of boats streamed out of the basin. By the evening of the following day the place had all but cleared out and enjoyed some tranquility. Aside from washing the boat and doing long-neglected stainless polishing, we planned to visit the highlights of Athens and then clear out before all the boats headed back for the barn.
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| Breathtaking ruins of Parthenon |
Our first day as tourists in Athens was spent at the Acropolis and Parthenon, of course! Although most of the local Athenians had left the city for the holiday, there were still throngs of tourists sightseeing. We arrived at the Acropolis summit mid-day (although we know better than to do that!) and were queued up with hundreds of people on their way up through the gate to the top. Once there we saw the breathtaking ruins. The views were somewhat diminished by the scaffolding, the cranes and the crowds which covered most everything. Still, it was fantastic to see.
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| Parthenon with scaffolding, cranes and crowds |
The Parthenon was amazing, as were several of the other temple ruins. The views of Athens from the summit were spectacular as you look down over an endless sea of new buildings puzzled in amidst old ruins. We walked back down to town and enjoyed gyros and Greek salad for lunch at a nearby sidewalk cafe.
We then proceeded to the Acropolis Museum, a new building situated directly under the Acropolis. Much of the first level was done with clear floor panels to view the preserved ruins of the site. The side of the building facing the Acropolis was all glass, so as you gazed at statues and artifacts within the museum you could look up at their original location.The sculptures were incredible... the flow and drape of fabric, the body's muscles and texture, the windswept locks of hair... softness and curves all magnificently chiseled in hard stone.
Our second day as tourists was spent at the Archaeological Museum. It is huge and impressive with its diversity, and we kept finding more and more exhibits around each turn and corridor. We started with gold and riches discovered in ancient burial sites and then viewed the statues carved over the many centuries. Some of the statues of gods, such as the one of Poseidon (right) were simply amazing. The style went from plain/austere taken from that of the Egyptian's to a more complex and natural expression of the human form (below). We took a short break for lunch at the museum's cafe and then continued on.
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| Changing style of Greek statues over the centuries |
There were two other museums we would have liked to visited, but we were done after this one. We might have enjoyed spending another day or two just walking around the city itself and seeing more of the ancient ruins, but we needed to move on before all the boats came back to the harbour.
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| Sunset at the Alimos Marina in Athens |
We enjoyed one last lovely sunset at the dock and were ready to go. For this season, this is probably the furthest west and north we'll be... unless we change our minds again, and again.
With Equanimity and Joy,
We then proceeded to the Acropolis Museum, a new building situated directly under the Acropolis. Much of the first level was done with clear floor panels to view the preserved ruins of the site. The side of the building facing the Acropolis was all glass, so as you gazed at statues and artifacts within the museum you could look up at their original location.The sculptures were incredible... the flow and drape of fabric, the body's muscles and texture, the windswept locks of hair... softness and curves all magnificently chiseled in hard stone.
