ATHENS MONDAY MAY 18

OUT AND ABOUT IN ATHENS

As promised, the Captain navigated us into our dock in Piraeus and at 9 AM clearance to go ashore was announced. We had planned to wait until 10 AM to disembark on our own independent tour of the sights to avoid the crowd.  We planned to do a hop on hop off city tour with our friends and traveling companions, Bill and Diane Herbert.  Bill and Diane had been to Athens before and Bill decided to stay aboard and avoid the rush.

As we headed to the waiting hop on and hop off bus, we were accosted by a taxi driver who made us an offer for a city tour that sounded good and we decided to do a taxi instead.  We made a good decision and although his English and ours tended to vary in translation (and perhaps translation) he was very competent and thorough. He did “due diligence” in showing us the highlights of the great gems that make Athens a memorable and significant part of this area’s historic past.   

Our first top was the Acropolis where Ken and Diane took pictures while I waited in the cab.  Neither Ken nor I were up to the climb up the steps to the site and thus we did not get to experience the full impact of one of the great wonders of the world.  Acropolis consists of four ancient buildings; the Pantheon, Temple of Athena, Nike and the Erechtheion and the Propylea. The Acropolis was built during the apex of Greece’s Golden age in the 5^th century BC. Throughout history, it has served as a military fortress and religious center.

 

From the Acropolis we drove past parliament and caught the changing of the guard and from there we had an “E” ride up through the narrow streets into the hills above Athens for a breathtaking view of Western Athens and then over to a nearby peek for a view of the East side.  The spectacular views from these two peaks was overwhelming and increased our appreciation for how large and spread out the city really is

Our tour concluded with Ancient Agora, the administrative center and marketplace of Athens from the 6^th century BC to the 6^th century AD, and Plaka, the older area of the city located on the north slope of the Acropolis.  We were driven by the Pantheon Stadium, constructed in 1896 for the first modern Olympiad.  

It takes time to see and explore antiquity such as resides in this vast area of the world but we felt that our thumbnail tour provided us a glance into the highlights of Athens that makes us yearn for more but our sensibilities tell us that if we are to see Athens with more depth it will have to be another trip or in another life!  That dratted ticking time clock again!

We also enjoyed talking to our guide about the state of the country’s economy.  He is native of Athens (his grandparents came here in 1924) and the state of the economy hangs heavy over his head.  We wished that his English was better (or ours more like his) in order that we might better communicate with him and better understand his personal stories. We remarked about the number of taxis on the street and he said there are 1700.  We certainly saw no reason to challenge him.  It was sad to see the number of buildings that are vacant, abandoned and in various state of disrepair.  The picture is sad and it is too bad that thinking people in our own country are examining the factors that have led to this place for Greece because there, but for the grace of our own decisions, go we!!!

Aren’t you glad that I was able to gain all of this remarkable insight into world affairs?  Goodness – what will come next?  Stay tuned – you can never know what wisdom I may reveal!