Thursday, November 25, 2010

Nov 17 - Athens Gate 1 Tour begins

Today is really the first day of our tour package even though Gate 1 calls it day 3. Day 1 is the travel day from North America and Day 2 is the arrival day.

We have a morning tour (we meet at 7:45am) of Athens (we've been here for 4 days so have seen a lot of Athens) which includes panoramic views of the Tomb of the Unknown soldier, Panathenian stadium, Temple of Zeus and a guided visit to the Acropolis. We had saved our visit to the Acropolis for this tour.
There is an optional tour of the Acropolis Museum which we have decided not to do.

We meet our guide, Militsa on the bus as we start our tour. She is delightful and has an incredible knowledge of her country and is passionate about the history.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National Palace.


Panathenian Stadium - home of the Modern Olympics
The modern times restoration of the Stadium was conducted by G. Averof by the end of the 19th century for the first Olympic Games that were reborn again in 1896.



ACROPOLIS


The Acropolis was a sight to behold!




So were the tourists! This was the most crowds we encountered on our trip.




The views were amazing.


A quick recap of the history was found at PBS.org

Rising to a height of between 60 and 70 meters above the city, the rocky flat-topped hill of the Acropolis is 300 meters from east to west and 150 meters from north to south.

Its first fortifications were constructed by the Myceneans in the 13th century BC, and some of these survived until 510 BC when the tyrant Hippias was overthrown and they were torn down to prevent a return to tyranny.
When the Acropolis was ransacked by the Persians in 580 BC, the Athenians vowed never to rebuild on it. But thirty-three years later, the great statesmen Pericles persuaded the popular assembly to rebuild on it as a lasting testament to the glory of democratic Athens and its empire.
Most of the buildings remaining on the Acropolis today were built as part of Perciles' massive building program in the middle of the 5th century BC. However, many were not finished until after his death in 429 BC. Further embellishments were added by the Romans when they conquered Greece in 146 BC.


 One of my favourite photos.




Time for lunch and a spot of people watching.






Then it's time to head out for Delphi where we will spend the night. We had the only real rain of the entire trip while we were on the bus.





A quick stop by the road.





John and Jackie, not us, picking something!




We had a break in Arachova.

Aráchova is a mountainous village nestling picturesquely at the foot of Mt. Parnassós in Viotia, Southern Greece.It is the most cosmopolitan winter destination in Greece, a great favourite for passionate ski lovers and celebrities, or just first-time visitors who wish to relax in a dreamy mountainous setting with modern tourism facilities. Its modern ski resort, its close proximity to Athens, and its breathtaking mountainous landscape are the strongest reason why. Apart from the mountain activities,
So pretty!





No snow yet.











You would almost expect God's hand to come out of this cloud.


After the rain came fog.



 Our hotel



We headed out for a walk and the fog continued to roll in. There wasn't much open in town so R and J decided to pick something up and headed back to the hotel.  

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We persevere with J and came upon our guide in a little bar having a beer. We promptly sat down with her and had a great time chatting.
The view was amazing and we stayed on for dinner.






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