Greece 2011: 6/17/2011 Athens/Athens Gate Hotel, Lalounis Jewelry Store, Changing of the Evzones Guards, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Parliament/Syntagma Square, Syntagma Metro station, Hadrian's Arch/Gate, Temple of Zeus, Acropolis Museum, lunch, Acropolis, dinner at Mani Mani

Breakfast buffet. Also egg station. View of the Acropolis from some tables. I had one egg over easy but the yolk wasn't runny-it was hard so cooked too long. Fruit, toast, grapefruit juice, coffee. Dropped off some laundry. No pictures!

Back to LALOUNIS. Bought pair of earrings for 550€/$792.39USD. Paperwork to get VAT refund. (I will get a credit of $144.54 per my July 2011 credit card statement).

CHANGING OF THE EVZONES GUARDS. On guard in front of Parliament. Soldiers in the traditional attire of the rebels who won the War of Independence. A short skirt with 400 pleats symbolizing the years under Turkish rule, red cap, and pompommed shoes. The changing of the guard is like a high kick dance. Evzones are selected from the tallest and most handsome men in the mandatory Greek military service. Happens every hour.

I just couldn't resist!

TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER. Guarded by the solemn Evzones soldiers. A 1930 carving of a dying soldier on the wall in front of the Parliament. This commemorates Greece's war dead since the War of Independence.

Tomb of the unknown soldier

PARLIAMENT. Imposing building. Constructed in 1842 as a palace for Otto, Greece's first king after independence. Suffered neglect. In 1923 was even a shelter for the homeless. When parliamentary government returned in 1926 the building was gutted, renovated, and reopened as a single chamber council for parliament. Today it's the scene of debates viewable on state TV. While we were here in Athens every time we walked by it we could see protest banners and protesters.

Even on the sidewalk

SYNTAGMA METRO STATION. When the city was busy excavating in the late 1990s to extend the metro in time for the hosting of the Olympics, archaeologists found thousands of priceless items at this site which had been continuously occupied since Classical times. Many are displayed in the station.

Clock

HADRIAN'S ARCH. Facing Plaka and the Acropolis is Hadrian's triumphal arch This gate from the old city of Athens to the new Roman one is made of Pentelic marble (from nearby Mt. Pendeli) and has Corinthian capital topped columns. Built in 131-132 AD in honor of Roman Emperor Hadrian. It has 2 inscriptions: facing west toward the old town "This is Athens, once the city of Theseus" and facing east toward the new town is Hadrian's rebuke "This is Hadrian's and not Thesus' city". It distinguishes the cities of ancient legend and modern reality. Hadrian expanded the city beyond the then centuries old Themistoclean Wall and went through this gate to the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Free admission. We visit this and the Temple of Zeus at the same time as they are near each other.

TEMPLE OF OLYMPIAN ZEUS. This majestic temple to the ruler of the pantheon was the largest on mainland Greece. Inside stood 2 colossal gold and ivory statues. One was a copy of one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world-Phidias's statue of Zeus-and one of Emperor Hadrian. Though the temple's construction began in 515 BC political turmoil delayed its completion nearly 700 years. To thank Hadrian for finishing it, in 131 AD the Athenians built a 2 story arch near the temple. Zeus had long been worshipped on this site and there was at least one other temple to him before this one. Sixteen of the columns survive from the original 104. The columns are 56' high. Here we get the 12€ per person combo tickets. Includes admission to Temple of Zeus, Acropolis, Theater of Dionysos, Karameikos, Ancient Agora, Roman Agora, Hadrian's Library.

Can see the Acropolis from this site

Can see our hotel The Athens Gate from this site

Ruins of houses. Ancient pipes, foundations, and domestic objects show that people lived and built houses here between the 5th century BC and 2nd century AD.

Themistoklean Gates. Around the site are remains of the wall built by political leader Themistokles in 479 BC to defend Athens from continuing onslaught by the Persians.

Roman baths. Complex looking foundations. Best preserved Roman bath house in Athens and it once had a colored mosaic floor.

ACROPOLIS MUSUEM. The old museum was closed in July 2007. This new one is at the foot of the Acropolis. The museum is built directly over an early Christian settlement. Glass floors let us see directly down to the site where excavations are undergoing. Has 4 of the original Caryatids from the Erechtheion. There is also an area set aside for the Elgin marbles to be returned to Greece from England. In 1799 Lord Elgin removed two thirds of the sculptures of gods, men and monsters that adorned the Parthenon and took them to England where most were sold to the British Museum. The British Museum refuses to return them. These Parthenon marbles will de displayed in the order in which they would have been on the Parthenon. Blank spaces are left for the ones that remain in London. As you enter the floor slopes up as if you were climbing up to the Acropolis. There are several levels. No pictures are allowed so I buy lots of postcards 2.50 € and a great book 5€-Acropolis Museum-short guide. Admission 5€ per person. Had to check our back pack. We get a pamphlet that has good information, pictures, and even the route to take for your visit.

Admission ticket-front

Admission ticket-back

We started on the top floor. The Parthenon marbles gallery. So beautiful but sad to see the empty spaces. Some of the ones we saw-birth of Athena, Athena and Poseidon's fight for control of the city (Poseidon struck his trident into the rock of the Acropolis and out gushed salt water but Athena offered the olive tree so the gods gave her the city which was named after her), the battle of the centaurs and Lapiths, the battle of the gods and the giants, the battle of the Greeks and the Amazons, the sack of Troy........ To be honest it would have probably have been better to follow the visit route as detailed in the pamphlet.

Postcard-general view of the Parthenon Gallery

Then we went back down to the entrance level to begin the rest of our tour here. As you enter you walk over the glass floor and can see the excavations currently being done. Keep walking up a ramp/stairs to the next floor/level where there's the Propylaia, Athena-Nike, 5th century BC-5th century AD and the Archaic Gallery.

Postcard-Moschophoros/Calf bearer, Archaic Gallery; marble statue of a bearded man carrying a calf to be offered as sacrifice to Athena; 570 BC

Postcard-Kritios Boy, Archaic Gallery; sculpture of a young male athlete marks the transition from Archaic to early Classical sculpture-naturalistic pose-considered to be the work of the sculptor Kritios; 480 BC

Postcard-sculpture Alexander the Great, Antiquities Gallery

Postcard-Caryatid, one of the 6 female marble statues that substituted for columns and supported the ceiling of the south porch of the Erechtheion; 420-415 BC

Lunch. One of the tavernas by the museum. We sat at a table outside since it was such a nice day. I had fried meatballs with potatoes and tomato slices and a coke. Richard had yogurt with honey and fruit. We were both happy with our choices. Food was tasty and service was fine. Total cost without tip was 14.50€

Stopped at the Blue Star Ferry office to buy tickets to go to Mykonos. Think this was 73€/$104.22USD for us both, total.

ACROPOLIS. The temples on the "Sacred Rock" of Athens are considered the most important monuments in the western world for they have exerted more influence on architecture than anything since. Constructed during the late 5th century BC reign of Perikles, the Golden Age of Athens. Most were temples built to honor Athena , the city's patron goddess. Breathtaking for proportion and scale.

Postcard

Dionysus Theater. First and oldest theater in Athens, dating to the 6th century BC. This is where the Assembly met and where competitions took place for the best dramas in honor of the pleasure god, Dionysus. It held around 15,000 spectators. Plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides were performed here in classical times. Gladiators and mock sea battles took place here in Roman times. The Asklepion is also on this site. It was a sanctuary and clinic dedicated to the god of medicine.

Ηerodes Atticus Theater. Built in 161 AD by its namesake. In the summer it hosts the Athens Festival. Restored.

Propylaia. At the top this is the grand entrance visitors pass through to reach the summit temples.

Acropolis Rock

Temple of Athena Nike/Victory. Protects and stands over the part of the rock most vulnerable to enemy attack.

Temple of Athena Nike is the building on the right of this picture

Erechtheion. According to myth, Athena and Poseidon battled for patronage of Athens on this spot. This design unites temples to each of the 2 gods. Caryatids-original statued pillars that supported the Erechtheion's porch are now in the New Acropolis Museum for protection. The arms are broken now but initially they held libation bowls. These are reproductions.

View of the Erechtheion from the Parthenon

Views. Amazing. These are the views from the area of the Greek flag.

Greek flag

View of Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Zeus

View of Filopappos Monument on Filopappos Hill

Parthenon. Epitome of ancient Greek Classical art. A magnificent temple to the virgin goddess Athena who was represented inside by a giant gold and ivory sculpture. Lots of scaffolding for ongoing restoration work.

Postcard

Views from the Parthenon area. Could see the Asklepion and the Theater of Dionysus.

Other pictures. These were taken as we were leaving.

MANI MANI. Dinner. Walking distance from our hotel. The restaurant is on the second floor of the building and we were able to be seated even though we had no reservation. It was busy with almost every table occupied. This place is slightly more upscale than a taverna and the menu items reflected that. Not being very adventurous I chose ravioli with feta cheese in a yummy tomato based sauce that had small bits of different vegetable in it. My husband chose the special which was chicken in spaghetti with basil, mushrooms, and zucchini. Mythos beer and coke. The pasta is homemade. We were given 2 tiny complimentary glasses of a nice, sweet tasting dessert wine. The atmosphere of this place is quiet elegance but service was on the slow side. It seemed like we waited forever for our check. This was surprising as we would have thought they would want the table available. Maybe it was because the place was so busy? Prices were reasonable and if you arrive before 5:30 pm you can chose to order half portions. We had a relaxing and very tasty meal here and would recommend this place. Don't know what the cost of our dinner was as I didn't write it down in my notebook and I don't have a credit card receipt for it. I don't think it was expensive.