Greece 2011: 6/18/2011 Athens/Athens Gate Hotel, National Archaeological Museum, Hadrian's Library, Monastraki Flea Market, Roman Agora, dinner at Tzitzikas Kai Mermigas

Breakfast buffet. I have my usual-eggs, toast, fruit, juice, coffee. We're at a table with gorgeous views of the Acropolis. Finally a picture from breakfast! The staff at reception tell us to be careful as we're going to NAM-National Archaeological Museum-and it's located in a bad area of the city known for pick pockets.

Leaving the hotel to get our bus tickets to NAM we pass by some cool sights. Took a while to find where we could buy electric bus tickets. I bought 4-2 to get to the museum and 2 to return-for 4.80€ total. We get on the #5 and get off at the Omonia stop with no problem at all. We have arrived at 9:10 am and the museum doesn't open until 9:30 am.

Electric bus ticket

NAM/NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM. Largest archaeological museum in Greece and one of the most important museums in the world devoted to ancient Greek art. It was founded at the end of the 19th century to house and protect antiquities from all over Greece. In the galleries can trace the long evolution of ancient Greek culture. Listed below are just some of the exhibits. Admission is 7€ per person. There's a special exhibit of Myth and Coinage. There's also a nice museum shop and a coffee shop. Pictures are allowed. We get a great pamphlet that really enhances the visit. We spent 2 hours here and I could have spent more time but there's other sightseeing we have to do today which is our last full day in Athens.

NAM

Admission ticket

Pamphlet

Special exhibit

Prehistoric Collection consists of works of art representing the major civilizations that flourished in the Aegean from the 7th millennium to about 1050 BC. It includes objects from the Neolitic period and the Bronze Age-from mainland Greece, the Aegean islands, and Troy. The most important exhibits are the treasures from the royal tombs at Myceenae, the famous Cycladic marble figurines, and well preserved wall paintings from Thera. These are on display in rooms 3-6 on the ground floor and room 48 on the first floor.

Sculpture Collection. Development of ancient Greek sculpture from the 8th c. BC to the end of the 4th c. AD. From Athens, Thessaly, central Greece, Peloponnese, Crete, and the Aegean islands. Groups from the Archaic period-series of Kouroi, Classical grave reliefs. Occupies 30 rooms on the ground floor! Begin in room 7 for the earliest pieces ending in room 33 with works of Late Antiquity.

Collection of Vases and Minor Arts. Rooms 49-59 on the first floor. Exhibits come from excavations in cemeteries and sanctuaries. Displayed in chronological order and illustrate the evolution of Greek pottery from the 11th to the 4th c. BC.

Bronze Collection. One of the largest in the world. Famous for its unique, large scale original statues such as Poseidon or Zeus from Artemision, the Marathon boy, the Antikythera youth, and the jockey from Artemision. The majority of the bronzes were dedications in the major Greek sanctuaries. Rooms 36-39 on the ground floor.

Egyptian Collection. World renowned. Rooms 40-41 on the ground floor. Arranged in chronological order and cover full spectrum of Egyptian civilization from 5000 BC to the time of the Roman Empire 30 BC-395 AD. Examples of every art form-statues, reliefs, pottery, mummies, jewelry, and more.

Stathos Collection. Room 42 on the ground floor. Objects are mainly works of the Minor Arts in a variety of materials. Cover the period from the Middle Bronze Age to the Post-Byzantine period.

Harpist of Keros 2800-2300 BC

Finds from Grave V, Circle A, Mycenae 16th century BC

Mask of Agamemnon

Ritual vases-rhyta from Graves IV and V, Grave Circle A, Mycenae 16th century BC

Tiryns wall paintings 14th-13th century BC

The Thinker 4500-3300 BC

Statue of a wounded Gaul 100 BC

Aphrodite 125-100 BC

Aphrodite, Pan, and Eros 100 BC

Poseidon 125-100 BC

Statue of Themis at Rhamnous 300 BC

Bronze statue of a youth 340-330 BC

Bronze statue of a young athlete 340-330 BC

Statue of a Siren 330 BC

Statue of a bronze horse with rider 140 BC

Bronze Zeus 460 BC

Bronze Poseidon 480 BC

Wooden statue of a woman grinding cereals, Egyptian Collection 2416-2392 BC

Boxing children fresco Akrotiri/Santorini pre 16th century BC

Antelopes fresco Akrotiri/Santorini pre 16th century BC

Spring fresco Akrotiri/Santorini pre 16th century BC

Large storage jar Knossos

Statue of a youth binding his hair 100 BC

Returning to our hotel was a major problem. We are waiting at the stop for the #5 bus. Waiting, waiting. Someone tells us the #5 doesn't return. What! This is when I should have just gotten a taxi back to our hotel. The person tells us we can take #13. The #13 arrives after we've waited for an hour! Lots of people getting on. Machine not working to validate our bus tickets. We get off at our stop and my husband realizes his wallet has been stolen. I'm upset with him because he didn't need to take it! I had our back pack with what we needed. He has lost his driver's license, a credit card, and almost $200. Back at the hotel I call to cancel the credit card. Pain in the ......... I'm worried about the driver's license as we have arranged to rent cars on Santorini and Rhodes.

Bus stop across the street from NAM

Watching buses go by while waiting for #5

HADRIAN'S LIBRARY. Roman emperor Hadrian built this Corinthian columned building in 132 AD. Most of the space was actually a showy marble courtyard with gardens and a pool. Mosaic floors. There were also lecture rooms, music rooms, and a theater. A small area for storing library scrolls.

ROMAN FORUM AND TOWER OF THE WINDS. In the first century AD, the Romans moved Athens' marketplace here from the old Agora. Smaller than the original the marble pillared courtyard was a grander place to set up shop, and this became the commercial and administrative center until the 19th century. One of the most interesting layered sites. Buildings and remains include the ingenious Tower of the Winds from 50 BC, the first century AD Roman forum, and a mosque built by the Ottomans.

Tower of the Winds. The octagonal tower built by Syrian astronomer Kyrrhestas in 50 BC has personifications of the winds on each side. Inside a water clock was operated by a stream from the Acropolis.

Fetiye Mosque. During the Ottoman occupation the Forum remained an important center. In 1456 the Turks built this "Mosque of the Conqueror" directly over the ruins of an early Christian church.

MONASTRAKI FLEA MARKET. In the narrow alleys of the Monastraki district are many trinket and artifact shops. The "official "flea market has been held in Abyssinia Square since 1910. You can find most anything here. We loved just wandering around the square area for the flea market and then walking down some of the streets. Stopped for drinks at a cafe as we were getting hot and tired. Shopping turned out great for me. At one store-Greek Roots-I bought a coin necklace charm for 98€. Original price was 117€. It has Alexander on one side and Athena on the other. I love it! Then walking past Byzantino Jewelry store I love all the items in the window display and I see a pair of earring that I want to check out. They are like the ones I wanted at Lalounis but I'm in luck as these are for pierced ears! Cost 736€/$1050.75. In the mail I will get a certificate and I get paperwork for the VAT refund. The ones at Lalounis which are exactly like these only slightly larger were $3711.89USD.

Alexander the Great on one side

The other side of the coin shows Athena

Just love these earrings!

ANCIENT AGORA. Athens' ancient marketplace was founded in the 6th century BC and was the heart of the city for 1200 years. It was the center for all civic activities, including politics, commerce, philosophy, religion, arts and athletics. This is where Socretes addressed his public, where democracy was born and where St. Paul preached. Unfortunately, due to Greece having to implement austerity measures the site which normally would have been open until 7:30 pm is now closed. New hours have it closing at 3:00 pm. I'm so disappointed! Pictures were taken through the entrance gate.

TZITZIKAS KAI MERMIGAS. Dinner. Walking distance from our hotel. Very easy to find-near Syntagma Square, the huge post office building on the corner, and across from the Pan Hotel. This is a spacious place with lots of tables. Outdoor seating is available. This place is really cool. The decor inside is so different from what I expected. A pleasant surprise. The cutlery is stored in little drawers under your table-how clever. The displays kept me entertained while we waited for our food. Nothing boring here. We were easily able to get seated even though we had no reservation. It was busy with most tables occupied. Service was great and the food was very good. I ordered the chicken masticha which I had read reviews about on Trip Advisor. My only complaint was that there was too much of the rich, delicious sauce. Sometimes less is better than more. The chicken was moist and tender sitting in a nest pastry but that sauce was overpowering! My husband ordered the santorinio which was a tender pork filet in a wine sauce with capers. It came with mashed potatoes and spinach. He said it was delicious. Drinks were coke and FIX beer. We also got a small plate of olives and hot peppers in olive oil-complimentary. Cost without tip was 35.60€. Recommend this restaurant for its good food, great service, reasonable prices, and quirky decor. We enjoyed our dinner here and would return

Dinner

Table drawer holds cutlery and napkins

Delicious but way too much sauce

Walking back to our hotel through the Syntagma Square area we happen to come by a full fledge demonstration taking place with banners, music, and tons of people but this time we see police in full riot gear and police vans. Just in case things get out of hand I guess. Motorists are yelling at the police and the police are yelling back. We witness a minor accident. We were mesmerized by the spectacle! Withdraw 300€ from ATM. We have had our hotel arrange for a taxi for tomorrow for 6:30 am. Ouch! Wake up call for 5:45 am. Packing is getting to be a pain-pack/unpack/pack-hot showers as we won't have time tomorrow morning.