Greece- Part II- City of Athens

During our three planes to Greece, we promised Grayson a treat for being such a good boy, and for running through two different airports in the middle of the night (Japan time) to make our connections. What did he want? Blue ice cream. He wants everything to be blue these days.

We were a little nervous that we'd be able to pull it off, but Daddy came thru with a gelato stand close to the hotel. We continued to have a gelato almost every day we were in Greece. It was a great way to get Grayson to behave during a long day of site-seeing.

Michael and I always like to enjoy the local cuisine when we travel. It sounds weird, but one of our favorite things in Greece was the gyro. These are NOT like in the States. First, they only have chicken or pork, no lamb. Second, the yogurt has some really great cucumber/ scallion mix in it. And third, they put french fries in the gyro. Delicious!

We are used to the boys getting a certain amount on increased attention when we are off base in Japan for no other reason than they are American babies and are different. Blondes and blue eyed kids have it even worse. But, I didn't think we'd experience it in Europe. I was wrong. B might as well have been a rockstar on the streets. He liked the attention so much that by the end of our trip he would automatically wave to everyone walking passed him on the street.

On to the sites.... This is Hadrian's Arch, gate from the old city of Athens to the new Roman one.

It was built by the Athenians for Emperor Hadrian in thanks for helping them finish the Temple of Zeus that lays behind it.

This is the Temple of Zeus. It took almost 700 years to finish and is the largest temple in Greece.

The Zappeion. It's an exhibition hall, cafe, and the oldest open-air cinema. Greece signed into the EU here. There are also some botanical gardens behind it which we briefly walked through.

The street our hotel was on. The hotel is located where those flags are. You can see the Acropolis above the flags.

From our hotel balcony, I could get this shot looking to the left or Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Zeus.

View looking to the right. You can see the Acropolis better. Michael did a great job scouting the location.

Up the street in Plaka, near the cafes and shops, was the Monument of Lysikrates, the city's only intact monument built to commemorate the victors at the annual choral and dramatic festival at the Theatre of Dionysos.

This is the Theatre of Dionysos, god of pleasure and wine. In the day great play-writes like Sophocles would have their works performed here. In Roman times, gladiators would take the stage.

Grayson and I took one of the 17,000 seats to get a better feel for the place.

The Roman Agora or marketplace built by Julius Caesar.

At one end of the Roman Agora is the Tower of the Winds. It's a water clock topped with a weather vane depicting the 8 wind deities.

Hadrian's Library. He was a busy guy. The library was complete with marble courtyard, mosaic floors, and a concert area.

This is just a bar. I took the picture for Ang and Brett because the name of the bar is Bretto's. Glasses of beer being lifted worldwide under the name of Brett! Can't wait to have one with you guys when we get home!

Speaking of beer... Here I am enjoying a local brew after a long day of walking around. Mythos is good by the way, and I like the name.

Now we are entering the Ancient Agora, or marketplace. This is a Byzantine church. They were all over the city.

Still in Ancient Agora. The Stoa of Attalos, now a museum, used to be where wealthy Athenians came to shop and gossip. You can see Grayson has not given up on his quest to get a rock from every ancient site we visit.

In the Stoa. There were a lot of headless statues so we took this picture instead.

In Ancient Agora, the Odeion of Agrippa, was some sort of gymnasium with tritons (half man, half fish) adorning the facade.

Me and B sitting on the Odeion with the Acropolis and Ancient Agora behind us.

Last stop in the agora, the Hephaisteion, one of the world's best preserved temples. This temple was built for Hephaestos, god of metalwork.

View from the top. Acropolis to the right. Stoa to the left. The rest of Ancient Agora in front of those references.

After our journey through the ancient marketplace, we had lunch at Thissio Square, a popular cafe spot, and were able to get the boys a little time on a playground.

We didn't enjoy too many museums this time, but we did see the Acropolis Museum which just opened in 2009. One cool thing was that the whole floor of the museum is see through to a dig site below.

The Panathenian Stadium, home to games every 4 years in BC and rebuilt for the first modern Olympics. This place was cool. I got to sit in the queen's marble chair, and we got to walk through the tunnel that the athletes and gladiators used to come out of.

During our tour, we were told a story about maidens in ancient times, guarded by old women, dancing naked in the tunnel around a fire to pray for a good husband. Michael's comment, " well if they just wouldn't have been guarded so the men could see them, they'd have a better chance of getting that husband."

The University of Athens. I didn't go inside, but the outside looked photo-worthy with all the statues of the gods lining the perimeter.

Our time in Athens ended much like it started...with eating. We met Unc Adam and Aunt Katie's taxi and went to eat at our favorite breakfast spot for a brunch.

It was a little rainy so after minimal walking around, we were able to squeeze in one more gelato. Somewhere along the line, pink became the new blue.

This time, B got some too. His first ice cream cone!

Next post, Santorini!