Epidavros, to Begin our Sailing Voyage

Once our group arrived from London and we had greeted our friends, who had hosted us in London in July 2012, we all hopped on the "coach" (bus) and headed to Epidavros.

Our drive was about two hours, with a quick stop for restrooms (and a beer) at one point along the way.

Once we arrived in Epidavros, we were told the name of our boat, gathered our luggage, and headed straight there.

Our boat was Konitsa, representing a town in Epirus, Greece, near the Albanian border.

This would be our home for the next two weeks!

It was dark when we arrived, so we found the lights inside the boat, quickly unpacked what we needed for the night, and made our beds.  The engineer, Bobby, stopped by and showed us the essentials we would need for the overnight (lights, water, "head").  Then we headed to a taverna and met our friends from Olympia (their boat) for dinner.

We had a great dinner and shared lots of laughs and good Greek food.  We also learned what Metaxa is (similar to bourbon/whiskey), and the guys each took a shot to get our vacation started.  

 
We also learned that the best way to order wine in Greece is to just order the white, or red, table wine.  No need to review an entire wine list and look like we were smarter than we were.  House wine was almost always excellent.

After dinner, everyone was tired from their travel day, and we headed to bed.  Because the next day, we would be sailing....

Lunch in Athens

The final part of our tour of Athens was a drive by some of the significant buildings in the city.

First was the Parliament Building (or "Old Palace").

Not quite as "old" as much of the architecture we had seen so far, the Hellenic Parliament was built from 1836 to 1840. It was originally the palace home of the first king (Otto) after the Turkish occupation.

Next, we drove by the "Neoclassical Trilogy of Athens", which consists of three buildings located side-by-side. As we drove down the street, we first encountered the Academy of Athens.

The central pediment of the Academy of Athens depicts the birth of Athena, and Socrates and Plato are seated in front of the building.  (I have to pronounce Socrates "So-Crates" in my head, in homage to Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.) Athena and Apollo stand high atop the pediments on either side of the entrance.

 

Just to the left of the Academy of Athens is the University of Athens.

 

Established in 1837, The University of Athens was the first university in the newly-established Greek state, the Balkans and the Mediterranean.  This building currently serves as the headquarters for the University of Athens.

The final part of the Neoclassical Trilogy of Athens is the National Library of Greece, immediately to the left of the University of Athens. 

The statue in the front is that of Panaghis Athanassiou Vallianos.  Yeah, I don't know who that is either, but he was apparently one of the benefactors of the building.

By the time our tour was complete, we were hungry, and we decided to walk through the Plaka and back to the same area where we had enjoyed dinner the evening before.

 

We just loved this area.  Isn't it quaint?  There are tavernas and cafes lining both sides of the staircase.

We chose one of the tavernas (or they chose us - those guys know how to bark and becon in you to their establishments) and were seated outside on our own little private patio.  Soon, we were brought a Greek salad, fresh pita, and wine. 

Mmmm.  Doesn't that look delicious and refreshing?  We learned on our vacation that a real Greek salad does not include any type of lettuce, and we really liked it that way.  Now, at home, we will only make or order a Greek salad the authentic way, without iceberg or Romaine.

For our main course, we shared the fresh fish.  I don't remember what type of fish this was, but it was delicious.  They fileted it right at our table.

    

We took our time and enjoyed our meal, and the ambiance, and the fact that we were in Athens, GREECE, y'all!

This was the view from our table.  You can see how some of the cafes provided pillows for patrons to sit on while enjoying coffee, a cocktail, or a dessert.  

After our lunch, we walked around the Plaka a little bit more, then ran an errand - we had to pick up a cell phone to use while in Greece. We had done our research and figured out that the most economical way to make and receive calls to/from Greek phone numbers would be to purchase a phone and sim card.  We went to the Cosmote store, stumbled through Greek/English communication, and were able to purchase an inexpensive flip-phone for 15 Euro, and a sim card for 5 Euro.  I believe there was an activation fee, but all-in, we were right at 26 Euro, which is approximately $34 U.S.

The minutes expired 30 days later, but we can take the phone with us for any future international travel and simply buy a sim card for use in that country. Awesome!

Next, it was time to claim our luggage from the bellman at our hotel and catch our arranged ride to the airport.  There, we would meet someone from Sailing Holidays, our tour group for the flotilla, and together we would wait for the arrival of the British Airways flight with all of the other members of our flotilla.

And from there, our sailing adventure would begin...

The Acropolis of Athens, Part IV

Let's rewind a little bit and see some of the other parts of the Acropolis that we saw as we walked counter-clockwise around the Parthenon.

We'll start on he southeast corner of the Acropolis.  From here we could see the Acropolis Museum.  This is not actually on the hill of the Acropolis, but it in town below the hill.  

Opened in 2009, most people refer to this as the New Acropolis Museum.  Unfortunately, since we were in Athens on Mondays both on the front and back ends of our trip, and the New Acropolis Museum is closed on Mondays, we did not get to tour it.  I have heard and read that it is not-to-be-missed if you're in Athens.  I guess we'll have to go back...

Just in front of the New Acropolis Museum, and on the Acropolis, is the Theatre of Dionysus.

In its prime, this theater seated 17,000 people! This theater will be partially restored along with the current Acropolis restoration project, and this portion is expected to be complete by 2015.

(In the bottom right corner of this photo, you will notice more of the puzzle pieces that are part of the Acropolis restoration project.)

As we reached the east-most point of the Acropolis, we spied the Temple of Olympian Zeus, where we had been earlier that morning.  I like the perspective this photo provides, as you can see the full property, including the Arch of Hadrian (just left of center in this picture).

On the east end of the Acropolis, the Greek flag flies. This is a popular vantage point that overlooks the Plaka in Athens.

  
From the end of the wall you see on the left of the photo above, I took some pictures of the Plaka below.  The roof gardens are amazing, and one of those is where we had eaten dinner the evening prior.

Next we came to the Erechtheion on the north side of the Parthenon.

 This temple is dedicated to Athena and Posseidon.

Here's your obligatory up-close-and-personal photo of an olive tree.  When in Rome Greece...

On the right side of the above photo, we get a glimpse of my favorite part of the Erechtheion:

The Porch of the Caryatids.

I love this feature for several reasons.  First, it brings back memories of my high school studies of Greek Mythology.  Caryatids are structural columns designed in the likeness of women, usually muses.

These particular caryatids aren't the originals. That's the second interesting thing about this porch.  Originally, there were six caryatids.  But in 1801 something happened to one of them. Remember my story about Lord Elgin?  Yes, he's back.  He decided in that year to take one of the caryatids to his Scotland home, and it was later sold.  So you get one guess as to where it is now.

That's right.  The British Museum.

The other five original statues are in the New Acropolis Museum.  These six in the photo above are all replicas.

And now, we've come full circle at the Acropolis of Athens.  We are back standing just above the Propylaea.  You can see the Philopappus Monument in the distance on the left, a small bit of Athens ahead, and the Saronic Gulf in the distance.

We would be headed toward the Saronic Gulf later that evening.  I was getting pretty excited!

The Acropolis of Athens, Part III

As we continued to explore the Acropolis, we stumbled upon this little structure.

Finally, the Parthenon!

Now you may be asking, what's with all the scaffolding?  Well, since you asked, that's part of an ongoing restoration that began a couple of years ago...in 1975!!  And I don't remember when they told us they expect it to be complete, but I am not sure I'll live to see that complete restoration.

As we approached the Parthenon, we could see the interior and exterior friezes. On this face of the building, the exterior frieze is in poor condition.  In the lower part of this photo, you can see the interior frieze around the cella (interior portion of the building). 

The interior frieze is one of the current focuses of the restoration.

We walked counter-clockwise around the Parthenon.  This is the southern wall.  You can see that several of the pillars and the roofline are missing.

This was as a result of a campaign in 1687 by the Venetians against the Ottoman Turks.  Even after being warned, the Ottoman Turks chose to use a portion of the Parthenon as a gunpowder magazine to store the explosive until they needed it.  Well, those Venetians fired a mortar from the Hill of Philopappus (remember that hill I told you about?) and blew up the side of the Parthenon.

Incidentally, that roof and windows that you see int he bottom of this photo are part of one of the buildings at the Acropolis that are used in the restoration effort.  We weren't allowed inside, but I'm sure those archaeologists and engineers were thrilled to have air conditioning up there on one of the highest points in Athens on a hot June day.

We continued to move to the east side of the Parthenon for the obligatory tourist picture of us in front of the Parthenon. Yes, we were there! (Christmas card photo, anyone?) 

  
Along the top of the east pediment, we saw portions of the metopes.  These depict various mythological battles. You can see a horse's head here. 

This was the first time we were told about the dispute over the "marbles".  Our guide told us that many elements of the original Parthenon are currently held in the British Museum in London.  I thought when they said "marbles", they were talking about big round stones of various sizes that were taken to London.  I was thinking, who wants to see a bunch of balls in London when we can see all this cool sculpture right here in Athens?

As our guide continued to explain to us, the "marbles" are a collection of items from the Parthenon and the Acropolis (of Athens) that were claimed by the Earl of Elgin way back in 1806 (with permission of the Ottoman Empire).  I guess when you're royalty, you can have anything you want. In 1816, the marbles were sold to the British Museum, where they sit today.  And that, friends, is how Greece lost its marbles. (yeah, I went there.)

Apparently, negotiations have been ongoing between the British and the Greeks since 1983 for the return of the marbles, but the British Museum has so far refused to return the marbles, and the British government does not want to intervene, because it would take legislation to force their return to Greece.  The British Museum says that they can take better care of the relics than the Greek can, due to climate control and other things.  Come on people, give the marbles back to the Greeks!  This is not kindergarten.

We continued to move clockwise around the Parthenon to the north elevation.  I was just reading something I had forgotten that we were told on our tour.  That white material that makes up the "new" portion of the puzzle is actually brought in from the original quarry.  So eventually, with wear and weather, it will fade to the creamy color.  Hmmmm.

One more photo of the north side of the Parthenon.

So there you have it. There's the Parthenon in all its glory. It's pretty amazing and was truly surreal to stand on that ancient ground.

But don't fret, there are still more things to see at (and from) the Acropolis of Athens.

The Acropolis of Athens, Part II

We walked back to the 50-some steps and entered the gate to the Propylaea.  This photo is taken from the point we climbed to near the Propylaea.

Athens sure is huge!

And this is a view of the Agora, north of the Acropolis.  And a wee portion of Athens beyond.

Zooming in, we get a nice view of the Temple of Hephaestus, the patron god of metalworking and craftsmanship.  Very well-preserved, the temple was completed in 416-415 b.c. 

Well, folks, that's as close as we're gonna get to the Temple of Hephaestus.  Enjoy the view!

As we panned to the south, it's a bird... it's a plane...

It's a...

DRONE!  Ok, in all honesty, I didn't know what this was, but Chris did, and he took pics of it.  We have no idea why a drone was flying around us and the Acropolis.  But it kinda scared me, since the only time we say the word "drone" in the U.S., it usually means something kinda scary.

Moving along...
We now pan back toward the Propylaea.  I never explained what the Propylaea is.  This is the monumental entrance gateway into the Acropolis. I found this drawing, courtesy of Wikipedia, showing what the Propylaea may have looked like in its prime.

Ummm...do you see all of those steps???

And this is what it looks like today (or at least what it looked like on June 10, 2013). 

Obviously, from this point, we still have numerous ramps and steps to climb.  (Did I tell you the Acropolis is WAYYY up there?)

Oh yeah, and remember that temple of Nike Athena?  This is the other side of it.  Remember creamy-color vs. white?

This temple was built between 427 and 424 b.c.  Sometimes you just have to stop and stare in awe at how incredibly ancient some of these structures are that we are standing right next to.  You can imagine people building them, visiting them, worshipping at them, abandoning them, and on and on.  A lot can happen in 25 centuries!

So we climbed those ramps and the last few (many) stairs.  And there we were. On top of the world!

Wow.  What an incredible view! We had to just stop for a moment and take it all in.

Turning back to the Propylaea, here is a close-up of some of the structure.  You can see that the columns are assembled, as with the Temple of Olympian Zeus, in modules, one on top of another.

I mentioned earlier that excavation and restoration is ongoing.  Here are some of the column modules.

There were signs asking that we not touch the columns, which we respected.

This view looks back at the Propylaea after we were inside the Acropolis.

Wait...what's that I see?  Is that...

 The Parthenon???

The Acropolis of Athens, Part I

By this time in our journey, approximately 14 hours after stepping foot off the airplane and onto Athenian ground, we had ogled the Parthenon from our rooftop dinner table at night, from the steps leading to the Panathenaic Stadium, from the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and from various other vantage points along the way.  I couldn't wait to go there!

Onto the bus we hopped, and we were taken on a 5- to 7-minute ride to the bus parking lot for "The Acropolis".  A word about "The Acropolis": we learned while we were in Greece that there is really no such thing as "The Acropolis", as we naive Americans have come to so endearingly refer to it.  In fact, for many of the cities and communities in Greece, each has its own acropolis. (I was going to phrase that differently, but I don't have any idea the plural form of "acropolis".)

You see, in Greek, "acropolis" means "highest city".  It is often a development in or near the center of the community, at a high elevation. "The Acropolis", which we refer to, is actually the "Acropolis of Athens". Contrary to popular thought, it does not consist only of the Parthenon.  It is truly a development of various components. And it is freakin' HUGE!  And it is wayyyyy up there.  Like, many steps up there.

So, we hopped off the bus and headed in the direction of the Acropolis (now, I'm just gonna abbreviate and not type Acropolis of Athens every time.  You know what I'm talking about.  We're in Athens.) And we walked around a corner and up oh, seven or eight steps, and into the woods on a path.  It was like a park.  Nice, wooded path.  This provided good shade on a hot day.

So we walked.  And soon we came to more steps.   So we walked up them.  And we walked.  

And we walked.

And we walked up.

And we walked up some more.

And we came to more steps.  And we climbed.

And we walked.

Up.

Some more.

You get the point.

We got to the entrance to the Acropolis and took a quick break for liquid refreshment (some water for us) and a quick restroom break.  During our break, Chris took this photo of the Philopappos Monument.  

This monument sits high atop Philopappos Hill, just under 1 kilometer to the west of the Acropolis.  The Philopappos is a monument and mausoleum dedicated to Gaius Julius Antiochus Epiphanes Philopappos (some prince dude who died in 116 a.d.). It is pretty cool and can be seen from most points in Athens.  That's about all I know about the monument or the prince.

So, we grabbed our cool Acropolis tickets and headed to the gates.  Whew, we were finally up there, after all that walking and all those steps.  Inside the gates, we walked forward and, guess what?  More steps.  Lots of them.  Like 50 or something. But we didn't climb them. Yet.

We took a detour to the right and hiked along another path, overlooking the city of Athens.

Looks a little smoggy, huh?

As we wound along the path, we came upon this.

The Odeum of Herodes Atticus.  This is a working theater, and as you can see, they are preparing for an opera to be performed later that week.  During the summer, there are weekly musical events in this theater.

 This amphitheater, with its near-perfect acoustics may be best known in modern times as the location of Yanni's 1993 performance and audio/video recording "Live at the Acropolis" (which, by the way, is very cool to listen to as I type this blog).

The backdrop stands in ruins, which makes it very cool that it is currently used for performances.  I'd love to see anything there.  Originally, there was a cedar roof, which is now long gone.

Other famous performances include Sting (sigh) on his Mercury Falling tour in 1996, Elton John times 2 during his 2000 Medusa tour (I wonder if he shuffled across the stage like he did in the Red Piano when I saw him in Vegas in 2007?), and Andrea Bocelli in 2010.

Part of the upcoming opera.  Spooky...scary!

A couple of additional photos of the Philopappos Monument from this perspective.

We have several pictures of the monument.  It must have really intrigued us.

This is the Temple of Athena Nike.

We will get to see more of it in a few minutes.  But for now, do you notice the creamy-colored stone and the white "stone"?  The Acropolis is under restoration and has been for several years.  Anything you see that is white is "new".  The creamy-colored stone is the original stone.  The process for restoring the Acropolis is very cool.  They are still excavating and finding pieces of the original Acropolis.  It's like a giant life-sized jigsaw puzzle.  And when there's a missing piece, they just make one!

We'll see more of the contrasting materials in later photos.  But for now, remember those 50-ish steps?  Let's go climb them.  (The Parthenon has to be around here somewhere, and I'd really like to go there one day...)