We have been anticipating this trip for around 9 months and it finally arrived. Took the "Little Guy", the Fuji XT20 - I am hear to tell you that was the best decision I could have made. I also purchased a point and shoot water proof Fuji Fine Pix XP120 at Mike's Camera on a whim. I was there to pick up 10-24 MM wide angle for TX20. Sweet lens! The Fine Pix came in handy after a full day of exploring and shooting, I could slip that guy in my pocket for our evening outings. I am not a huge fan of shooting with my iPhone although I am trying - love my cameras too much I guess.
We arrived a day early so we could rest up and have a bit of independent exploration. Our hotel was two blocks from the Acropolis which we could see from hour hotel room. We walked down the cobblestone street and passed the cafes with outdoor dining knowing full well we would be eating lunch at one of them in the near future. There was a stone road that led to a pine treed park. After resting a bit from the heat we decided that a hike up the hill was a must do to get the kick ass view. We hiked up and up and after reaching the top of the Hill of Muses we could see the Aegean Sea, all of Athens and the Acropolis.
Camera: Fuji XT20
After the hike we were were ready for some air conditioning and ended up at the Acropolis Museum, thinking it was the Archeology Museum. It was filled with artifacts found at the Acropolis and surrounding area. The coolest part was that it elevated over the ruins.
We ate lunch at one of the cafes and had our first taste of Greek cuisine. We ordered the Greek Platter for two, consisting of Moussaka, sausages, Spinach pie, greek salad, taziki, and some yummy meatballs. The remainder of the day was another hill, this one we paid a taxi driver to take up to the top of Lycabettus Hill, the highest point in Athens. Amazing view. We walked down and caught the changing of the Guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The word Acropolis means ‘edge of the city’ and every city had one. The one in Athens contains the Parthenon, the temple of Athena. We arrived early in the morning to beat the crowds, but they soon enveloped the site. All the pathways were marble, not smooth paths, but “Inca Trail’ kind of paths and slippery. The original Parthenon was constructed from wood and burned down during the Persian War (480 BC) and then reconstructed in Marble. Marble is everywhere, there are three quarries so it is relatively inexpensive to build with. The sidewalks are made of marble too and are slick.
The Archaeology Museum is not the Acropolis Museum, we know that now. We were supposed to go the the Archaeology Museum on our independent exploration day, but we were confused and went to the Acropolis Museum. Amaryllis, our guide, said that we could take the metro and go to the Archaeology museum while the rest of the group went to the Acropolis Museum. We had no trouble with the metro, stopped at a bakery for a snack of frocaccia with tomatoes and olives and sat on the marble steps of the museum waiting for it to open. It was huge and full of ton of artifacts, we explored for for a good three hours.
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