Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Greece - May 7-9
It's been a few days, so there's a lot to catch up on. We are currently in Delphi. We aren't able to post any pictures because the computers are locked in such a way that we can't install the drivers for the camera. So far we've taken about 250 pictures since the beginning of the trip.
Sunday, May 7th
On May 7th, we met up with our Rick Steves tour group at the Acropolis Select hotel which is a few blocks from the Acropolis. There's 23 people in our group, and our tour guide is Colin. Colin's originally from Scotland, but lives in Alexandria, Egypt. He works for a small publishing firm but used to lead Rick Steves' tours in France. He helped start the tours in Greece.
After our orientation at the hotel we went to dinner a couple blocks from the hotel at a restaurant called God's Restaurant. Tasty food. Muir had chicken kabobs, and I had mossauka (sp?). Christie had perch fish and Ron had some more stuffed peppers. We still think that Kristine's cooking is better :) We walked next to the Acropolis after dinner and attempted to take pictures of it. (there are lights that illuminate it every night).
Monday, May 8th
On May 8th we got up early and met at 8am. Our group took the Metro (Athens subway) to Sygtagma (Constitution) Square to get oriented with city. After a short orientation with Colin we picked up a sim card for our cell phone and then hit up the following sights: the Parliment building to watch the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. From there we walked through the National Gardens, and then down Ermou street where all the shops are. At the bottom of Ermou street was a small Byzantine church called the Church of Kapnikarea. We were luckily that the church was open - we heard that it is usually closed. The church had beautiful frescos on the ceiling and walls. Good thing we didn't wear shorts since that's not allowed in the church.
From Ermou street we headed to the Plaka and Monastiraki Square, which is a shopping/market area at the bottom of the Acropolis. Of course, we went to visit Kristine at the Aphrodite jewelry shop where she helps out. (www.aphrodit.gr) and then cruised the rest of the Plaka and other sites in the area like Hadriean's library, the Roman Agora, and the Tower of the Winds.
Our meeting place for the group was at the Athens Cathedral, which is right next to a Starbucks /bookstore. We stopped into the bookstore for a bit before heading to lunch at a local cafe. Muir and I both had gyros - chicken and beef. Muir had the chicken of course.
After lunch we met up with our group and went to the Acropolis. Our tour guide was Vickie who is also an archaeologist. She gave us a lot of background on the history of Athens and the Partheonon. We also went to the museum at the Acropolis. After that we walked by Aries Rock, down to the Agora. The Agora was the ancient market in Athens.
We had free time after the Agora and walked to the Arch of Hadrian, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and over to the first Olympic stadium. We walked back to the hotel and had dinner at Ambrosia, which had very inexpensive food. The beer here is cheap too! We like the Greek beer Mythos.
Tuesday, May 9th
This morning we went to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Our bus was a bit late, but we picked up sometime when we drove to Delphi. The museum was amazing because I was able to see a lot of statues and relics that were in my art history book. Our tour guide was Faye, who has a PhD in archeology and also teaches the root of words. She had a dry sense of humor and and gave us a great tour with lots of information about the historic periods and how the creation of the art and relics evolved.
In the afternoon we took the bus to Delphi. We stopped at a truck stop for lunch, and Colin gave us a greek language lesson after lunch on the bus. In Delphi we went to visit the Temple of Apollo and the museum there. We ate dinner at a local restaurant. I had lamb, Muir had a rooster stew, Ron had veggies again, and Christie had the chicken. Still think that Kristine's tzatziki is the best.
Tomorrow we are taking a bus to Dimitsana, a small town. Our group was originally supposed to take a train, but there is a strike tomorrow, so we are taking the bus instead. It's a 6 hour drive and we will be going through to the Peloponnese. The greek bus driver had never been there before, and Colin is excited to take him there :) Dimitsana is has a very small community, and there are usually no tourists there, which will be a great experience. We will be going to Ancient Olympia while we are there.
I will post another update in a few days.
-Jenny & Muir
Sunday, May 7th
On May 7th, we met up with our Rick Steves tour group at the Acropolis Select hotel which is a few blocks from the Acropolis. There's 23 people in our group, and our tour guide is Colin. Colin's originally from Scotland, but lives in Alexandria, Egypt. He works for a small publishing firm but used to lead Rick Steves' tours in France. He helped start the tours in Greece.
After our orientation at the hotel we went to dinner a couple blocks from the hotel at a restaurant called God's Restaurant. Tasty food. Muir had chicken kabobs, and I had mossauka (sp?). Christie had perch fish and Ron had some more stuffed peppers. We still think that Kristine's cooking is better :) We walked next to the Acropolis after dinner and attempted to take pictures of it. (there are lights that illuminate it every night).
Monday, May 8th
On May 8th we got up early and met at 8am. Our group took the Metro (Athens subway) to Sygtagma (Constitution) Square to get oriented with city. After a short orientation with Colin we picked up a sim card for our cell phone and then hit up the following sights: the Parliment building to watch the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. From there we walked through the National Gardens, and then down Ermou street where all the shops are. At the bottom of Ermou street was a small Byzantine church called the Church of Kapnikarea. We were luckily that the church was open - we heard that it is usually closed. The church had beautiful frescos on the ceiling and walls. Good thing we didn't wear shorts since that's not allowed in the church.
From Ermou street we headed to the Plaka and Monastiraki Square, which is a shopping/market area at the bottom of the Acropolis. Of course, we went to visit Kristine at the Aphrodite jewelry shop where she helps out. (www.aphrodit.gr) and then cruised the rest of the Plaka and other sites in the area like Hadriean's library, the Roman Agora, and the Tower of the Winds.
Our meeting place for the group was at the Athens Cathedral, which is right next to a Starbucks /bookstore. We stopped into the bookstore for a bit before heading to lunch at a local cafe. Muir and I both had gyros - chicken and beef. Muir had the chicken of course.
After lunch we met up with our group and went to the Acropolis. Our tour guide was Vickie who is also an archaeologist. She gave us a lot of background on the history of Athens and the Partheonon. We also went to the museum at the Acropolis. After that we walked by Aries Rock, down to the Agora. The Agora was the ancient market in Athens.
We had free time after the Agora and walked to the Arch of Hadrian, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and over to the first Olympic stadium. We walked back to the hotel and had dinner at Ambrosia, which had very inexpensive food. The beer here is cheap too! We like the Greek beer Mythos.
Tuesday, May 9th
This morning we went to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Our bus was a bit late, but we picked up sometime when we drove to Delphi. The museum was amazing because I was able to see a lot of statues and relics that were in my art history book. Our tour guide was Faye, who has a PhD in archeology and also teaches the root of words. She had a dry sense of humor and and gave us a great tour with lots of information about the historic periods and how the creation of the art and relics evolved.
In the afternoon we took the bus to Delphi. We stopped at a truck stop for lunch, and Colin gave us a greek language lesson after lunch on the bus. In Delphi we went to visit the Temple of Apollo and the museum there. We ate dinner at a local restaurant. I had lamb, Muir had a rooster stew, Ron had veggies again, and Christie had the chicken. Still think that Kristine's tzatziki is the best.
Tomorrow we are taking a bus to Dimitsana, a small town. Our group was originally supposed to take a train, but there is a strike tomorrow, so we are taking the bus instead. It's a 6 hour drive and we will be going through to the Peloponnese. The greek bus driver had never been there before, and Colin is excited to take him there :) Dimitsana is has a very small community, and there are usually no tourists there, which will be a great experience. We will be going to Ancient Olympia while we are there.
I will post another update in a few days.
-Jenny & Muir
