Rick Steves Athens & The Heart of Greece
Αθήνα
Athens Days 0-1 Sightseeing and Start of Tour!
What do you do when you only have a few days in Athens to see and do everything?
Our time to sightsee was slightly challenged, in a good way, spending time with my Greek family over the Easter weekend. If Ron and I were going to see any of the city sights, though, we were going to need a plan and it involved walking, riding and still finding time to sit and relax.
We had one full day to explore before all the Easter festivities, so we decided to ease into our first view of Athens by walking what Rick Steves refers to as "the Acropolis Loop."
For me, walking is like eating 'slow food' - each course served deliberately and unrushed; Athens has done an outstanding job in making the city center more pedestrian friendly, by creating a wide traffic-free boulevard that runs on the south and west sides of the Acropolis (the actual street names are Dionysiou Areopagitou and Apostolou Pavlou). Pedestrian walkways continue on the north and east side, making a full circle around the Acropolis.
(hover on photos below for description or click to expand)
Walking works up a thirst; would you like a Frappe or Freddo Cappuccino? You can't go wrong with either one!
The Greeks love their coffee!
It's all so very Greek!
In Greece, if someone says "Let's go for a coffee," it means more than getting a coffee to drink, it's a way of life. Compared to Italians who quickly drink their shot of espresso while standing at a small table, the Greeks can spend hours sitting at a cafe, sipping that one cup, while catching up with friends, socializing, discussing life issues. If you get invited to "Go for a coffee" in Greece, plan on being there a while!
Monastiraki Square is a lively, tourist-filled square; there's a metro stop here, so it's easy to get to from other areas of Athens. On a side street just off Monastiraki Square, you will find the best souvlaki at Thanasis Restaurant. Trust us on this. Even my Greek family recommends this place! Thanasis Restaurant has been serving up this Greek dish forever.
Hint: there is a take out window for a cheap meal to go!!
A small church that caught our eye was the Church of Agios Eleftherios (Agios meaning Saint) One of the oldest churches in Athens, from the 12th century. It was once the main cathedral of Athens. Built of reused stones, some dating from the 2nd century, over the doorways you will find an amazing variety of crosses, symbols and animal figures.
It was replaced by the huge Cathedral of Athens (the Mitropolis) that sits next to it .
We finished our walk at the Arch of Hadrian and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. The Arch of Hadrian was built in 132 AD in honor of the Roman Emperor Hadrian by the people of Athens. Hadrian loved the Greeks and all things Greek. He financed major construction projects throughout the city (we already saw the magnificence of the Library of Hadrian). He was nicknamed Graecula (the little Greek) and was the first Roman emperor to have a Greek-style beard (at that time it was so very un-Roman like to be sporting a beard!)
It really is amazing that the arch is still standing after all this time. It aligns perfectly with Lysikrates street, and if you aim the camera just right, you can frame the top of the Acropolis with the arch.
The show-stopper of the day had to be the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Wow, what a stunner! The largest temple in ancient Greece, the Greeks began building it in the 6th century BC, then it went abandoned for centuries until Emperor Hadrian completed it in 131 AD. (No wonder the Greeks loved Hadrian!)
The temple had 104 columns, 2 rows of 20 columns on the sides, 3 rows of 8 columns on the ends, and the columns were 34 feet tall. The temple measured 360 feet long by 145 feet wide.
The temple was dedicated to Zeus (who lived on Mount Olympus); inside would have been two statues - one of Zeus... and one of Hadrian (the Athenians worshipped Hadrian as much as they worshipped Zeus).
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Don't be surprised if you see tortoises roaming around the ruins!
It was fun walking around the city center of Athens, but now we were ready for something quick and easy on the feet. It may not be on everyone's list, but for us, with only a half day left for sightseeing, we turned to one of our favorites - a ride on the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus!
Honestly, even if we weren't in a time crunch, we would still ride the Big Red Bus. It's the best way to get your bearings, get an overview of the city and it has a fairly decent commentary. We took the city loop, but they have 2 others... oh, if only we had more time!
Our walk didn't include Syntagma Square, but our ride did!
The former palace of King Otto (yes, Greece had a Bavarian King), now housing the Greek Parliament; the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, guarded by those famous evzone guards with their beautiful costumes.
Previously called Palace Square, on September 3, 1843, the Greek people rebelled and demanded that King Otto write the first constitution of Greece. The name was changed to Syntagma (meaning Constitution) in memory of that event.
We had a great view of the Panathenaic Stadium! The original stadium was built in the 4th century BC, then rebuilt in the 2nd century by Herodes Atticus, a friend of Emperor Hadrian.
The stadium was restored in 1896 in preparation for the first modern Olympic games and seats 45,000 people.
Thanks to King Otto and the Neoclassical movement of the 1800s, Athens has many grand neoclassical buildings today. This one in particular stood out to us the most.
The Zappeion.
Named after Evangelos Zappas, a freedom fighter for Greece and the man who had the vision and the funding to revive the Olympic games that we enjoy today!
It's all so very Greek!
Rick always says to learn a few words in the local language and not just expect everyone to speak English. When we needed to purchase a bottle of water at a local shop, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try out the few words of Greek I learned before our trip - here's how my first attempt at speaking Greek with a Greek went (aka the toughest 3 minutes ever):
"Ya Sas! Kalimera! (Hello, Good morning!) (It's always nice to start out by being polite)
"Kalimera!" he says in return (Good start, I'm thinking)
The next sentence was harder...
"Tha ethela nero, parakalo" (I would like water, please) (I haven't learned the word for bottle yet, hopefully he understood)
The shop owner nodded, and went toward the cooler...
but THEN, he stopped and asked me a question - IN GREEK!!
AAGGHH!! My worst nightmare, having to figure out what he said!
Wait, I said to myself, I think I actually know this! He asked "Mikro i megalo?" (Small or large?)
Relieved, I replied "Mikro, parakalo!"
Coins exchanged, success!! We left with an exuberant "Efharisto!!" (Thank you!!)
Whew! A simple conversation, I know, but I felt pretty darn proud of myself... now, to learn the word for bottle...
It's 5:30 pm - Tour Day 1 begins!
We all arrived at the hotel conference room promptly at 5:30 pm, everyone excited to start the tour. We met Apostolos, our guide; he has everything arranged for us on the tables, even our orange "whispers" that we would be using throughout our tour.
As we enjoyed our refreshments and snacks, Apostolos discussed the tour and requirements of us while on tour (easy stuff, nothing too hard). Then the fun part, getting our buddies. On previous tours, we all selected a buddy ourselves; but tonight, Apostolos assigned us each a buddy.
(Apostolos paired me up with Emily, someone a bit younger than me; I was worried we wouldn't have a thing to talk about. As it was, we ended up having a lot in common! How did Apostolos know??!)
So, you are asking, what is a "BUDDY" and why do I need one?
Your buddy is your safe guard, someone who is always looking out for you; a handy assistant, so to speak, for the tour guide. No head counts, no checking names off a list, the guide says "everyone do a buddy check" and you and your assigned buddy make "meaningful eye contact." If someone's missing, the guide knows immediately because you let him know your buddy isn't there!
After our meeting, we all walked down the street to God's Restaurant, for our first group meal of the tour,
Honestly, I have to tell you, I have no idea what I ate that night; the whole meal is just a blur of excited chatter. Whatever it was, I'm sure it was delicious!