The Nilsons: DAY 2: ACROPOLIS AND CAPE SOUNION

The day continued to be very cooperative. It was nice and cool in the morning and warm in the afternoon. We started our day with a half day sightseeing tour of Athens. We went to see the Temple of Zeus, Syntagma Square, Olympic Stadium, Parliament, several notable buildings which we just saw from the bus and of course the ACROPOLIS, up close and personal. We were entertained by our driver Kostas and our guide, a young beautiful Greek girl named Yota (and yes, she makes fun of her name and jokes about her relationship with YODA of Star Wars which of course was lost on Matt). It was great to hear all the mythology attached to these places and it made it more interesting. Here are some photos:

TEMPLE OF ZEUS

What a grand temple! Really very imposing from the street where it is visible but a totally different story when you go inside and stare at these columns. Amazing. Notice the Acropolis in the background where Matt is standing.

LYKAVITTOS HILL AND THE OLYMPIC STADIUM

Lykavittos Hill is the highest point in Athens at 295 meters. We didn't go there but we were told you can get there by car, foot or by cable car and visit St George Church. The Stadium is equally imposing as well. This is not a great picture but we got some fantastic videos which we'll post later.

THE ACROPOLIS

Here we are at the Acropolis. Matt is standing in front of one of the buildings-- the most famous and most important-- the PARTHENON. Doesn't he look like he's enjoying the trip so far? I was so proud of him because getting up at the top of the Acropolis was quite a climb. The steps are made of marble and they are very slippery. And if you do it with short attacks of arthritis on your hip and legs, you can just imagine how painful it can be. But he did and he even took A LOT of wonderful pictures. Of course, I was ready with the bottle of ibuprofen just in case.

We have seen a lot of pictures of the PARTHENON but nothing really prepares you for its grandeur when seen up close. It is a majestic tribute to the goddess ATHENA.When you look up its columns and remember the mythology, all I can say is "you go, girl!"

Below is a picture of the temple ERECTHION, built on the most sacred site of the Acropolis. The site where Athena and Poseidon had their battle for the control of who will be patron of Athens. Yeah, that's early days politics for you. Notice the olive tree on the left, said to be the oldest olive tree. It was Athena's offering to the people of Athens as a sign of peace as opposed to Poseidon's offer of white horses which was a sign of war. The sculptures of the Caryatid maidens are just extraordinary. So what's with women depicted as holding the roof of the temples? Good thing it was cool to be plump back then or those temples won't stand a chance with 6 anorexic girls from Caryatids holding the roof.

We went to Cape Sounion in the afternoon after a short nap back at our hotel. It is an hour and a half drive from Athens along the coastline. We enjoyed the beautiful view of the Aegean Sea, so blue and clear.

CAPE SOUNION

Cape Sounion is where the Temple of Poseidon is located. Continuing from our mythology earlier, Poseidon, the brother of Zeus and uncle to Athena, lost the battle to be patron of Athens. However, Athena, being the nice and smart girl that she was, decided to build a temple for Uncle Poseidon. She chose Sounion which also doubled as protection for the Athenians. Any enemies who want to enter Athens had to deal with Poseidon first. Anyways... here are some photos of what is left of the temple. We were told that a few years back, one can go inside the temple and touch the columns. But too many people have no respect for these buildings, they started carving their names on the marble columns--including LORD BYRON! Hmmph!! So now, nobody is allowed inside the temple.