Greece-Day 2

Our virtual entrance ticket

To begin our second day in Greece,James and Miss K made an early morning coffee and pastry run. Their choices were delicious. After fueling ourselves, we applied sunscreen and filled our water bottles. Then we were off to view the Acropolis. The weather forecast for the day was 94 degrees with 65% humidity.

Abandoned building

We walked to the Acropolis in about 20 minutes. On the way we passed some boarded up old buildings. I wondered what story the walls could tell. I was surprised to see a lot of graffiti. Later, I learned if the tagger is caught there is a fine.

Reading the inscriptions on the marble stones at the entrance

Because there were nine of us in our party, someone would scout ahead as to where the entrance was to save steps and angst for the rest of us. We entered the entrance line only to learn strollers weren't allowed and had to be parked in another location. Miss Ada, her mom and dad headed there. We didn't meet up with them again until we finished touring the site.

Auditorium of the Theater of Dionysius (photo B Knott)

Amanda purchased our tickets online. These were combination tickets. We could see the following sites in addition to the Acropolis: Ancient Agora, Temple of Zeus, Aristotle's School, Hadrian's Library, Karameikos Archeological site and Museum, Roman Agora and Olympieion. We arrived early to get ahead of some of the crowd and also to take advantage of the cooler part of the day.

The sanctuary of Asklepios (photo B Knott)

Coming from 70 degree weather and low humidity, the 70 degree morning felt more like 80 because of the humidity. Miss K and Miss J were so excited about this day of the trip. James, their dad, had an audio guide of the location so he was able to reference specific information about each site along the way.

The top (photo B Knott)

The Auditorium of the Theater of Dionysius is being restored. To see a structure built in the fifth century B.C. boggled my mind! We joined the throng of people walking to the top. The view was spectacular. There are about four million people that live in Athens. Viewing all the roof tops from the Acropolis was a site! Walking through the Acropolis was worth the sweat effort. The site was defiantly not stroller friendly.

View of the city (photo B Knott)

My husband enjoyed seeing and reading about the first wheel.

First wheel (photo B Knott)

We viewed the Ancient Agora, the Karameikos Archeological site and Museum, Hadrian's Library and we walked by the Roman Agora. At the museum entrance people were cleaning marble artifacts. It was interesting to watch their process and see them work with their tools. They employ slow, careful and gentle movements.

Mosaic rock design

I had had enough of marble slabs, stone walls and more old rocks. Then I spied some ancient flooring. For the remainder of the trip, I looked for quilting designs! 

Strawberry sorbet

We had lunch. Again, we ordered a variety of plates and and shared. One of our order items was a strawberry sorbet for Miss Ada. When it came, it looked like a strawberry milkshake which Miss A ended up enjoying. The ice cream version of the strawberry sorbet arrived; but, Miss Ada wasn't interested and Miss K was full! We decided that sometimes, the translation on a menu can be a little off! 

Quilt design inspiration

Then Amanda and family went on to see more sites on the ticket. The girls wanted to see, as their dad put it, more rocks on a hot day. 

Quilting inspiration

We took an easy stroll to our rental condo though streets that contained shops and tiny squares. At one tiny square a group of musicians entertained us. Miss A clapped and rocked to the beat in her stroller which delighted us and the musicians!

Impromptu jam session

I enjoyed window shopping. We all chuckled at the display in front of a shoe store. We were going to stop for a coffee but, it started to sprinkle. We made it home without getting too wet. Amanda's family did get drenched. The rain didn't last long.

One extra large sandal

For dinner, we walked to a small restaurant and had chicken skewers. We enjoyed eating outside.