Epic trip of 2015: part VI; Athens, Greece

On Wednesday the 18th we stopped at Pireas/Athens, Greece.

This is the only port we booked an excursion at.

There are pros and cons to the excursions:

Pros...this was a busy, big city so it was nice to have a tour bus navigate us exactly where we were going, and since it was booked through Royal Caribbean they guarantee you'll get back to the boat, they won't leave you.

Cons...slowed down by a group, not sure it's super great for the money.

Overall glad that we did it.

I thought this would be my favorite spot since I was a Greek mythology buff as a kid and I was excited to see the famed temples.

It was cool, but there were so many people and I'm just not into crowds.

{sitting in traffic}

{first glimpse}

The bus first stopped at the Olympic stadium.

Then we drove and parked at the base of the temple mount. 

This is a theater built into the hillside. They say it was covered when it was first built.

Then up to the hilltop, the Acropolis.

Wikipedia says this about the building pictured above:

"The Propylaea serves as the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens."

{we were tour group number 8}

Views of Mars Hill 

Back side of the Propylaea

The Parthenon

Athens and the surrounding sprawling areas

The Parthenon.

"The Parthenon is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron. Construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the peak of its power"

 

They're slowly replacing everything with exact replica pieces and bringing the originals indoors to a museum for conservation, to stop the weathering action happening.

another view of the theater

 

 "The Erechtheion or Erechtheum is an ancient Greek temple on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens in Greece which was dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon"

Heading back down to the bus. All the paths here were made out of marble, which gets slick when wet or over time with all the people walking on and thus polishing it, so they have carved patterns in a lot of places for traction.

The lower side of the theater.

What much of Athens looks like.

 

The obligatory stop at a gift shop.

Diet Coke...in Greek

We were back at the ship with time to spare, so we wandered down one street in Pireas.

Saint Nikolaos

Curt wanted to make sure and get a gyro while in Greece 

these were good

 

View from back on the boat.

Fun day overall. One more stop.