Protestors litter the grounds of Parliament in Athens. Rioting on the news made our friends and family fear for our safety, but we didn’t see anything. We took group photos and a stray dog joined in. The changing of the guard drew us in. These guards did some amazing legs kicks, accentuated by the pompoms on their shoes. It is hard to take these guards seriously. Rachel ushered us back into the bus for a short bus tour around Athens. Since we are in Greece, it only seems appropriate we stop at the Olympic stadium, which was built completely of marble for the 1896 Olympics and where the archery event was held in the 2004 Olympics. Ali picked up a new headdress of olive leaves that she wore the rest of the day. The olive leaf crown made for a fun photo shoot in front of the stadium.
Onto The Acropolis of Athens. Because it is so famous, it can be simply titled, The Acropolis without any qualification. Under an olive tree, our guide Maria explained what fake idols meant to the Greeks. The Acropolis consists of 7 buildings that took 30 years to build total. (The Parthenon took 9 years to complete). Parthenon -Old Temple of Athena -Erechtheum -Statue of Athena Promachos - Propylaea - Temple of Athena Nike - Eleusinion - Sanctuary of Artemis - Brauronia or Brauroneion - Chalkotheke - Pandroseion - Arrephorion - Altar of Athena - Sanctuary of Zeus Polieus - Sanctuary of Pandion.
Like most of Europe, it is in it’s 9th restoration right now so there is scaffolding all around. The original marble was carried in from over 16KM away and hauled up the hill. AMAZING, Sandra and Mandy love HISTORY! With umbrellas in hand, we clambered over the rock mountain and viewed these amazing remnants of millennial old buildings and air. 300+ pictures later, we left The Acropolis and wandered down through the busy streets of the plaka. Utah joined some of our new friends for our first true Greek lunch - at a street café - Gyros with fries inside for 2 Euros!
Each of us had individual needs, so we split our ways with destinations in mind. Tanya had her eye on the H&M store, steph needed a camera charger, and Amanda just came for the walk. Ali, Sandra, Chelsea, Mandy, Tracy, Amy, Cheryl, and grandpa went looking for souvenirs. Amy and Tracy found cute carry-on luggage. Tanya bought some cute pants, but steph didn’t find any camera stores. Andy sent steph to a Best Buy, just above the Starbucks. Best Buy turned out to be a strange kind of flea market, bummer. After a scare of a missing Ali, she met our EF group and we left for a walking “tour”.
Amanda was kind enough to go with steph for one last-ditch effort in finding a camera store to buy a battery charger. Sandra equipped steph with her map and directions to meet up with the group, or meet back at the hotel if necessary. The first half of the tour led us through quaint pretty spots of Athens while the 2nd half of the tour wasn’t really part of a tour but a walk through the ghetto to our hotel. Amanda and steph went to several places recommended by people, but found nothing. By chance (actually a real blessing) they happened upon a small store that had everything camera. Steph bought a charger, prayed thanks to a loving Heavenly Father, and the two of them sprinted through the town to find the others. Amanda and steph took some funky turns, but ran into the group as they turned a corner. Another blessing. Leaving behind the charming part of downtown, our ragged group trudged through the ghetto of Athens to make it back to our hotel (instead of of taking the metro?!). Many of us arrived with heat rashes and sunburns. We took a break in Sandra and Tanya’s room watching eclectic Greek music videos and eating all of our American treats... and sleeping. We took Benedryl and lotioned our legs, steph changed into swim trunks even. Tracy joined us for a game of speed scrabble on the roof while our friends went to Greek evening. The night ended with an unexpected gathering around a group stuck in our elevator - Lou, John, and Tammy.
By Fars: Lunch (cheap and delicious gyros), top of the acropolis, steph’s new camera charger, steph and Amanda using the map, spending time with our group friends, Mandy’s 1.70 $ coke and candy bar, Matt’s impersonation of Lou, free time!, Amy’s new bag, Matt coming to hangout in our rooms, champion crown, Athena Ali, the H&M and pantalones, Utah Jazz guy, music videos and the shark!, missionary experiences, naps, bus tour, parliament with pom pom shoes, pretty Greece, sitting in the square of the placa.
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