Wildflowers and a Mighty Wind:
Nine days in the Peloponnese and Athens.
Nine days in the Peloponnese and Athens.
A rainy day in Athens
Again, we awoke to overcast skies.
We took our time getting ready this morning and made our way down to the
breakfast area while service was in full-swing. Breakfast itself was a fairly
extensive hot & cold buffet…one of the nicest we've seen, actually…with a
tempting variety of meats, egg dishes, fresh fruits, pastries, breads, yogurt,
tasty rice pudding...and, yes, one of those incredible orange juice
machines just like the one in the Munich airport. Yum!
We set out on foot for the Roman Agora, not far from the hotel, with a brief
stop on the way to peak into Hadrian's Library. There, we purchased the 12
Euro ticket combo that gets you into the Roman Agora; Ancient Agora;
Acropolis; Theater of Dionysus; Temple of Olympian Zeus; and
Kerameikos, the ancient cemetery. Allie was free. We just had to make
sure not to lose the ticket stubs along the way.
Once inside the Roman Agora, however, it began to rain steadily. We
huddled under a tree near the Tower of the Winds for almost 15 minutes
before deciding, what's wrong with getting a little wet? Once the rain let up
a bit, we quickly made our way to the Ancient Agora nearby and to the
reconstructed Stoa of Attalos--a large colonnaded structure originally built
around 150BC. We stayed inside until the rain stopped. The museum of
the Ancient Agora, housed there, is fairly interesting and worth a visit (even
when you aren’t avoiding the weather!).
With no more rain to contend with (at the moment), we walked the grounds
of the Agora at a leisurely pace. We popped into the small, 1000-year old
Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles to see the frescoes, then ventured
on to the Temple of Hephestus (Hephaestion), a very stately and
impressive ruin. We also visited various ruined columns, the Temple of
Apollo, and the Tholos. Again, wildflowers blanketed the grounds, which
were lush and green. It was a bit chilly out, but the green and relative lack
of crowds enhanced our experience here.
Back wandering the Plaka again, we happened unexpectedly upon the
Lysicrates Monument, a nearly 2400 year old stone tribute to the winners of
a music competition, before winding our way down to Hadrian’s Gate and
the Temple of Olympian Zeus. It is a little hard to communicate the
enormous scale that the Temple was built on. It’s little more than a
collection of columns now, but man…those columns are HUGE!
Returning to the Plaka, we enjoyed lunch at Taverna Ta Giovetsakia (or
something like that; this is our attempt at translating Greek letters). Our
dolmades, spinach pie, mousaka, a sampler of three dips (tsatsiki, fish
roe, eggplant), house wine, Mythos beer, and Coke was around 43 euro,
including gratuity. Not bad at all.
Afterward, we wandered, shopped a bit and eventually returned to the hotel
when the effects of a large lunch and wine/beer set in. Chris continued to
explore more on foot, eventually strolling up to witness the changing of the
guard ceremony at the Parliament Building. It reminded him of the old
Monty Python “Ministry of Silly Walks” sketch.
A light rain started again, and we all waited a bit before venturing out again.
Eventually, we hoofed it to the Monastiraki area. We got a little wet, saw lots
of restaurants and bars, but the area was actually relatively quiet around 7
pm. We walked back through flea market (not really our thing), before
ending up at Sholarhio in the Plaka for dinner. Chris had found it earlier in
the day during his perambulations. It’s an interesting concept—a waiter
brings large platter to table with various mezedes, and you choose which
ones you want. For a party of three you get seven dishes plus a liter of
wine, bread and water and dessert…all for 12E per person. We selected
pork (very tasty!), meatballs in tomato sauce, calamari, sausages, Greek
salad, French fries, and ground fava beans with onion, plus the house red
wine. A very satisfying meal, and an outstanding overall value.
It was still raining, and we'd already spent enough time walking in the rain
today. So it was back to the hotel to prepare for our last day.
Next: Our big, fat Greek finale, and the journey home
See all of our Greece photos
our travels
home
contact us
Again, we awoke to overcast skies.
We took our time getting ready this morning and made our way down to the
breakfast area while service was in full-swing. Breakfast itself was a fairly
extensive hot & cold buffet…one of the nicest we've seen, actually…with a
tempting variety of meats, egg dishes, fresh fruits, pastries, breads, yogurt,
tasty rice pudding...and, yes, one of those incredible orange juice
machines just like the one in the Munich airport. Yum!
We set out on foot for the Roman Agora, not far from the hotel, with a brief
stop on the way to peak into Hadrian's Library. There, we purchased the 12
Euro ticket combo that gets you into the Roman Agora; Ancient Agora;
Acropolis; Theater of Dionysus; Temple of Olympian Zeus; and
Kerameikos, the ancient cemetery. Allie was free. We just had to make
sure not to lose the ticket stubs along the way.
Once inside the Roman Agora, however, it began to rain steadily. We
huddled under a tree near the Tower of the Winds for almost 15 minutes
before deciding, what's wrong with getting a little wet? Once the rain let up
a bit, we quickly made our way to the Ancient Agora nearby and to the
reconstructed Stoa of Attalos--a large colonnaded structure originally built
around 150BC. We stayed inside until the rain stopped. The museum of
the Ancient Agora, housed there, is fairly interesting and worth a visit (even
when you aren’t avoiding the weather!).
With no more rain to contend with (at the moment), we walked the grounds
of the Agora at a leisurely pace. We popped into the small, 1000-year old
Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles to see the frescoes, then ventured
on to the Temple of Hephestus (Hephaestion), a very stately and
impressive ruin. We also visited various ruined columns, the Temple of
Apollo, and the Tholos. Again, wildflowers blanketed the grounds, which
were lush and green. It was a bit chilly out, but the green and relative lack
of crowds enhanced our experience here.
Back wandering the Plaka again, we happened unexpectedly upon the
Lysicrates Monument, a nearly 2400 year old stone tribute to the winners of
a music competition, before winding our way down to Hadrian’s Gate and
the Temple of Olympian Zeus. It is a little hard to communicate the
enormous scale that the Temple was built on. It’s little more than a
collection of columns now, but man…those columns are HUGE!
Returning to the Plaka, we enjoyed lunch at Taverna Ta Giovetsakia (or
something like that; this is our attempt at translating Greek letters). Our
dolmades, spinach pie, mousaka, a sampler of three dips (tsatsiki, fish
roe, eggplant), house wine, Mythos beer, and Coke was around 43 euro,
including gratuity. Not bad at all.
Afterward, we wandered, shopped a bit and eventually returned to the hotel
when the effects of a large lunch and wine/beer set in. Chris continued to
explore more on foot, eventually strolling up to witness the changing of the
guard ceremony at the Parliament Building. It reminded him of the old
Monty Python “Ministry of Silly Walks” sketch.
A light rain started again, and we all waited a bit before venturing out again.
Eventually, we hoofed it to the Monastiraki area. We got a little wet, saw lots
of restaurants and bars, but the area was actually relatively quiet around 7
pm. We walked back through flea market (not really our thing), before
ending up at Sholarhio in the Plaka for dinner. Chris had found it earlier in
the day during his perambulations. It’s an interesting concept—a waiter
brings large platter to table with various mezedes, and you choose which
ones you want. For a party of three you get seven dishes plus a liter of
wine, bread and water and dessert…all for 12E per person. We selected
pork (very tasty!), meatballs in tomato sauce, calamari, sausages, Greek
salad, French fries, and ground fava beans with onion, plus the house red
wine. A very satisfying meal, and an outstanding overall value.
It was still raining, and we'd already spent enough time walking in the rain
today. So it was back to the hotel to prepare for our last day.
Next: Our big, fat Greek finale, and the journey home
See all of our Greece photos
our travels
home
contact us
Big foot! Base of a column that is part of the
Temple of Olympian Zeus
Temple of Olympian Zeus
Wildflowers and ruins at the Roman Agora
Caption
Modern art in Athens
Changing of the guard: Parliament at Syntagma
Square
Square
Greece home
The voyage to Nafplio
Mycenae: Bronze Age equinox
To the theater! Epidaurus
Madness? This is Sparti! (and Mystras)
Greek Independence Day on the Mani
Monemvasia: a one-way trip to the past
Athens is calling
A rainy day in Athens
Our big, fat Greek finale / the journey home
Hotel reviews, air, driving, and other logistics
Logistics con't, and some final thoughts
The voyage to Nafplio
Mycenae: Bronze Age equinox
To the theater! Epidaurus
Madness? This is Sparti! (and Mystras)
Greek Independence Day on the Mani
Monemvasia: a one-way trip to the past
Athens is calling
A rainy day in Athens
Our big, fat Greek finale / the journey home
Hotel reviews, air, driving, and other logistics
Logistics con't, and some final thoughts