Monday, October 29, 2007

Greece Day 7

We were up at a decent hour and got our stuff together to ascend the Acropolis! We went down to the breakfast buffet to fuel up. Weenie got some chocolate frosted flakes! We've since looked for them here and they stopped making them several years ago. Weenie is sad about it.

We had been lamenting about this climb for months. Mooey still had her broken ankle and we were worried it was going to be steep and slippery. The base of the Acropolis was kind of close to the hotel but we figured we'd need all our energy so we cabbed it over there. Here we are at the bottom. Once we started up, it was a piece of cake.

We finally located the ticket office and all purchased tickets.

We came upon this amphitheater before we got to the Parthenon. They have actual concerts here every week. You can see the orchestra chairs.

Once at the top I turned around and took in the view.

The Parthenon is undergoing extensive renovations and there was scaffolding everywhere. We asked a fellow tourist to take our picture. It was a little windy as you can tell. It was also very crowded. We walked all the way around it.

This is the Erechtheum on the north side of the Acropolis.

Below is the Porch of Maidens.

This piece was on the ground next to others like it and people were sitting on them.

This was taken as we were descending.

Off to the side was a covered area with recovered statues.

This is the Theatre of Dionysus.

We had finished our tour of the Acropolis. I think we were there around 3 hours. We walked down to the street and hailed a cab. We were in search of the mall. Weenie had to have an Athens Harley Davidson shirt. The waiter the previous night had shown us on the map where the mall was located and we gave it to the cabbie. We pulled up about 5 minutes later.

We took the escalator up to the 3rd floor and found the shirts. We bought 3! They were really cool.

We left there and walked to Parliament. You can see all the pigeons in the picture below. It was kind of freaky because if you had nuts, they would just jump up on your arms. Several kids were screaming because it scared them so bad.

Across the street from Parliament, there was a McDonald's. We wanted to go in and try a cheeseburger but I just couldn't make myself.


We were trying to find the Plaka to get something to eat. We were walking and I said, "Where are we?" Just then, a man turned around and said "Where would you like to go?". We told him we were looking for he Plaka and he said he'd lived there for 25 years. We let Weenie do the talking and Mooey and I lagged back. She told him we were hungry and he told her he'd take up to a fabulous place. We had read that people try and steer you to certain places and then get paid by the restaurants. He saw the skepticism on our faces and said, "you no like, you no pay!" Can't argue with that.

We approached this restaurant and it was in a courtyard with trees. The tables were under the trees and it was nice. We sat down and ordered.


Greek salad. Look at that tiny piece of feta.

Last day in Greece. Had to get my Ouzo on!

Here Weenie is trying fish roe for the first time. It didn't go well.

This is saganaki which is fried cheese. It was delicious.

I had meatballs and they were great.


Oh, and beer.


After we ate, we decided to go back to the hotel and sit at the pool and have drinks. This is the alley on the way to the hotel.

More Ouzo poolside. There's the Acropolis in the distance.

Mooey opted for a margarita.


And Weenie shot some Absolut Citron. Last day, remember?


The sun was beginning to set so we grabbed our drinks and went to the roof.

After the spectacular sunset, we set off for supper. We had seen an Italian taverna close by and I was in the mood for pizza.


We ordered wine first thing (last night!).

I think this was the best wine I'd had all week. Also, this pizza was one of the best pizzas I've ever eaten and I'm a pizza connoisseur. The pizza had cherry peppers and onions. Divine!

Cats and dogs are everywhere in Greece. They just roam the streets. Weenie had a friend at dinner. She gave her some parmesan cheese.


We ordered another bottle of wine (last night!) and that's when the giggling started.


We needed to get back to the hotel. We asked for the check and guess what appeared? Metaxa. It tasted like soap.


We were all wasted (last night!). We stumbled back to the hotel but had we had enough? NO! We bellied up to the bar. Weenie ordered a beer and Mooey and I ordered Ouzo. About 2 minutes later, Weenie said she was going upstairs. I think the giant beer scared her. Mooey took over the beer for her. Look at my eyes. Neat.


We went up to the room shortly after that last Ouzo. We were toast.

We got up the next morning and got our stuff together. It was sad. We moped down to the front desk and checked out and then went to the airport.

The flight back to Atlanta was uneventful but since we left at noon we didn't sleep on the plane. When we landed, we were dead. We had a 4 hour layover and Mooey fell asleep in the terminal. Once we boarded the plane, none of us were awake for takeoff.

I have to say that I'm usually ready to come home while on vacation but not this time.

Here's the link to all my Greece pictures. http://www.flickr.com/photos/70929081@N00/

1 comment:

Grassy Paws said...

Fantastic photos! I don't think I would want to go home either after such a beautiful vacation. And always remember never eat the embryos of animals, it's gross!