Will We or Won't We? Oh, and We're Still in Greece, and Oh, a HUGE Surprise!

It's 11:25 p.m. as I start this post. This is a trip of a lifetime, but Tim and I are both a little bummed we're not in St. Louis right now. In just a few hours, the Blues take the ice. Man, if we win the Cup, what a celebration it will be. Neither of us will be awake at 3:00 a.m. when the game starts. In fact, we may not be awake the minute the game is over. Oh, I hope we win!

Meanwhile, back in Greece...this is my breakfast plate. That yogurt mousse I was talking about? It's in that cute little cup--I'll get it every morning. :)

Today, we wandered the streets and archaeological sites throughout the city, starting with the Temple of Zeus. From what we understand, this was the largest--or at least the tallest temple in the city. The scale was once again, massive, but I was most drawn to the fallen column. I took shots from lots of different angles--just another reminder of the things of this world that pass away I guess.

From there we crossed the street to the National Garden, meandering past Zappeion Hall and the fountain...

...under beautiful, shaded canopies...

...through rows of palm trees...

...to buy a pair of sandals! (Thanks, Alex Barton!) This "sandal maker to the stars" was actually pretty cool. Their are several different styles that are actually make a lot like Chacos--the leather straps can be pulled through the souls to custom fit your foot. Once the straps are in fitted to your foot, they are glued in place. I bought a pair. :)

From there we headed to the Agora. It funny what preconceived ideas you have about what something actually looks like. From The Acropolis yesterday, our tour guide pointed in a general region and told us it was the Agora. What I saw when she pointed was actually just one temple (shown two pictures down) that I imagined was a large "department store." When we got to the entrance of the site, I realized it was a large area of land where buildings once stood in addition to the temple. Again, a little Biblical reference--when Paul led into his sermon from the Aeropagus, he told us he had reasoned in the synagogue and the market place. This is where he reasoned:

The Agora

Temple of Hephaistos (on one side of The Agora)

Temple of Hephaistos (on one side of The Agora)

From the Agora, we walked back up to The Aeropagus (mentioned in previous post). I have to imagine that, while Paul's words were very direct, he also had a heart for the people. The homes and businesses that crowd the hillsides now are of different form, but people...well...we're pretty much still the same. :)

Looking out from The Aeropagus

Standing on The Aeropagus looking up to The Acropolis

We left there to grab a bite to eat. Tim said this was his favorite meal yet--souvlaki with yogurt sauce. Mine was pork souvlaki, which was also delicious!

From our late lunch, we were headed back to the hotel--the GPS was a little slow, so we missed a turn onto a busy street and decided to head up a quiet alley instead. As I looked up the alley, there were just a couple of people milling around at the top of the hill. We started walking up and I chuckled, turned to Tim and said, "Man, we had to miss the turn onto the flat, busy road and have to head up this hill!, instead." I turned my head back to the road and I hear, "Well, Amy Branson!" My response? "Cindy Cuba--no way!" 5,700 miles from home and I run into, on a relatively deserted backstreet, my friend and FACS teacher at Southwest Middle, Cindy Cuba. Crazy, I tell you. Just crazy! She and her daughter had been to Rome, Santorini and Mykonos, and now Athens. We chatted a few minutes about our trips and went on our way. I am still shaking my head!

We headed back to the hotel with the intention of getting back out to the actual highest point in Athens for a view of the city at dusk and sunset but needed to take care of a few things and didn't make it today (more for tomorrow). Walking (21,612 steps; 8.9 miles) in heat (upper 80s, low 90s) diminishes the appetite a bit, so by the time we headed home and got settled, we did not want dinner but something sweet to drink. Enter, the freddo cappuccino. Unfortunately, by the time we got to the place we chose (Yiasemi), they had stopped making that particular drink. I cannot get over how many restaurants, cafes, and tavernas there are in Athens. In addition to the high profile joints that are in the Plaka and other high visibility areas, they are tucked away in secluded alley ways, up steep streets and around every corner. I don't know how they all stay in business.

On the bottom half of this alley are three or four tiny cafes and restaurants, all with rooftop seating.

Freddo cappuccino

Freddo cappucinos came highly recommended by Yannis, our first taxi driver in Greece. The espresso was strong, and we went back for more sugar after a few sips. As I finish this post, it's 12:24 p.m...maybe I will stay up for the game. LET"S GO BLUES!

The Living and the Dead

(Sorry about the jacked up formatting--tooooo tired to fix it!)

Today we hit it hard! Okay, first, hotel breakfast are usually average at best. If I had only eaten the Greek Yogurt mousse with cherry sauce, I would have been a happy camper. I did not get pictures, but I will in the morning. There were other assorted goodies including several types of fresh baked breads, cheeses, olives, eggs, meats, and pastries--great way to start the day--pictures tomorrow, I promise...oh, and the same view that we had yesterday--they serve breakfast on the rooftop. :)

After breakfast, we hopped on a tour bus and headed to The Acropolis. I admit--the tour was rushed as far as picture taking because our guide (Do all Greek people talk as if they're ticked about something?) talked far more about Greek mythology and some of the current politics than I cared to hear. As an English teacher, Greek mythology was not my favorite--still isn't. But I'll tell you, the architecture was hard to take in. The size of the buildings were stunning. Without standing their among them, the scale is hard to capture. My pictures are no better than a history book.

Parthenon 

Parthenon

Old Temple of Athena

Old Temple of Athena


Propylaea


Propylaea


Temple of Athena Nike

What did get my attention was this:


The Aeropagus


The Aeropagus


The Aeropagus

Still--what's the big deal?

The Areopagus--a prominent rock outcropping located northwest of the Acropolis. Its English name is the Late Latin composite form of the Greek name Areios Pagos, translated "Ares Rock" (Ancient Greek: Ἄρειος Πάγος). In classical times, it functioned as the court for trying deliberate homicide, wounding and religious matters, as well as cases involving arson or olive trees. Ares was supposed to have been tried here by the gods for the murder of Poseidon's son Halirrhothius (a typical example of an aetiological myth).

So that's the wikipedia definition above.

Here's why it matters to me:

Acts 17:16-34

16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”33 At that, Paul left the Council. 34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

It is not lost on me that Paul preached the gospel of Jesus Christ publicly, the freedom of a once-for-all death, on the very "hill" where criminals were judged and condemned to die. Nice move Paul. :)


Looking up to the Acropolis from The Aeropagus

From there we took a tour of the Acropolis Museum (nice to visit--pictures relatively boring). We grabbed lunch at a local place called Athens Eats.


Good bread and roasted red pepper hummus


Quinoa salad with shave zucchini, cherry tomatoes, cashews, and avocado with a light lemon and olive oil dressing


Grilled cheese (for the life of me, I can't remember what kind--Greek name I didn't recognize) with fig jam

Lunch was perfect--light and delicious. I especially liked the fig jam on the cheese--the sweetness of fig with something savory--can't figure out what!

After lunch, we took a tour bus to The Temple of Poseidon:







I feel like my thirteen-year-old self at the Grand Canyon, but really, while I am amazed at the architecture...don't roll your eyes at me, but they all start to look alike. :)

We drove back into rush hour traffic in Athens, arriving at the hotel around seven. We made a few plans for the rest of our time here then headed out to dinner in the Plaka. We were hungry enough that we only got one shot of both of our half-eaten dinners--lamb in a clay pot and lamb souvlaki. The lamb in clay pot was better than the souvlaki.




Off to bed!

We're Here...

...and exhausted! We left our house (thanks, Deane) at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 9, and got in to the Athens airport at 10:30 a.m., June 10. Subtract eight hours from that--about seventeen hours of travel. The flights were all on time and uneventful--that's about all you can hope for on a seventeen hour journey. We got to the hotel via Yannis, our taxi driver. He gave us a quick geography lesson as we rounded Mt. Hymettus. The airport is situated on the other side of this small mountain. As we rounded the mountain and went through a few tunnels, we saw sprawling Athens' suburbs. We wound around streets alongside motorbikes and other vehicles as Yannis pointed out that he would not recommend driving in Athens. As we rounded our last corner, we spotted the Acropolis. It's so very strange to see such ancient ruins as we travel the down streets that, aside from the Greek words, aren't that different from the states. Our hotel is nestled right next to the Temple of Zeus. We got here before check-in time and met with a representative from the local travel agency that our travel agent uses here in Greece. Costas overwhelmed us with information as our heads were already swimming because of a lack of sleep. After meeting with him, we got a quick bite to eat at a restaurant around the corner that he recommended.

 Good, crusty bread with olive oil

Spinach pies and stuffed eggplant 

tzatziki 

chicken with a good sauce (don't remember what it was) and fries

From there we walked back to the hotel and headed up to the rooftop bar. With this view:

Yes, that's the Acropolis on the left and the Temple of Zeus.

We hung out out there for a minute but went back to the room as we were exhausted.

After Tim took a quick nap, we decided to stroll the streets of Athens from our hotel. We had dinner at another recommendation from our Greek travel agent. Tim still looks wiped out!

We forgot to take pictures before we ate! Kebabs are not like ours. They are more like sausages formed around a stick. They were juicy and tender. The kababs were served with pita, onion, and grilled tomatoes. Tim and I split an order in order to save room for dessert.

Speaking of dessert...

Lukumades are little puffs of dough fried crispy on the outside and almost custardy on the inside. Mine were topped with honey and cinnamon, Tim's with chocolate and almonds. A big shout out to Robin Avery for insisting that we got some. We're in Athens for four days--I suspect we may be back!

On our stroll home, we got a peak of the Acropolis at night:

We'll head back up to the rooftop bar and restaurant at some point to see the grand view at night! Tomorrow we have a big day of sightseeing in Athens. I've GOT to get some sleep!

Greece is the Word and the Blues

I know...Grease...but in this case...Greece! That's where we're headed in just a few days! I'd like to blog the trip, but I'm not getting any younger and staying up until 2:00 in the morning to write is not at all appealing, so I'm not sure how long I'll last.

We're leaving Tim's well-manicured herb garden...

...and his newly planted perennials.

We've spent some time reading, researching, and talking to folks who have been to Greece.

And we've cheered on our beloved Blues only to be on a airplane to Athens at the exact time they could win the Cup!

But we couldn't be more excited! Join us, will you?