Fall Break in Athens, Day 2

We left the city on Day 2 and headed out on an adventure with our tour guide Nikos. He picked us up in his car and we drove a few hours out into the hills and mountains, and then stopped in Livadia. It was a charming little town with a clear spring-fed river running down the hill.

It was a quiet Sunday morning and a perfect moment to enjoy the serenity of the area.

We walked a little farther up the canyon and found the local theater where they have outdoor performances during the summer. We also learned that the Greek kids like graffiti a LOT.

Our next stop was the 10th century Monastary of Hosios Loukas (St Luke, but not the author of the new Testament book Luke). It was an impressive sight on the hill in the distance.

We drove through countless olive groves on the way there.  Interesting fact - most families own their own olive trees somewhere and have their own olives harvested and pressed into oil each year.

The monastary is no longer active but the complex is huge and has been recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site.

The artwork inside the church was stunning - all mosaics depicting the life of Christ and His followers. It is still an active church and we saw a baby baptism while we were there.

Next up was the main event - the UNESCO site at Delphi, where the temple of Apollo resided in 600BC. Pilgrims came from all over the ancient world to ask a question of the oracle and brought fantastic gifts and offerings.

The Temple of Athena Pronaia would have been the first place visitors stopped.  It was unique as a round temple and would have been one of several temples, although the others have been destroyed.  Lots of earthquakes have happened in the past 2600+ years.

We stopped to sample the Castalian Spring, which has been flowing since at least 600BC. Travelers would have stopped here for a drink and pilgrims would have bathed in the nearby pool, which was created with aqueducts when the temples were built.

There are still remnants of an old track where athletes competed in physical games.

As we worked our way up to the Temple of Apollo, we saw the remains of what would have been fantastic gifts and offerings from pilgrims and entire regions.

The "treasure" offering from Athens along the Via Sacra

Most of the delicate pieces were moved to the nearby museum, but some pretty incredible pieces are still standing.

This was the base of the Serpentine Column, which dates back to 450BC. It was a trophy from a military victory and would have had 3 serpent heads holding up a cauldron, but they are all long gone.

The remains of the temple of Apollo.

The site the ancient people chose was pretty fantastic.  The sea is just behind the farther mountains.

There was a theater higher up on the hill and even a stadium beyond it!

Amazing views!

It was really interesting to see what still remained and how well they planned this massive complex on a steep hill.

The archaeological temple next door housed many beautiful remains that were found in the excavation in the 1800's and need more protection from the elements.

After our incredible afternoon, we went back to Arachova, a quaint little ski town in the winter, to enjoy the sights and have dinner.  Or to our Greek tour guide, a 5pm lunch.

Alex found that he was a huge fan of Greek steaks, much like any steaks he's ever met.

By the time we were done, the sun was going down and the temperature was dropping. It was a beautiful and chilly evening!

 Our sweet guide Nikos never rushed us and we had over two hours to drive back to Athens.  We arrived after 9pm at our hotel completely amazed and exhausted from our day.

Fall Break in Athens, Day 1

Matt was traveling to London before our fall break and the long travel was really throwing a wrench into our plans, until we decided to just meet up in Europe! There is a nonstop overnight flight to Istanbul and we were pretty excited to be on it and catch up with Matt.

Even better, the flight didn't fill up and we each got our own rows! It was a nice 12-hour flight with two meals and a good sleep.

We arrived in Istanbul at 4am (but no problem to our 8am body time) and had a few hours to kill.  It's a great airport and I even bought a pair of jeans for the trip during our layover!

Then just a 90-minute flight to Athens!  Matt had arrived on Friday night, so we rolled straight into the hotel room, showered and changed, and immediately started enjoying the sights.  

Our hotel was almost right next door to the Acropolis museum, so we stopped there first.  They're still excavating and discovering new things right below the museum!

Some of the artifacts from the Acropolis still have their detail and colors! Even from 1,000-2,000 years ago!

Pretty awesome to be enjoying the history and artifacts in the museum in full view of the Acropolis hill where they were discovered.

The real Korai from the Erechtheion temple on the Acropolis. The missing one is in the British Museum. They date back to 400BC!

After we wandered through the museum, we spent more time down below enjoying the ancient neighborhood around the Acropolis. The pots and idols they have discovered here are just incredible.

After lunch, we had a bike tour booked to hit the highlights and get oriented around the ancient part of the city.  E-bikes were definitely the way to go - just a little pedaling propelled us straight up and down the hills with minimal effort. I was just barely starting to walk over 2 miles at a time, so I was trying to minimize my steps and this was the perfect way to do it.

We got some incredible views and stopped in a few places that are largely unknown to tourists.

The temple of Hephaestus was in good shape and it was so cool to be biking through a pretty area and just notice an ancient temple off to one side.

One of the bigger modern (circa 1800's) churches that was a beautiful example of current Greek Orthodox worship halls.

Right next door was an 11th century church that was just charming.

We cruised through the National Gardens and admired the Zappeion.

The Plaka neighborhood was full of quaint streets and interesting shops.

We watched the royal guards in front of the Parliament building.  They are not allowed to move at all during their 3-hour shifts except for a ceremonial march to meet in the middle every hour.

Not much remains of Zeus' temple but it's still impressive to see.

The Arch of Hadrian was the doorway between the ancient and new cities in 132AD

After enjoying all the sights we could see from our bikes, we finished our tour and finally made it up to the Acropolis to soak in the sights we were so anxious to see! It had showered a few times that day but we were so thankful the weather held off and we had a gorgeous (but windy and cool) evening up on the Acropolis. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus was amazing.  They do have live performances here during the summer.

On the steps near the top of the Acropolis! We took a minute to enjoy the view and soak in the fact that we were really here!

We could see the ocean in the distance and the sun breaking through the clouds was beautiful.

I absolutely love the Korai statues, even if they aren't the real ones! They look incredible.

Finally, the Parthenon! It was finished in the 5th century BC and dedicated to Athena.

We saw most of the highlights of the carvings in the museum and there are some major renovations going on to preserve what still stands, but this must have been absolutely mind blowing when it was in its prime.

A view off the Acropolis hill toward the east, including the edge of the Theater of Dionysus

By the time we made it up the hill, my foot was done for the day.  I still had to get down and back to our (thankfully) very convenient hotel, and I was beyond thrilled that they had two jacuzzi tubs and even more thrilled when I saw the view! We came out here every evening and enjoyed the view and the hot tub kept my foot in working condition. 

The Herodion hotel was amazing and it had a fantastic restaurant as well.  It was too windy for the rooftop, but the downstairs dining room was a nice place to relax and talk over all the exciting things we'd experienced.  And it was just day one!

I love how they kept the tree growing through the restaurant.