Thanks to last night's lateness, today began a little later than normal. The plan for the day was very simple:
- Get tickets to the ballet.
- Get tickets to Greek Dancing at the Dora Stratou.
- Walk around with camera, stopping as desired.
A lovely cupid statue
Close up of the cherubic face.
There is a children's playground around there somewhere, but I don't think this is what they were talking about... :)
So many turtles!! I kept seeing turtles all day after this, too, just out of range of my camera. I had no idea that Athens had such a huge turtle population! I also came across a small sitting area with overhanging vines, a lake with a bridge (someone was getting their own picture taken there, and I may or may not - hint: I did - take advantage of a posing woman in a white dress who was posing for a camera anyway) along with more lovely secluded benches than I could count. But pressing onward, I kept toward the ticket center.
Somewhere near Syntagma. This is in a courtyard beyond an open gate which, I think, leads to some museum. I didn't look very closely. There will be time later and I was on a mission!
I managed to get a (semi) close-up of the Library's frieze. The building is even more intricate and beautiful up close. Luckily, I looked more like a photographer than a tourist as I was on my own and kept changing positions to get better light.
These two guys were just hanging out by the library. They're behind a bunch of trees leading up to the front entrance, so I hadn't seen them previously. I'm relatively certain they are Plato and Aristotle, but I'll admit to not looking at the engravings to double check. I'll go back and ascertain who is who later. I noticed what might have been an art gallery by there that I want to go back to as well, anyhow.
I arrived at the ticket center one block later. Unfortunately, tickets were slightly more than I was willing to pay for a Ballet performance. I'm sure it would have been life-enriching, but it's scheduled for late Monday night and I have to be alert, awake and have my reading done for class at 8:30 am on Tuesday - especially since this is the class which my hospital visits forced me to miss the last two meetings. Ah well.
I went back another way, trying to locate a few items I've been looking for (decent wall mounting tape and a hand-sewing kit for small repairs). I was not able to find anything of great use to my needs, although I did locate a post office, the British Embassy (which has two theaters, one of which might perform in English!), two multi-level bookstores (one of which was 7 stories high!), and I figured out that I know the area better than I thought I did. I was never lost in all my exploring - that alone made me really happy.
So having failed on one ticket, I set off to get the other. This path took me back through Plaka and by the Acropolis, so I decided on a scenic route going around the Acropolis in order to take a few more pictures.
The church steeples are so lovely from this height.
Yes. That is graffiti carved into the most resilient plant I've ever seen. I did not know this was possible.
I think my Mom has a picture very similar to this one in her many boxes of slides from Greece. This one's for her. :)
It was while taking the above picture that I noticed a boy about my age with a backpack looking lost behind me. Being so far off the path as to not really have one anymore, I asked him if he knew where he was going. He said "Up, I hope. Do you know where it is?" I hadn't been particularly planning on making it up to the Acropolis today, but now seemed as good a time as any, so I showed him around to the entrance and we walked up together. I don't yet have any pictures for the journey to the top as I was planning on taking them when I came down alone and wouldn't be holding him up (more on that later.)
The following pictures have very few captions:
The Propylaea
The Temple of Athena Nike
The Erectheon
The Theater of Dionysus (from above)
The Parthenon
Even with so many tourists and so much construction, it's hard not to be in awe. The boy and I parted ways (he was trying to do as much in Athens as he could in 48 hours) while I was still taking pictures. The temples are definitely the most prominent feature on the Acropolis, no question, but I was stuck by how many pieces of stone work and columns were simply laying around behind roped off areas. A few examples:
A convenient passerby unknowingly provided a good scale for this marble column piece. It's astoundingly large and looks similarly heavy. No idea how anyone could get that all the way up to the Acropolis, let alone at the top of the tallest temple on the Acropolis. Makes me feel like a weakling, anyway.
This little guy was guarding a heap of ancient stonework. He fit right in with the other guards for the most part. They're strict when you disturb them or try to take something, but beyond that they don't seem to care much.
It was at about this point, when I felt something on my forehead. What you may have noticed looking at these pictures that I completely failed to notice while taking them was how very threatening the sky had suddenly become. On the Acropolis, where the closest covered area was a good 10 minute hustle away, and even then you would have to find a store, it started to rain. Up to this point, I hadn't even seen a likelihood of a light drizzle in Athens, and out of nowhere, the rain came in horizontal sheets, so that I was drenched in seconds. The tourists all began to make our way down in spurts, taking shelter under trees and columns when we could. There were a few areas lightly covered (for shade more than against rain, I think) that we all crowded under. I was quite literally trapped on the very place I'd been dying to go since I arrived here, unable to take pictures for fear of my camera's safety, for a full hour.
I was finally able to dash back to the shops at the bottom and pick up a shawl (I didn't see any umbrellas) by which point the rain had let up enough for me to run back to the apartment. I didn't think to stay in case it started pouring again. At this point, I looked at my watch and realized that somehow it had become 5:30 without my noticing it and getting lunch. I grabbed a gyro. Cold and wet and still a few minutes from the apartment under a gray sky, comfort food seemed like the best of all options. I didn't even try making it to the Dora Stratou for Greek Dancing tickets. I was tired and too unsure of the weather to risk it then.
But that wasn't the end of the night! Upon arriving back at the apartment, I learned that SE and K were planning to go watch the sunset right next to where I'd been caught in the rain all afternoon. I laughed until K pointed out that the sun was, in fact, reappearing behind the clouds and that the sunset would probably be very lovely, and the hill we were going to very empty, due to the rain. So I went with them. Philapappou Hill is the same hill where the Dora Stratou Theater is located, and it's right next door to the Acropolis. From their bases, the two are literally across the street from each other, though the peaks make them seem much further away than that. It was quite a lovely sunset.
K told me the history about this "monument to someone" earlier in the week but I've quite forgotten the details. Whoever it's dedicated to is buried underneath, though.
Hey, I've been there! :P
The monument all lit up. All the temples and monuments (and some of the churches) light up like this at night. Unfortunately, my camera can't capture things very well in the dark. I was quite lucky to get this shot, really. I tried and tried to get one of the Parthenon, but failed miserably. I think SE got some good ones, though, so I might steal one later - giving her credit, of course. And I'll try again on another day. It is just beautiful when they're all lit up and you can't see the construction very well at night. :)
After we climbed back down the mountain, we met SE's father, who has been in Greece for about a week now, visiting family, for dinner. We went to a little taverna in Monastiraki which SE and her father had been to before. The waiters obviously knew them and started putting more food than I could eat on the table before I was aware we had ordered. My food took longest, and by the time it "finally" got to me - which couldn't have been more than 15 minutes after I ordered it, and had never wanted for food since - they brought it out and I was too stuffed to eat a bite. So I saved it, naturally. Lamb kebab with roasted tomatoes and onions on pita in a lemon sauce. I was sad that I couldn't wolf it down, but I want to fully appreciate it when I do. It smells mouthwateringly good. And I certainly don't regret the grape leaves, greek salad with feta, pita and loaf bread, etc (not to mention gyro, which hadn't been that long ago at this point) that I'd eaten before. All in all, quite lovely. We may go back and see if they remember SE in a week or so, to see if they give us that much food again!
Heading back to the apartment, K and SE picked up a backgammon set (they're going to teach us how to play) and we finally got a Greek flag with which to adorn our bare apartment walls (M has been talking about this since day 1. She was so happy). M was back from Sifnos with her visiting friend by the time we got back. They're out partying with G now, and probably have a fair bit of energy after their long ferry rides. I'll get the details from them tomorrow. I'm planning to wake up very early and decide whether to attempt picture-taking at the Acropolis again (the CYA student ID gets me in for free so I can go whenever I wish/it's open) or go back to bed, depending on the weather.
In the meantime, I should probably sleep. It's been, as usual, a very long, good day. Kαληνύχτα!
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