We got into Athens bright and early by 7am. We were getting off the boat by around 7:30 and soon were on our way. We started by a drive through Pareus and into Athens. The first stop was at the old Olympic Stadium built for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Sorta small and not very impressive but worth the visit for the historical signifcance.

After that we drove aroun downtown Athens seeing the main government buildings and such on the way to the Acropolis. There we started our tour with the guide using the Whisper system, everyone had a wireless receiver tuned to our guide's transmitter. As the Acropolis gets very busy the system was handy to make sure the guides don't need to shout and everyone can still here. It was supposed to be over 90 degrees that day (end of June) but ended up not being nearly that hot but it was extremely windy at the top of the hill. The Acropolis and Parthenon were amazing. The Parthenon was bigger than I expected but it's in need of a LOT of work. We talked about the history and the reasons the Parthenon looks the way it does. It was built around the 5th century BC during the hight of Atenian power. There are a couple other temples on the Acropolis as well as nearby. Nearby at the base of the Acropolis are a theater and other temples. (look up and name)

After spending a while on our own we re-grouped at the parking lot and went to lunch at the Ledra Marriott. There we had a fairly typical Greek lunch. As is usual with cruise based tours the food is nothing to write home about.

We then drove the 1.5 hours down the beautiful coast to the Temple of Posiedon. All along the coast were nice beaches filled with people enjoying the water. Most of the beaches were public but there were a handful of very nice private beaches with a more upscale feel. Not a lot of huge posh homes you would typically see in other places. Mot of the homes near the water were relatively modest multi story and multi-family homes across the street from the beach.

Once at the temple at the southern tip of this portion of Greece we parked and walked the rest of the way up. The winds here too were brutal even though the weather was perfectly clear and sunny. This temple was definitely nothing compared to the Parthenon but the site was up on the hill and nearly surrounded by the beautiful Agean Sea. We spent a while enjoying the views and the temple then headed back down the hill for some snacks at the restuarant by the site entrance.

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