A Week in Athens

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We used Uber to get to the airport in Bucharest and after a short wait we were flying over the Carpathian mountains and into Athens.  We landed to rain and 50^ so it was a nice trade-off.  For a week we enjoyed mostly sunny days.  Our apartment for the week was in a really nice part of the city, only ten minutes from most of the antiquities.  There were plenty of markets nearby and we had a great selection of both local and international choices.

We planned our days to include a five or six mile walk and a visit to several hot spots.  On our first day out we decided to revisit the Acropolis Museum.  The last time we were in Athens we had a short visit and so we took our time with this visit and really soaked in the grandeur.

Next we walked over to the Acropolis and climbed the hill where we spent about two hours roaming the ruins.  It was a pretty day and there were no crowds.  Such an amazing difference from the last three times in Athens when it was high season and the place was mobbed.

Our next adventure was to climb the hill we see from our balcony.  From the ruins on the top we had a bird's eye view of yesterday's amazement.  It was a nice climb to the top.

Down the other side we were accompanied by this old girl for a while, obviously well fed...she was a huge dog and very sweet.

We wandered the alleys of the Plaka, there were plenty of Flea Market vendors on full display.

 We visited the Agora (ancient market) for the first time ever.

 The Tower of the Winds offered some really nice friezes.

 The reconstructed Stoa was remarkable.

And the temple to Athena, being the finest existing example of Greek antiquity in the world, stunned us with the complete existence of its original state.

We spent a "chill day" at home catching up on correspondence, news, and some art.  It was today that we learned of a former friend, who we severed ties with many years ago, had passed from an apparent suicidal overdose.  This kind of brought into focus the fragility of our existence and we thought about her off and on for the next few days.

We re-visited the Museum of Archaeology on our last day and viewed the magnificent sculture and finds.  It was a long walk to the museum, but seven miles on a bright sunny day in Athens is worth the sore feet and legs at the end of the day.