How lucky I am to say that “the last time I was in Athens” so I don’t need to take a tour to see it today. And “I will be back in April” and I think it will be our free included tour so no need to spend $300 to see it today! Our first thought was to sightsee in the actual port which is Piraeus which, about a half hour drive away from the city, so you cannot reasonably walk into the main area.
We did think to take the HOHO to drive in and walk around on our own and regretfully bout a $99 ticket each. At the port talk by Jim Clement the afternoon before, he mentioned that there would be Hop Ons at the port. I went and cancelled our “tour” and luckily got to Shorex just as it was closing for the night.
We docked early and the gangway was in place by eight in the morning. We watched from our Edge Balcony as the tour buses loaded and departed. Probably everyone on the ship was setting off for an exciting day. We could see 3 different brands of Hop On Hop Off company’s buses waiting. The first driver, a Blue Bus, said $29.99 to have the all-day ticket and explained how these things work. The driver of the Yellow Bus said the same and that you could use the blue and yellow tickets interchangeably. The usual red Hop On Hop Off driver said $19.99! No thought necessary, swipe the credit card, board the top of the bus and off we went.
It was a nice ride through congested port area and then comes the equally busy shopping streets. Things were quieter but still quite jammed as we rode the narrow seaside road. People were down on the rocks fishing, many old men in Speedos were toweling off after a swim or getting ready to climb into the warm. Not a pretty site to see but the yachts in the harbor were amazing.
In the forward distance Athens was visible and if your eye was quick, you could actually see the Parthenon atop proud Acropolis. We drove over a busy four land highway past high rise, high end, hotels. When we reached the turnaround point at the base of the Acropolis where we would need to switch to an ‘in city’ route and to return to after exploring on foot, you know which option we took.
Carol loves Athens and has returned many times. I let her happily lead the way. Neither of us wanted to battle the crowds and go up to the top so we walked around at the bottom. We checked out both the restored and still excavating theaters. Then we crossed the street, stopping to admire and take pictures of Hadrian’s Arch, to the Temple of Zeus which was all scaffolded. The dismantled column used to teach how they were constructed still lay in the foreground. Carol all along the way pointing out places that she and her girlfriends had stayed, or eaten, or enjoyed in their youth driving through Greece!
Further along the main street there were other ruins. One was a Roman Bath discovered when they tried to add an airshaft to the underground Metro. In Greece as in Rome you can’t hardly dig a hole to plant a begonia without finding an historical artifact! You are supposed to report it for examination, but most private businesses do not because then finishing the construction takes many extra months to complete or possibly even adds years of expense to the project! These baths were cordoned off and well-marked and described sort of just right in the middle of where the sidewalk should have been!
We continued the crowded walk to Syntagma Square and arrived just in time for the changing of the guard. Their colorful uniforms and fun shoes make the quite simple ceremony a real tourist attraction. But the crowd was stretched out along the walk and a nice gentleman let us two short ladies in front of him so we could see very well.
We crossed the street and found a Hop On to join. It slowly, very slowly, made its way crisscrossing the traffic clogged streets at a pace slower than we could walk! In front of the National Library, not far from the Parliament building, was the University and National Library. Here was the demonstration about which we had heard. Young people, all dressed in black, demanded better free health care and free University! Problems are the same the world over!
We abandoned the bus as it reapproached Syntagma Square after circling the busy shopping and business districts. The driver was going to take a ten-minute break. We looked around and figured which way to get back to the pickup point to return to Piraeus. We were on the same main street but the opposite side. Back alleys jutted off at odd angles, but we had no time to waste as we didn’t want to miss the last bus. Walking along the Acropolis, back past the Parthenon, still among the throng of visitors, we talked again about how lucky we are to be able to enjoy the world and think about and discuss the great societies of history! And also, how many current situations relate back to history.
Just as we arrived at the drop off/pickup point at the entrance to the Acropolis/Parthenon a bus was loading and ready to go back to the ship. The drive did not seem to take as long as at 4:00 it was not yet rush hour. It was a wonderful day for us. My Galaxy Watch is so happy with my step count during this trip!
Back on board we had a delicious dinner in the ship’s Restaurant Cyprus. Mediterranean fare seemed like a great idea. I enjoyed the specials for the venue, an appetizer of Saganaki and a main course of Grilled Sea Bass. The sunset was amazing, and we had such a beautiful view of it from our table by the window.
The show this evening was called DNA. If you can find them on You Tube or Facebook, check them out. The two brothers were mind readers who were very believable. We greatly appreciated their showmanship and skill.
We had our after-dinner cocktail in the Grand Plaza after watching the bartenders face off with drink juggling skills! The lights flash, the beat picks up, the music gets louder as we exit the theater and go past the Grand Plaza! Carol had an Irish Coffee at Al Bacio and I had a diet Coke or as the say in Europe, Coke Light!
We did not stay up talking and reading as tomorrow we have a tour in Turkey!
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