Skipping Christmas - Day 4

Athens

The next day we harbored in Athens. Eric and I got up nice and early so we could maximize our time on the ground. We were planning on taking the metro into town but the subway was going to be a 30 minute walk (precious time when you only have an afternoon to spend in a city like Athens). We decided to get a cab to the Acropolis because we were able to split the cost with another couple from our boat. Our cab driver was nice and pointed out a lot of things in the city on our way to the Parthenon. He sort of forced us to stop at this scenic viewpoint. He was getting a flat rate so we humored him.

He also said this house belonged (belongs?) to Jackie O'Nassis.

The Parthenon was extremely busy with tourists. Many from our cruise but many from other ships and tours. I don't think there is a quiet time of year to visit. Even with the masses of annoying tourists the Parthenon was pretty amazing. We had beautiful weather and the 360 degree view of Athens was very impressive.

Zoom in of ruins down below.

Lots of cats on the Acropolis!

 Even in the trees!

 

Is this an ancient game board?

 Eric wants me to start an 'Animals on Monuments' blog because I am always
taking their pictures.

 Theater right next to the Parthenon. They restored it recently
and still hold performances there.

Next we went down to some more ruins. These are some of the ruins I zoomed in on from the Parthenon. You can see the Parthenon in the background of the picture with Eric and I.

On to the Acropolis museum! Most of the museum did not allow photos but there was a lot of great sculpture. There were also some cheeky remarks in their exhibits about now the British Museum won't give the Parthenon sculptures back.

We still had 2 hours until our cab was coming back for us so we headed to another area on the Acropolis where there are a bunch or ruins. We arrived (at 2:30) and were informed they close at 2:45!!! We went in and saw as much as we could see in 15 minutes- including this turtle trying to climb stairs.

We were sad that we got kicked out- there was a lot of cool stuff to see. Had we known it closed really early we would have done the museum second.

Back on the boat, food was a priority again! We had taken some snacks with us from breakfast but it was no substitute for lunch. It is hard to justify the purchase of food when there is unlimited (free) food back on board.

 After dinner we went to the theater to catch the juggling show! It was fun- they are pretty strict about no photos of performances so we took some while we were waiting for the show to start.

It had only been about 2 hours since we last had eaten so it was room service time! Room service is even more ridiculous because our room was only 2 floors below the buffet- where there is a dessert buffet going at all hours. 2 chocolate cakes please!