Trip to Athens, Greece - Day 6

Our last full day in Athens was on Thursday.  We had one site left on our tickets that we had bought.  We left in the morning after we ate breakfast and took the subway to find the Kerimikos Cemetery and Pottery sites. We didn't realize that it was very close to the ancient Agora site and we ended up getting off at the wrong stop and then walking in the wrong direction (we did a lot of walking on this day!).  When we did find the spot we were on the back end.  We walked all around the site and could see it.  We decided not to go around to the entrance and walk the whole thing again.  The kids (and me a little bit) had done enough walking by that time.

The site, looking through the gates.

After our long walk in the morning we got back on the metro and rode downtown and went to the National Archaeological Museum.  The museum was very large and had a lot of interesting exhibits.  It was like the archaeological version of the Hermitage - too much to see everything and too much to concentrate on for the whole time.  We especially liked the pottery (from the Kerimikos site) and the statues.  There was a large section with Egyptian mummies - those poor Egyptians really had everything taken away from them - and the kids were surprised to see the real mummy and not just the sarcophagus that they had seen in other places (like the Vatican museum).

Satisfied museum customers

Horses - Yulia couldn't resist a statue with a horse! This one was lifted up from a sunk ship.

Reading and learning

Egyptian section

Our favorite style of pottery.  The black relief designs were so amazing.

After we finished with the museum (about two hours worth of browsing) we stopped and got some pastries that we ate right outside the shop and then took the metro home.  We went home and rested for a while and then went out to the first little pita shop that we had gone to on our first day and had our last big meal in Greece.

Pastry shop with everything from savory to sweet treats.

Enjoying our last big Greek meal.

Some baklava treats for the road.

Friday morning we woke up and had breakfast and packed.  At about 10:00 we went out.  While I bought tickets for the trip to the airport, Yulia went and got some pastry treats for our lunch later in the day.  Our trip to the airport was smooth and after waiting for about fifty minutes we were able to check in and wait.  Our trip back to Kazakhstan was smooth.  A brief one hour layover in Istanbul and a late flight (arriving at about 2:30 a.m.) into Astana.

The view from the metro station at the airport. It reminded us of Utah so much!

Reading and waiting for our flight!

We had chosen to go to Greece rather than Hungary because we thought the weather would be better and because our kids had learned quite a bit about ancient Greece in school.  It ended up being a very enjoyable trip and we were very glad that we went.  We loved the food. The people were very nice, and we were impressed with the sites.  Athens isn't like Rome where everything is dense and there is ancient art and sculpture and architecture all over, but the sites that are there and preserved are very impressive.  We took things a little slower than our usual vacations since I was recovering from my surgery, but it was a perfect trip with perfect weather and a perfectly lovely time.

Trip to Athens, Greece - Day 3

On Monday we saw the main sites of Athens.  We got off the Metro and walked the wrong way (we were looking for the Acropolis - which in retrospect was quite funny since it was on the hill and very visible) but we found the Temple of Zeus.  At the Temple of Zeus we were able to purchase tickets for all the main archaeological attractions and there wasn't a line, so we were glad we started off there in the end.  We could have seen most of the Temple without really buying a ticket since it is a flat area and there was just a see-through fence around it for the most part, but we loved walking on the grounds where it was uncrowded, peaceful, and very impressive in terms of what is left of the architecture.

Hadrian's gate was just on the outside of the Zeus site and was totally available for free to see. 

At the Zeus Temple site.

Lexa figuring out photography with her Christmas present from last year.

More ruins.  The city in the background is built all around ancient Athens.  That was neat. 

Olive trees along the wall at the back.  We rested in their shade. I tried one. Bad move.  Extremely bitter.

Resting.

Yulia and I with the ruins in the background.

Yulia got a selfie stick for her birthday (from the kids) and here we are taking advantage of it!

The size and scale of the columns was impressive.

A view of Lykabettos Hill

This pomegranate tree was on the grounds. 

A closer view of the Acropolis.

  After we had seen all the sites at the Zeus Temple we walked back through the city (there was a street that was pretty much a tourist souvenir area and got to the entrance for the Acropolis.  We went in and walked up the hill.  Along the hill was an ancient amphitheater.  There is another theater built in to the hill just past the ancient one where concerts are still held.  It was a warm day and there were a lot of steps up, but we were rewarded with a beautiful view and some amazing architecture at the top.   They are in the process still of restoring the Acropolis and its associated buildings and temples.

Amphitheater

Yulia caught me taking pictures. Figures adorning the stage.

The girls sitting.

In the amphitheater with the Acropolis in the background.

Working our way through the grounds.

Second (still active) amphitheater.

 

A broader view.

Yulia resting and taking in the beauty (and radiating it).

It got very crowded as we made it to the steps leading up to the Accropolis complex.

View from the top.

 

The Acropolis.

Another temple (Erechtheion) built in 421 BC

Looking out to the sea.

Lina

Nika and Mama

The ladies (minus Lexa) resting

Looking down at the first amphitheater where we started.

Rubble (beautiful rubble) stacked at the site.

Lykabettos Hill.  The highest point in Athens.  We would go there later in the week.

Taking in the view.

More detail.

A view of Ancient Agora from Acropolis.

Looking down on "Mars Hill" where the Apostle Paul preached to the Athenians.

the tourist boulevard at the bottom of the Acropolis hill.

 

After we had climbed up the hill, seen the sites, and made our way back down, we were hungry and thirsty.  We stopped at a little pastry shop and had sandwiches and pastries and some drinks and sat in the shade.  After that we set off to walk around the hill to the other side where we visited the site of Hadrian's library, the Roman Agora and the Ancient Agora.  Our favorite was the Temple of the Four Winds at the Roman Agora and the whole site of the Ancient Agora.

Walking

Narrow little streets.

Nice little cafes right on the street and right across from the archaeological sites.

The Roman Agora with the Temple of the 4 Winds in the background.

Inside the temple of the 4 winds.

Taking advantage of the shade and examining the stacked and organized rubble.

At the entrance to Ancient Agora.

This temple on the grounds of Ancient Agora was much more intact than the Acropolis.  It was used as a church in the early centuries AD.

Looking up at the Acropolis from Ancient Agora.

This museum ran along one side of the property

Ancient Agora was very peaceful.  Looking down at the square.

A nice little rest and a fantastic view.

The views from Ancient Agora were beautiful!

At the back side of the site there was a little church that was being renovated.

Inside the church.

More frescoes inside the church.

Lina and Sophie managed to find and pet a cat that was roaming the grounds. Athens has multitudes of cats roaming the streets.

In the shade at the museum.

Enjoying the quiet

Getting ready to leave the ancient Agora.

 After seeing the sites we made our way back to the metro station.  On our way we stopped and got some frozen yogurt.  There was a little restaurant near our apartment that was very well-reviewed as a favorite spot for locals.  We went home and cleaned up a bit and went to eat.  We were some of the first customers since it was early (only about 6:30) when we started. The Greek food was brought out on little paper mats.  Sophie and Nika ordered pasta and it was huge portions.  We had a very nice meal that included wonderful salads and delicious Greek bread. It was a great way to end a busy and tiring day of walking and seeing the sites of Ancient Athens.

We found ice cream.

We bought frozen yogurt.

And ate it.

 

Dinner! Portions were very generous.

Our feast.