Cramming History

What a day it was. Booked a walking tour of Athens for the day. Our guide Nick was so knowledgable, he blew our minds away!! Normally over summer, there are groups of 18 people however during winter season the numbers vary. I was lucky enough to buddy up with two other amazing travellers (Tracey and Alejandro). We started the tour at Syntagma Sq looking at the historical finds when the excavation work took place to construct the metro line for the 2004 Olympics. We then walked over to temple of Zeus which in ancient times was the largest temple in Athens. We then saw The arch of Hadrian who helped complete the temple. After the arch we visited the Acropolis. When you think Athens, you immediately think of the Parthenon which is plastered on all Athens travel guides. Although along with the Parthenon (the temple dedicated to Athena), there is another small temple which is equally exquisite called the Erechthieon which you can see above (this temple is dedicated to Athena and Poseidon and has significance linking it back to the "contest between the two gods"). Some of the original decorations are clearly visible on this temple and the intricate designs are beautiful! After the acropolis we had a traditional Greek gyros for lunch. After lunch we visited the Acropolis museum which opened in 2009. This museum is absolutely a must to visit for serveral reasons. Start at 3rd floor and work your way down. The third floor is a recreation of the Parthenon (with the exact number of beams extending both height and width wise to give you an indication of how big the Parthenon is). There are several original marbles that is up for displays too. After the museum tour, we farewelled Nick and Tracey. Alex and I decided to visit the old Olympic stadium. The cost of entry to stadium was €3 and is worth it. This is a self guided tour with audio/radio to guide you. Again this place was not crowded because of winter season (however the weather is perfectly fine for someone who is going over from London or North America). The stadium has some quirky displays inside too like old Olympic torches and it also had the 2014 winter Olympic torch (replica I believe) as well. After the stadium, I took Alex up to Mt Lycabettus. We had Greek desert and enjoyed the view before we walked back down towards busy Plaka where I farewelled him. Overall an amazing day making new friends and seeing some really memorable sights!