Tried again to get up early. Had to pack so we could leave luggage at hotel while we went to Acropolis/Parthenon. Finally left and took tram to Syntagma Square, which took awhile.
We got off the tram and stopped to watch the guards and then started walking toward the Acropolis...
We walked by Hadrian's Arch ....
(Elena and I waiting at a light...)
We ended up walking all the way to other side of Acropolis because the woman at the ticket booth said it would be better for me (walking with my cane signals me as disabled.) I'm not sure if she was right, but we walked around and then started up...
Once we made it to the top, we just strolled around looking and taking pictures...all around top, then down through Agora.
(This view is at the top, with the Parthenon behind us. We had a little trouble getting us and the building in the photo!)
(Not sure what I'm doing here--I think walking down some steps and not looking at the view!)
When we got to the bottom, we continued walking, through the Agora and to Hadrian’s library. It was hard to leave but we knew we had a long drive ahead of us. We bought strawberries and bananas to take on drive—there were a bunch of fruit carts just outside Metro station. Took Metro and then tram back to Glyfada and picked up bags at hotel. This is our first attempt at devising a system for packing the car. We have our stuff and also Elena's 2 huge bags which we somehow stuff into the car while leaving enough room for 3 people!
(This picture is either near the Plaka or near the Metro station.)
The drive out of Athens is not much fun...then to Piraeas and driving, driving, driving---trying to remember things from the drive in 1988. And it seems like, all of a sudden, we are crossing the canal! We stopped on the other side and Mike and Elena walked out on the foot bridge to take pictures.
One of the reasons I am so glad we came in May---the red poppies!
They are everywhere. Elena had told us about the mythology of the white poppies coming up red after the Battle of Marathon and how they've spread all over Greece. I had picked one at Marathon and have it pressed in my journal still. This photo was taken from the car as we drove down the road. Elena had it enlarged and gave it to me for Christmas!
Of course, we don't just drive straight to Napflion---Mike takes a couple turns that he thinks will work and then we had to try to retrace our way through these little villages. We were getting a little tired and short tempered when we finally arrive at Napflion around 7. We tried to get our bearings with the map--kind of hard because memories are tricky. We were trying to find hotels that were listed in Elena's book while also driving around and trying to find them! Finally called the Mariana Pension and they have a room and a good rate. When the proprietor asks when we will arrive, we say in a few minutes because we are just down the street/alley! The alley is very narrow and we're not sure we'll be able to turn the car around, so I wait in the car while they go check it out.
What a find!! Maybe I'll make an entire post just on this pension.
We moved our stuff in and then rested and "freshened up" while deciding what to do about dinner. Mike had a recommendation for a restaurant that serves octopus and so we decide to walk down into town and find it. It's down by the water. The name of the restaurant is "octopus" in Greek. These photos do not do justice to the wonderful food. Mike and Elena both had octopus, which Elena learned to love during her time in Greece and Mike remembered eating in Nauplion in 1988.
Like most of places we ate, they didn't rush us and it seemed like we sat there for hours before we finally made ourselves get up and walk back up the hill to the Mariana.
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