today was another fun day in Athens. I started out the day by returning to the acropolis. This time it was packed. I later learned three cruise ships docked today so in addition to tourists who missed out yesterday because of strikes/Easter/labor day, we also had excess visitors thanks to cruise liners.
The acropolis was interesting and they have been restoring it for years - still no where near finished. I was amazed that we were allowed to walk so closely to such historic sites. The acropolis is composed of many building including the Parthenon, temple of Athena Nike, theatre of Dionysus (yes I wrote about Dionysus in reports growing up as a child so clearly my favorite Greek God) and many more.
After the acropolis, I went to ancient agora which was basically a bunch of ruins and a church below the acropolis. Next to ancient agora there was an outdoor market/"flea market" which had a bunch of shops including gelato - yum!
I then headed back to the hotel where I met up with my driver for my trip to the temple of Poseidon. It was about a 2 hour drive out there along the coast - BEAUTIFUL drive with ocean that was a deep shade of blue. We stopped along the way so that I could take pictures - the water was so clear up close it was amazing. Also, we passed many wealthy areas of Athens as witnessed by their large yachts and the price tags of homes. One unique "swimming" hole we passed was more of a hot spring that you had to pay to enter but I took pics from the outside. Apparently the water is always 25 degrees Celsius despite the season and people believe it has a renewing effect on the body.
The temple of Poseidon at Sounion was overlooking beautiful ocean and was perched on the southernmost tip of Attica. Given Greece's maritime focus, Poseidon as god of the sea was only second to Zeus in power. The temple was clearly established to celebrate him and provide sacrifices prior to maritime travel.
For dinner I opted for some more traditional Greek dishes: spanakopita and moussaka. Both delicious thought have to admit that the latter makes me think I am eating an animal out of the lion king based on the name - obviously not the taste.
Tomorrow I am off to santorini, one of the islands, bright and early.
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