DAY #3
Now that was some much needed rest! After enjoying a nice breakfast in the hotel, we set off to get a head start on the tourists and hit the main attraction - The Acropolis. The hike up to the entrance of the park was on a quiet, shady path along the backstreets and alleys of the town, and then made its way to a high point where we were able to look back and see all of downtown Athens. Definitely a beautiful early morning view.
The top lookout point at entrance to Acropolis
After buying our tickets to enter the ruins, we began our hike and very quickly came across a high view of my favorite piece (aesthetically) of all the ruins we saw on our two week trip - the Odeon of Herodes Atticus amphitheater. This is an old stone theater built in 161 AD that, despite its age, still hosts music concerts and theatrical plays to this day. There was so much to be amazed about with this theater - the huge bowl shape, the sloping seats, the beautiful stonework, and multiple arches and columns make for an awe-inspiring site. I immediately checked to see if there would be any shows playing while we were in Athens, but no such luck. That would have been an incredible experience.
Odeon of Herodes Atticus Amphitheater
Continuing up the path, we made our way to the main steps leading up to the Parthenon. At that moment we were so happy we had decided to get up early, because not only did we beat the 95-degree heat later in the day, but we had the stairs and the ruins almost exclusively to ourselves, allowing us to take some photos without tourists floating in the background of all of them. The Parthenon and all the ruins surrounding it were absolutely stunning. The fact that so much of these columns and marble and stone were still intact and standing was ridiculous, and being able to walk through all of it, reflecting on all the Greek history was truly an experience neither of us will ever forget.
The Parthenon
We spent a few hours exploring all the different stone structures across the vast landscape of the Acropolis. I don't think either one of us realized how much more there was to the ruins of the Acropolis beyond the Parthenon (theaters, museums, and temples), and it was definitely a welcome surprise. But as we got later into the morning, the Athens heat began to rear its head, so we made our way back down the hill for our favorite daily activity...game-planning for our next meal.
*SIDE NOTE* - As Julie and I did our planning for the trip, we came across a few travel books to aid our efforts. But without a doubt, the most helpful travel book we came across was by Lonely Planet. This book was so on-point that not only did we take it in our backpack every time we left the hotel, but we saw at least five other people during our travels with the exact same book. For those of you planning to travel to Greece (or anywhere else), Lonely Planet was the class of the competition, suggesting the best local restaurants, high quality hotels and transportation planning strategies. It was our Travel Bible.
After consulting the Travel Bible, we set out to try a great local place...only to find the cages and bars on the windows with a giant CLOSED sign. Hmmm. No problem, the Bible has plenty of suggestions! So we set out for the next taverna...and found out that was closed! Super bizarre, right? No worries, we figured third time would be a charm. So we set out toward the back-roads we saw that morning on our hike to the Acropolis and found a sweet little lunch place called Sholarhio. And even more importantly, it was OPEN!
The atmosphere was absolutely perfect at this place. We ate out on the veranda that overlooked a very quiet back alley, and in the planters they were growing fresh herbs, and hanging from the eaves of the roof were grape vines! We were immediately approached by our server (who had a striking resemblance to Anthony Hopkins) who informed us that our best deal was to choose five plates from his tray of options. And, obviously, any time Julie and I get the opportunity to eat five plated and not feel embarrassed about it, we jump on it!
Lunch at Sholarhio
So before we knew it, out came the stuffed grape leaves, meatballs, tzatziki, calamari, and fried potatoes (the Greek marketing term for "French Fries"). After gorging ourselves to a welcome food-induced coma, we decided to dive into some ouzo, the well-documented drink of Greece. So after our second waiter (who had his own striking resemblance to Tommy Lee Jones) cleared our table of empty plated, we dove into the ouzo. The anise (black licorice) flavored drink packed quite the little punch, and we both found it pleasant and a nice post-meal aperitif. Yep, just used the word aperitif...so?
After saying goodbye to our celebrity waiters, we embarked on a Bible-suggested walking tour of local downtown Athens, with the ultimate destination being the Central Market downtown, where fish are thrown, vendors yell and you find all the freshest meat and produce in town. This was definitely going to be the highlight of our walking tour, and we could barely contain our excitement as we approached the market's corner and found it...empty. Closed?! Okay, two restaurants and the central daily market? What the hell is going on here? Is it some random holid...
WAIT A MINUTE...
And right then, I remember reading some random excerpt in a travel book about holiday celebrations in Greece, including the August 15th "Assumption of the Holy Virgin." And that day, was today.
CRAP.
Leave it to us to pick our one full day in Athens to coincide with the third largest holiday on the Greek calendar. And of course, what do all the Greeks do on this holiday? They pack up their things and make a day trek to other islands...leaving Athens almost completely deserted, and us searching for a good taverna!
Since we had no market to see, and most shops in the flea market were closed as well, we decided to finish the walking tour and make our way through the National Gardens, Parliament and ultimately, the Panathenaic Stadium, where the first modern Olympics in Greece were held! It was definitely a long hike across some busy roads to get there, but the result was well worth it. The stadium was definitely a vintage feel, and the running track was incredibly long, and narrow, with the straightaways lasting forever, and the curves being almost nonexistent. They even had the medal podiums set up in the track, giving it all a very official feeling.
Part of the walking tour.
Modern Olympic Stadium
After a full day of hiking and exploring, we were, of course, ready for our next meal. But this time we were highly skeptical, as this holiday could have caused quite a few more restaurant closures for the day. But we grabbed our Travel Bible and set out to a restaurant Julie spotted earlier in the day called Elaia. The draw of this place, without question, was the rooftop terrace with a stunning evening view of the illuminated Parthenon! On top of the stunning view, we also had some excellent food to enjoy. We started with the stuffed mushrooms, and then Julie took a walk on the wild side as she ordered the roasted rooster (which tasted like chicken), while I continued to indulge my cheese cravings with my feta-stuffed lamb dish.
We were both extremely happy and stuffed, so we ambled our way back to Hotel Cecil, where we once again were greeted by Clerk #3 (Mr. Nice Guy). We had an early day ahead of us, as we'd be making our first island transfer on a ferry to...
STAY TUNED!
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