Athens, Greece

Theater of Dyonisus

(3/21) Riding the escalator up from the underground metro into the Athens foggy sunlit sky, I knew we were no longer in Rome.  The cobblestone streets seemed cleaner, the air was fresher, and people strolled by at a casual pace.  Rolling my bag behind me we searched for our hotel for a little while.  Arriving at "Hotel Byron", just a few minutes from the metro station, we opened the door and entered into a dimly lit room.  I felt like I had just walked into the Mafia.  The room was silent and in the corner there were old men with dark wrinkled skin, smoking cigars and playing poker intensely.  The receptionist was a large dark-haired man with intimidating features and a thick accent.  Carefully grabbing our keys, we climbed the stairs and entered

View of Athens from Acropolis

into our surprisingly cozy room.  After a few minutes we decided to check out the Acropolis, which was only a few blocks from our hotel.  We happened upon a Theater which is called the "Theater of Dyonisus."  We were so surprised that there was nobody else around!  We wandered to the entrance of the Acropolis to buy tickets, only to find out they were free for students!  But the guy told us it was about to close in 15 minutes so we had to go straight to the top of the hill to the Pantheon.  We bounded up the uncrowded hill and stopped to take pictures at scenic spots.  Although hazy and windy, the top of the hill showed an incredible view of the city of Athens, but much of the ruins were under

Rock where St. Paul Preached

Pantheon at night

renovation. We took our time coming down as it closed and wandered off to find the temple of the Olympian Zeus.  Instead of finding it, our tired bodies sunk down into a park bench to regather and recover from our morning travels.  We noticed a statue behind our bench and decided to check it out.  The "little park" we were sitting in began to open up into a very large area...we were in the National Gardens!  Paths surrounded by palm trees and wooden niches led us to a beautiful bridge over a pond, flower gardens, and even a bird zoo!  We relished the quiet beauty in the middle of the city before heading back to our hotel as the sun began to set.  After a quick nap, we explored the nightlife of Athens by sitting outside of an Authentic Grecco Restaraunt and eating the classic Gyros.  Afterwards, we sauntered back to the

Gyros!

Acropolis to see the Pantheon ruins at night.  The road leading to the Pantheon becomes a romantic place to stroll in the evening time when the street lights becoming a spotlight for trumpet players serenading passerbys with Frank Sinatra tunes under the moonlight.   We walked out to a huge rock that lays beneath the Pantheon and overlooks a skyline of city lights.  Unfortunately, it was still a little foggy so the lights weren't spectacular, but it was still gorgeous.  The rock becomes the College Hangout at night and flocks of teens littered the grounds. A fun fact about the rock was that it used to be a spot where the Apostle Paul preached to the

The National Gardens

crowds.  After saying goodnight to the city of Athens we went back to the hotel to sleep before another flight the next morning.