Everyone assumes that you’ll visit Greek Islands. They are all so famous, Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, and many others. We decided to stick with a one day trip from Athens to Aegina, one of the islands in the Saronic Gulf very close to Piraeus.* We could take the metro from Omonia all the way to Piraeus,Continue reading “Day Trip to Aegina”
Category Archives: Greece
Mar. 25, Greek Independence Day
I was startled out of my sleep on Friday by the sound of low-flying jets–a terrifying sound. It happened again a while later, and when we emerged from the apartment, I asked Sassa, our local cafe owner, what was going on. She smiled. “They’re practicing for tomorrow, Independence Day.” “There’s a big parade.” “You shouldContinue reading “Mar. 25, Greek Independence Day”
The Acropolis, Athens
We developed our visit to Athens by seeing the Acropolis from different angles, from the tops of the nearby hills, and from the base of the hill on different sides. The Parthenon is the big central temple, and the day came when it was time to climb to the top and see it up closeContinue reading “The Acropolis, Athens”
The Acropolis Museum, Athens
Some years ago when Greek authorities were trying (again) to convince the British Museum to return the marble sculptures from the roof of the Parthenon (the Elgin Marbles), it was said that should the sculptures be returned, the Greeks didn’t even have a decent place to put them. That stirred people up. The Acropolis MuseumContinue reading “The Acropolis Museum, Athens”
Filopappou Hill
An advantage of spending an entire month in Athens is being able to take walks without feeling our time will vanish. Yes, we’re visiting archaeological sites and museums, but we took another walk up a hill, this time overlooking the Acropolis from the south. Filopappou Hill is a park with a few ancient monuments onContinue reading “Filopappou Hill”
A Walk Up Lycabettus Hill
It was a sunny day and Jonathan was resting his knees, so I went for a stroll up Lycabettus, the hill we can see from our terrace. Our view is blocked in part by a large communications antenna, but on the walk over, I could see the hill very clearly. It’s the highest point inContinue reading “A Walk Up Lycabettus Hill”
Markets in Athens
Our central location is good for provisioning. Less than ten minutes walk north is Kallidromiou Street, site of the Saturday Farmers Market. The market sells only fruits, vegetables, and fish, a nice change from “farmers markets” that emphasize tshirts and jewelry. The produce is beautiful. We returned home vowing to take the shopping trolley withContinue reading “Markets in Athens”
Exarchia, an Athens neighborhood
Our apartment is not far from Exarchia Square, the center of the neighborhood of the same name. We didn’t select our apartment because it is here, though we wanted to be centrally located. Now that we’re in this zone of Athens, we are discovering our surroundings have quite a story. The first thing you noticeContinue reading “Exarchia, an Athens neighborhood”
Mar. 6, Melina Mercouri Day
I am old enough to remember Melina Mercouri, famous Greek actress. She is best known to Americans as the star of Never on Sunday, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1960. Mercouri is remembered for her political activism and as the first female Minister of Culture and Sport, a postContinue reading “Mar. 6, Melina Mercouri Day”
Athens O’clock–We arrive!
We arrived in Athens after as seamless a journey as possible. It’s a long way from Eureka, and we were glad to have made the hop from the Arcata-Eureka airport to San Francisco on the day before our flight. Our long leg went from San Francisco to Frankfurt, Germany, when I stopped looking at theContinue reading “Athens O’clock–We arrive!”
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