Return to Athens [Day 13]
The Ferry Home
Up early and slightly bleary-eyed, we set off to catch the ferry to Piraeus then rolled back into Athens by bus. Our destination? The National Archaeological Museum (the largest museum in Greece). Once again, our guide blew our minds with Greek history, walking us through marble kouros statues detailing the why and how their once-cheerful smiles evolved into a more serious, stoic stare.
The National Archaeological Museum
At the museum, we marveled at exhibit showstoppers like the bronze Jockey of Artemision, the powerful Poseidon of Melos, the glittering gold Mask of Agamemnon, funerary Mycenaean palace amphora with octopus, and the wildly complex Antikythera Mechanism (ancient tech at its finest).
[We learned even more about the Antikythera Mechanism, or first Greek “computer”, when we visited the museum of Greek Technology the following day, but I’m getting ahead of myself…]
After a free afternoon rediscovering Athens with our friends, we regrouped for one last dinner with the entire Rick Steves clan – swapping favorite moments, laughing over shared adventures, and toasting our fellow travelers.
Yamas!
