Athens [Day 2]

After a hearty, early breakfast (oh, I love the Rick Steves breakfast policy!) we met our group in the lobby to hike to the top of Athens’ legendary Acropolis. We passed vendors setting up their tables along the sides of the cobbled streets, while a lone jogger bounced along to the beats in her ear buds. Scattered individuals sit at wooden tables in front of coffee shops, one reading a paper, another sipping a hot beverage from a small paper cup. The mornings in Athens were some of my favorite times, the pace slower, the streets almost deserted.

Acropolis and the Parthenon

We made it to the top just as the lines were beginning to move and the site opened for the day. Before coming to Greece, I didn’t know the difference between the Acropolis and the Parthenon, so sharing…

The Acropolis is the ancient, rocky hilltop citadel in Athens, while the Parthenon is the specific, main temple dedicated to Athena located on top of it. The Acropolis is the entire archaeological complex (including other structures), whereas the Parthenon is its most famous, central monument. With that out of the way…

Victor passed us off to Faye G, our dynamo tour guide, who wove the ancient stories of Athens with new and helped us connect the dots within the timelines of events. A trained archeologist, she was sharp and didn’t miss a beat. I loved how she traced the words we casually use today all the way back to their ancient Greek roots. It made the language feel alive and I can’t tell you how many little ‘aha’ moments I had!

Polis (city-state): Politics, policy, police
Auto – (self): Automatic, autobiography, autopsy.
Geo – (earth): Geography, geology, geometry.
Graph – (write): Autograph, paragraph, telegraph.
Philo – (love): Philosophy, philanthropy, bibliophile.

Two things to note. One, we were incredibly fortunate to arrive early in the morning. By mid-day, I imagine the shade would be non-existent and that the sheer amount of people at the top would be overwhelming. Two, the stone walkways and marble surfaces of the Acropolis are ultra slippery from wear and polish from gazillions of visitors over time. While new (and still controversial) concrete walkways were installed to help with these issues – the moment you wander off the path to explore, be aware of your footing.

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus, also known as the “Herodeon,” a beautifully restored Roman-era stone theater still hosts events today. Scott and I tried to attend a show during our stay, to no avail.

By the end of the tour, everyone in our group could identify the differences between column styles: Doric (oldest, simplest, no capital, no base, thick and fluted) versus Corinthian (ornate, latest, elaborate capitals of baskets, leaves and scrolls, and slender). I will never look at columns in any architecture design the same again!

I had Camilla stand next to one of the column sections for scale. Like windmills and cruise ships, unless you’re at the base looking straight up a column in place, it’s almost impossible to grasp just how massive they really are.

Acropolis Museum

We worked our way through the Acropolis, then toured the Acropolis Museum, which was custom built to showcase the amazing Parthenon sculptures. (Photos just don’t do the sculptures justice – especially at scale.) The other cool thing to note about this museum were the sections of glass panels in the floor that allowed us to see the archaeological excavation exhibited just below.

Teased with this accessible “bonus area” the entire time we toured on the upper floors, Scott and I took an additional side trip to explore the excavations beneath the museum! No one else wanted to join us so just the two of us explored this section.

One of the coolest surprises in Athens was hiding right under our feet. Beneath the glass floors is a beautifully preserved ancient neighborhood where you can literally walk above streets, homes, bathhouses, and even tombs that are thousands of years old. Colorful mosaics and surprisingly sophisticated drainage systems make it easy to imagine how daily Athenian life used to be.

A quietly charming thank-you note from ancient Athens. This marble fragment of a woman’s face, was part of a offering to Asclepius, the god of healing. A man dedicated it after his wife’s eye ailment was cured. Instead of flowers or a card, he offered a carved likeness of the healed body part. At Asclepius’ sanctuaries, this was the ancient equivalent of saying ‘much appreciated’ to the gods. Worshippers left behind stone ears, limbs, and other various body parts as proof of divine intervention. Standing there today, it feels surprisingly personal, a small, human story of hope, gratitude and preserved vision saved in marble.

The owl represents wisdom, knowledge, insight, and strategic prowess, as the sacred animal and companion of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, strategy, and war. More than a few owl souvenirs found their way home with me.

“Three-bodied Daemon”, thought to be from the west
pediment of the temple of Athena, known as the Hekatompedon, an ancient Greek temple on the Acropolis of Athens, predating the present Parthenon.

Zeus and Athena: Reconstruction of the East pediment of Parthenon, Acropolis of Athens.

The mines in Greece provided pigments like ochre (yellow), red earths (hematite), blues from copper minerals (azurite, malachite), and greens (conichalcite) supplying ancient Greek artists with the original crayolas.

Panathenaic Stadium

When we’d had our fill of Greek history, Allan and Camilla set off to explore the modern Plaka’s labyrinth of inviting streets, shops and cafés, while Scott and I headed out to explore the grounds of the Panathenaic Stadium, the world’s only all-marble stadium. It brings a whole new meaning to “doing stairs” which as a high school volleyball player I ran endlessly.

We were floored by the steepness of the steps as we headed up to the top to get an overarching view of the entire stadium. We wandered through a tunnel (yes, the one where Olympic athletes would run out to be greeted by thousands of cheering fans!) to the inner ancient portico of the Stadium where there was an exhibition of posters and torches from past Olympics.

I do the marketing for several side businesses that Scott and I run and my degree is in graphic design, so I was delighted to see the highlights of Olympic torch and poster designs from 1896 to present on display.

Olympic torches from years past. I didn’t know they were all unique designs!

This poster was a little on the racy side (understatement?), so it didn’t circulate nearly as widely as the others promoting the 1912 event.

Tunnel where Olympic Athletes ran down to enter the stadium.

Before we were ready, it was time to head back to the hotel to change. Our last evening in Athens was “on our own”, and our foursome had planned ahead. We had made dinner reservations at Dimitris and Savvas, a couple offering one seating a night, for eight people, in their home.

Dinner with an incredible view. We shared the evening with another party of four who were just wrapping up their time in Greece.

Epic Dining with a View

We had found the listing by doing some internet sleuthing, and reading online reviews. (After all, 450 five-star TripAdvisor reviews would be nearly impossible to fake – even for the most ambitious scammer.)

Dinner was EPIC. A five-star meal on a beautiful rooftop terrace across from Monastiraki Square with the Acropolis glowing above us. The food, the wine, the company—every part of the meal was exceptional.

Beginning at 9 p.m. and stretching until midnight in true Greek fashion, we laughed for hours with our dinner companions as Dimitri proudly presented course after memorable course.

Curious about our Greek Feast? I’ll dish…. 😉

Dinner didn’t simply arrive – it unfolded.

We began the evening the proper way: with a Greek aperitif in hand and a parade of little bites bursting with those unmistakable Mediterranean flavors. Salty, briny, herb-kissed – the kind of tastes that wake up your palate and whisper, you’re not at home anymore.

Then came Grandmother’s spinach and cheese pie. Not just any spanakopita – this one made with hand-rolled phyllo from a hush-hush family recipe. The pastry shattered delicately with each bite, giving way to warm, savory filling that tasted like it had been perfected over generations.

A finely chopped smoked aubergine salad followed, laced with sweet baked Thracian garlic, smoky, silky, and delicious!

Then tender stuffed zucchini arrived, blanketed in a velvety egg-lemon sauce so luscious I may have considered licking the plate (I showed restraint… mostly).

Their version of the classic Greek salad felt both familiar and entirely new – bright tomatoes, sharp feta, olive oil that deserved its own spotlight.

And then – something completely new, these slow-cooked meatballs swimming in wine and tomato sauce, perfumed with Eastern Mediterranean herbs. They were served alongside Greek-style roasted potatoes, crisp at the edges, soft within and kissed with lemon from Sparta, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and generous glugs of olive oil.

Just when we thought we couldn’t manage another bite, dessert appeared. Kamaki ice cream scented with mastic from the island of Chios, paired with sweet-tart cherries. And, of course, thick Greek yogurt crowned with nuts and honey, because Greece does not believe in modest endings.

It was a meal that felt less like dining and more like being welcomed, fully, warmly, deliciously, into someone’s home.

Taking the (cozy) elevator back to the street with our new friends.

After our incredible meal, we wandered our way back to the hotel for some well needed rest before tomorrow’s long driving day.

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