Two weeks ago, my family came to Malta for 3 days. At the end of their time here, they left for Greece – and I went with them! I left Jon and the girls at home and spent a week in Greece with everyone (mom, dad, sister, 2 aunts, uncle and cousin). We had a blast. I’m so glad I got to return to Greece and see more of the country. And I’m even more glad that I got to spend time with my family!
We spent our first afternoon walking around the Syntagma and Monastiraki areas. We listened to Rick Steve’s audio walking tour – it was great!
Syntagma Square, also known as Constitution Square, is right across the street from the Parliament building. It was here in 1843 that Greece’s Constitution was signed. Recently, when Greece’s economy was failing (2010-12), there were many demonstrations here – sometimes, more than 10,000 people gathered to protest. We saw and heard a few protests while we were in Athens and pretty much every day the police were stationed outside our hotel.
Stopping for gelato was not part of the Rick Steve’s tour, but a necessary part of our tour! We are sitting in front of the Church of Kapnikarea.
Our hotel was in a really fun area, not far from Monastiraki square, “souvlaki row”, and Ermou street, a pedestrian area with lots of shops. All this in the shadow of the Acropolis.
The next day, we took a full day trip to three islands aboard a Pleasure Cruise ship. The sea was so beautiful and the weather was excellent!
We went to the islands of Poros, Hydra and Aegina. This is a photo of Hydra, a lovely little island with no cars – but lots of horses and mules! The port community has less than 2,000 residents. It’s a sweet little laid-back place.
We took a bus tour on the island of Aegina. We visited the ancient temple of Aphaia as well as a current Orthodox monastery. The drive through the countryside was lovely – it was fun to see more of the island than just the port. This is a view of Athens taken from the temple of Aphaia.
Pistachio trees! Aegina is famous for its pistachio groves. I love pistachios so I bought 3 bags of local nuts that I might share. 🙂
On our third day, 18 May, we had an organized tour of Athens. The Acropolis was the highlight for me.
Temple of Zeus.
We watched the changing of the guard at the Parliament building. These young men are a part of Greece’s military – every young man serves a year. These particular men are specially chosen to be the Presidential Guard (Evzone) with their 1867 replica uniforms.
Our final stop of the day was Lycabettus Hill. Incredible views of Greece from the top! We took a nice break after climbing up the hill.
SylLy Acres 