greece (day 10) - athens acropolis, parthenon, and kebab
today was my last full day in greece before returning home via istanbul. i reluctantly returned to the hotel breakfast because it was very convenient.
i met up with friends from home who were on a separate vacation near athens and came into town to visit the acropolis, parthenon, and agora. we found each other on the south slope of the acropolis and headed up. it was packed with people so there was a lot of ducking and weaving. the first site was the odeon of herodes atticus, a 2nd-century ad theater constructed by the romans:
further down, we could see the theater of dionysus, one of the oldest greek theaters (6th century bc) and the place that many famous greek plays were first performed:
then, we passed the temple of athena nike on our way up to the actual acropolis:
the propylaia (gates) to the acropolis. a view from the bottom:
and a view from the top:
another view of the temple of athena nike to the left of the propylaia:
the parthenon, a temple dedicated to athena:
the erechtheion (or temple of athena polias), famous for its caryatid columns:
i was able to see the temple of olympian zeus and the olympic stadium:
and i was able to see the agora and temple of hephaestus too:
some views of athens from the acropolis:
bonus shots of the crowds and also a bird:
after heading back down, i backtracked to the agora and roman agora because my friends hadn't had a chance to see any of the sites yet. roman agora round 2 with the acropolis in the background:
and a new close up of the inside of the temple of hephaestus at the agora (it was less crowded today and i was able to get closer):
after hitting the ancient sites, we went to a nearby kebab restaurant, o thanasis, in the monastiraki neighborhood. i ordered the yogourtlou kebab and a local beer:
my friends made friends with the boss, who was sitting at the table next to us. he was an 82-year-old greek man who loved our vibe. he kept sending bottles of beer, carafes of wine, and extra food on the house and we kept replying with a "yia mas." we were able to clear our plates and finished up the meal with the house wine:
we all walked out of the restaurant stuffed and a little drunk at 3:00. we headed to a baklava bakery and took a few minutes to recover. i parted ways with my friends so i could see the acropolis museum before it closed, and they all headed to an olive oil and wine tasting before leaving athens for the day.
the acropolis museum:
archaeological excavations are happening below the museum as well:
i finished up my day by going back to pizza dough! (it was really good) and ordering a pizza with mozzarella, pine nuts, and eggplant and a moschato wine from monemvasia:
then, it was time to pack up and get ready to fly out.