Athens

I'm finally getting around to posting our Athens pictures. We took a lot of photos so it took some time to download the shots from the camera then rename and organize them all so that I would know what I was looking at.

It was really neat to be able to visit Athens and see the sights, many of them dating to 600 BC. We both thought it was awesome to be standing at the sight of the first great western civilization. For some reason, I thought the Acropolis would be larger and encompass more of the modern city. As it is, the ruins of ancient Athens make up small enclaves within a very busy, dirty and sprawling city. Modern day Athens really does an injustice to the accomplishments of the Greeks 2500 years ago. A travel tip for anyone that thinks they might visit Greece: enjoy the islands for as many days as possible, then make a 1 day trip to Athens to see the sights. We didn't get to see everything we had wanted, but that was mostly due to the fact that we spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out the boat schedule so that we could visit some of the neighboring islands - which we never were able to do.

We did make it to Cape Sounion, the southern most point of mainland Greece and the sight of the Temple of Poseidon. From the temple it is possible, depending on weather and smog conditions, to see 9 of the nearby Greek islands; we counted 5 on this particular day.

We will be back to Greece, however, we'll focus on seeing the islands, and enjoying a more relaxed version of Greek life.