Day 3
Hey all,
So I haven’t had consistent Internet for the past few days (we have been traveling quite a bit!) so now I can finally sit down and write a decent blog entry. Oh, and I’m sorry I haven’t been posting any pictures! I only brought my iPad on this trip so I can’t upload any photos, but when I get back home I will definitely add loads of photos to this blog!
So on the third day, we all piled on our tour bus and did a quick bus tour of some sights in Athens. One of the places we stopped at was the Panathenaic Stadium, where the first Olympic Games of the modern era was ever held!! It now is used only for special occasions, but it is still an impressive sight. You could still see a podium for first, second, and third place!
After the stadium, we headed over to the Acropolis Museum. I wish I could properly describe the building to you, it was so nice! It is located on the hill of the Acropolis and has foundations from 1865 when the museum was first conceived. It’s really cool because the floor outside the museum (in a foyer of sorts) is glass so you can see the original foundations. The building itself is super modern. Inside there were different exhibits with old ruins and sculptures from the Acropolis. One of the things I thought was really cool was a section where the Caryatids were displayed. The Caryatids are these sculptures of female figures that served as part of the supportive structure of the Erechtheion temple on the Acropolis. But at the museum, they are doing a restoration project of these Caryatids because they need to be cleaned. Instead of harsh chemicals, they use lasers to clean the statues, it’s pretty cool! Reminded me of Physics 2 ahahaha.
After the museum, we grabbed a quick lunch and made our way to the top of the Acropolis, which is located in the center of Athens. It was quite a hike to get to the top, but SO worth it. It was amazing to finally see the Parthenon and the other ruins of ancient temples. Plus, seeing the view from the top of the Acropolis for the first time was breathtaking. It was strange because the skyline of Athens is quite different from that of modern cities in America. There aren’t any skyscrapers because the view of the Acropolis shouldn’t be obscured, so when I was looking from the top of the Acropolis it was just a vast landscape of apartments and other short buildings. Definitely different from New York and Chicago! It was amazing to finally see the Acropolis because it really defined the Golden Age of Greece and Athenian democracy in ancient times, which I learned about last semester. Yay for applying college knowledge to travel experiences!
After the Acropolis, my roommate and I headed back to the hotel to fit in a quick nap and just unwind for the day. All in all, it was a jam-packed day full of awesome sights and great food, as always =] they cook meat here so well, the souvlaki (it’s essentially meat and sometimes veggies cooked on a skewer) is the greatest thing ever and tzatziki is my new favorite condiment. For those of you who haven’t experienced the greatness that is tzatziki, it’s this white sauce flavored with garlic, cucumber, dill, and olive oil, among other things. It’s sooo good with bread, but it is also delicious with gyros/pretty much anything!
So yeah, that’s Day 3 in a nutshell! I will be writing about Day 4 shortly, when we went to…wait for it…DELPHI! Such a great day, but you guys will have to wait for the entry to hear all about it!
