We started our day in Athens with a buffet breakfast at our hotel. As we ate our breakfast we talked about our plans for the day.
We already had tickets for entrance to the Acropolis and many of the other historic sites such as the Ancient Agora, Roman Agora, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. We wanted to get a view of the acropolis with as few people as possible, so we decided to make our way to the entrance about 30 minutes prior to opening.
We walked from our hotel and arrived with very few people waiting. The acropolis is a very large site and has several entrances. We decided on the less popular side entrance. This was both good and bad. It never got overly crowded at opening, but I quickly learned it was the farthest entry from the actual acropolis site. It also meant a longer hill climb!
We decided to work our way to the top of the hill as soon as possible, skipping the sites along the way. We would return to the skipped sites after we saw the main attraction. By the time we made it to the top, people from the other entry point had already made it to the top. It wasn’t that bad, it just wasn’t ideal for my plans.
When we arrived at the top, we climbed several staircases to enter the main area.
The sun had just risen, backlighting the Parthenon. I waited for as many people to clear so I could take the best possible picture.
I should mention, most of our trip I used my iPhone 15 Pro for photos. I brought my Sony a1 and two lenses, but I found them to be more hassle than it’s worth to carry around for landscape/city pictures. My interests really lie in nature photography, where an iPhone just won’t work for the results desired.
We explored the top of the Acropolis taking photos from various angles, some of which were people free. We then headed back down the mountain, viewing the sites previously skipped.
There were many cats in the area, a sight that is common in Athens.
Cats were highly respected and revered in ancient Greece, and were often depicted in art and literature. Cats are cherished members of the Greek community, and are often seen napping in cafes, and even perched upon the ancient monuments.
We then made our way to other locations in Athens such as The Temple of Ares.
During the middle of the day, we had some authentic Greek food at Bairaktaris Syntagma Square. It was amazing. We had doner gyro (beef and lamb); Pork skewers, kabobs, and pita.
We then continued our exploring of the city. Our next stop was the first Olympic Stadium, the Panathenaic Stadium.
The Panathenaic Stadium was built in 400BC. It was eventually renoavated and used for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896AD.
Shortly after we left Socrate’s Prison, a storm started to roll in. We had already completed everything we originally wanted to see, so we headed back to the hotel for a break and to plan dinner. We had tuna carpaccio with beef tartare and caviar, grilled fish of the day, and a chicken breast with truffle.
This time we had dinner at a place where I could go outside on the rooftop and take some photos. The sunset wasn’t as pretty as the previous night, but I was happy getting another look at the Acropolis at night.
