The House Upon The Hill (07/06/11)

Last trip we found that walking tours of a city were a great way of getting a feel for the heart and history of a place, so we asked our reception staff here this morning if they could possible get us in at short notice to the Athens Walking Tour - which they did. So after a short walk to Syntagma Square - filled with camping protestors unhappy with the handling of the Greek economic situation - and a quick breakfast of cheese and spinach pie, we joined our tour group in the metro station. The ground beneath all of Athens is so full of historical artefacts that the metro station itself has a display of what was found during construction : including early burial sites complete with skeleton. From there we walked on to the Parliament House and saw the changing of the guard ; then through the National Gardens to the Zappion Exhibition Building . From there we moved to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, where tall columns are all that remain of a monumental ancient temple. With the day becoming increasingly hotter we moved onto Hadrian's Arch (near our hotel) and then up the hill to the Acropolis. Our guide gave us a fascinating insight into the significance of the buildings to the city of that time, as well as into the ongoing restorations that are due for completion in 2020. The Parthenon was such a wonder of ancient architecture that reconstruction is proving difficult to replicate. By now the sun was blazing, and we were thankful for the hats, sunscreen and water that we had brought. Even so, it was a relief to go down the hill to the Plaka to grab a late lunch.Then, as jet lag took over, we went back to the hotel and a quick nap turned into a three hour sleep. But we awoke with still enough daylight hours left to venture back into the Plaka for tea : Gyros of Chicken ( tastes like marinated chicken rolled with a centre stuffing) and Carmel had some ham & cheese crepes. We tried a carafe of Greek wine with our meal - it was a little sweeter than our standard Australian whites but not too sweet, and not dry at all. It would be easy to drink a lot if you were sitting chatting on a hot day. We then sampled our first Greek desserts : Greek Yoghurt with honey and fruit for me, and Carmel settled for a fruit salad. Food is reasonably priced here - even in the touristy areas - and comes with complimentary water and pitta bread in most places. Probably half the prices we paid in Paris or Florence last time.
Tomorrow we plan to visit some of the other ancient sites - your ticket is valid for the Acropolis and six other places - and then the Acropolis museum. All sites except the Acropolis close at 2pm so it makes it hard to see a lot in one day, so an early start is essential, and it pays to beat the heat where possible too.