ATHENS

I didn't have the best start to the holiday- recovering from the Black Death Lurgy Bug that had kept me in bed the day before. On the day we went I sort of did my spinning class but didn't dare risk doing cricket teas so at least I had a a bit more time to pack. 

First stop was ATHENS and we can highly recommend Royal Olympic Hotel. a luxury hotel overlooking the Athenian Temple of Zeus...

Temple of Zeus

...with superb views from its terrace restaurant overlooking the Acropolis one way

and Mount Lycabettus on the other

and right next to Hadrian's Gate.

The Temple of Zeus originally had 104 columns, each 17m high, but now only 15 remain

In its day The Temple of Zeus was the largest temple in Greece. 

One of the columns  fell spectacularly in 1852 and has been left where it fell.

If you are thinking of visiting Athens GO TO THE TEMPLE OF ZEUS FIRST. The entrance ticket to Zeus includes ten other places of interest including the Acropolis which means you don't have to waste time standing in the queue to get into the Acropolis.

Our hotel from Temple of Zeus. You can see the Terrace restaurant balcony.

The Panathenaic Stadium was built in 1896 when the Olympic Games were revived and held here in Athens.

All P.E. students should visit here, it is History of P.E. in the flesh. We felt like we were treading in the footsteps of ancient heroes. It is a magnificent stadium. The audio guide was brilliant, you could just imagine what it must have been like running round the track all those years ago.

 The seat of Pierre de Coubertine who revived the Olympic Games. He recognised that organised sport created moral and social strength.

TO ASK PEOPLE TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER IS MERELY A FORM OF CHILDISHNESS.

TO ASK THEM TO RESPECT EACH OTHER IS NOT UTOPIAN BUT IN ORDER TO RESPECT EACH OTHER THEY MUST FIRST KNOW EACH OTHER.

 His name engraved on the seat.

When I saw the Greek letters up the side of the rows of seats it reminded me of  Lyng Hall School in Coventry whose houses were named Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Lambda, Rho

(I went to Stoke Park Grammar School haha)

This was a great room of all the torches and logos.

Atlanta is for Glynis if she is she reading this?!

I won !!

TWICE!

We had so much fun and look at the blue sky.

Hadrian's Gate (which looked especially good lit up at night from a park bench eating pizza.)

It was then time to walk up to the Acropolis.

 Looking into the theatre

The Parthenon at the top of the Acropolis.

Looking across to Lycabettus which we would walk up tomorrow. (All your step classes at once)

There are several buildings on top of the Acropolis, the Parthenon being the most impressive, even though most of its remarkable friezes are now in the British Museum (thanks to Lord Elgin negotiating PERMISSION to schnaffle them when the building had become badly neglected)

Looking back to the Temple of Zeus. 

Did we see a celebrity at the top? Does anyone know who this lady is? She was having a photoshoot at the top of the Acropolis and causing a little excitement so naturally, I joined in.

What a great place to build a citadel!

Day 2

Our tickets for Temple of Zeus included entrance to ten other places of interest so off we went to explore them, climbing up more steps and slopes to the Temple of Hephaistos on the west side of the Agora. This is the best preserved building of the Agora, maybe even the best preserved building in Greece?

Detail of the frieze on the Temple of  Hephaistos

Look at the perspective here!

On our way to climb Lycabettus  (up yet more steps) we passed the Parliament buildings.

Do photos lie? Surely my legs aren't really like this? 

(Hmmmm.... 13 years of spinning classes....?...)

...and after what seemed like about 700 steps (and half a lager half way up) we got to the top.

LYCABETTUS. Wonderful wonderful views.

We absolutely LOVED Athens.

. After another half a lager to assist us back DOWN the steps, and a walk through the National Gardens, and a visit to the Acropolis Museum where the guide blasted the British for NOT returning the Elgin Marbles, and a Greek honey and walnut yogurt  from the yogurt shop, and a cuppa (well...TWO cuppas) in the PLAKA

...it was time to "catch" the boat, the beautiful cruise ship RIVIERA (Oceania cruise line) for the next 10 days.

with lovely glass decorations.

First night - POLO GRILL for colossal shrimp cocktail and melt in my mouth filet steak. Oh my word.

NEXT STOP ISRAEL!! I was SO EXCITED!